Depression can quickly make everything in your day-to-day life feel heavy. Having the energy to get through work comes in increasingly shorter supply. Finding the motivation to participate in activities you used to love becomes harder. Even getting out of bed in the morning takes more effort than it should.
While many people associate depression with sadness, it really runs much deeper than that. Old wounds that never healed and painful memories you haven’t processed lie below the surface. You might also be stuck in thinking patterns that continuously burden you without you even realizing. This is where EMDR can make a difference.
More Than Just a Chemical Problem
Depression is often considered to be a biological problem managed through medication sprinkled with a little bit of willpower. What many people don’t realize is that depression can also stem from unprocessed experiences.
Childhood neglect, chronic stress, loss, trauma, and compounding moments of feeling unseen by those around you can contribute to depression. The feelings these experiences created don’t just disappear over time. They remain an active part of your brain, resurfacing when triggered to cause emotional distress.
EMDR, short for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, originated as a method for treating trauma and PTSD. However, as it again and again proved its effectiveness, therapists realized its potential for use with other mental health conditions, including depression.
What EMDR Does
EMDR helps to close a loop that the brain has been unable to do on its own. Under normal circumstances, the brain processes memories during REM sleep and stores them in their appropriate long-term buckets. But when you experience a distressing incident, the memory can become “stuck” in an unprocessed state, fueling certain depressive beliefs.
During EMDR sessions, you focus on a specific target memory while a therapist guides you through bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation, often in the form of side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or sounds, simulates what your brain naturally does during REM sleep cycles, when memories would normally be processed. It activates both sides of your brain, allowing you to replace negative associations with more positive beliefs.
How EMDR Connects to Depression
On the surface, EMDR’s use for depression treatment may seem unclear, but it truly does make sense when you break it down. Negative beliefs that underlie depression are often tied to past experiences. EMDR targets the root of depression through these memories rather than simply addressing any symptoms you’re experiencing.
EMDR can help with depression by:
Reducing the emotional intensity of memories that contribute to feelings of hopelessness
Shifting negative beliefs about yourself towards more balanced and realistic ones
Decreasing the ruminations that keeps painful thoughts on repeat
Helping you feel more present and less emotionally hijacked
Over time, there should be a reasonable decline in the memory’s impact on you. The memory still exists, but it won’t carry the same weight. Shifting the burden frees up space for real change.
EMDR Is a Gentle Approach
EMDR is not meant to send you through a bumpy ride down memory lane. Nor is it about overwhelming your nervous system. Your therapist moves through the process at a pace that is manageable and comfortable for you. You remain in control throughout the entire process.
Sessions typically begin with building a sense of safety and rapport. Having this stable foundation is important to remain grounded throughout the following treatment phases. As you move through each subsequent phase, it should be a gentle experience that offers lasting results, maybe even more so than other approaches have.
Ready to Explore Something New?
If you’ve been struggling with depression and feel like talk therapy isn’t getting to the core of the matter, EMDR for depression therapy might be what you have been looking for. We offer depression counseling that incorporates EMDR so you can regain your quality of life. Reach out to us to schedule your free consultation today.
