Welcome! Are you on the hunt for more coping skills that will help lower your emotional dysregulation? Have you tried different grounding techniques and found them to be helpful, but maybe find that you need something more? Look no further than the EMDR & You series! In the article, I will briefly discuss what EMDR is and how you can use its skills to better regulate your emotions and find that inner balance.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of psychotherapy designed to help people process and heal from traumatic experiences. Developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR uses guided eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation) while you, as the client, recall distressing memories. This process is thought to help the brain reprocess those memories, reducing their emotional intensity, and help you gain a new perspective. EMDR is commonly used to treat PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other trauma-related conditions.
If interested, check out the blog post: What is EMDR? for a more comprehensive explanation.
One of EMDR’s grounding techniques (by grounding technique, I mean a skill that decreases tension and increases awareness of yourself, your surroundings, or the present moment) is the Peaceful Place method. This skill works to distract from negative emotions/thoughts by creating a peaceful, internal environment that we can work to experience fully with our senses. Below are step-by-step instructions to help you practice this skill; however, be aware that it can be helpful to listen to someone read it out loud as you go (e.g., a therapist, friend, or partner).
Peaceful Place
- Begin by assuming a mindful position
- Feet planted firmly on the ground or rooting your seat bones as you sit, spine straight.
- Close your eyes and pay attention to your breath. Noticing the natural in and out of breathing.
- If breathing techniques aren’t your thing, try pressing your hands together or on your legs, noticing the sensation of pressure/touch.
- Bring yourself to a place where you feel at ease, comfortable, maybe even fully at peace.
- This can be a real place you’ve been or a made-up one – it doesn’t matter as long as it is a place that can bring positive associations vs negative ones.
Begin to bring your awareness to:
- What you can see around you.
- E.g., Colors, time of day, inside or outside
- What you can see around you.
- What you can hear.
- Sounds of nature, voices of others
- What you can feel on your skin.
- Temperature, pressure, texture.
- What you can smell.
- Something specific nearby, a person’s perfume.
- Whether there is a sense of movement.
- E.g., swaying trees, waves.
- Allow yourself to exist within this space, noticing how your body might feel when in this place.
- Come back to noticing your breath again. Notice any changes to how you feel emotionally and physically.
- Slowly open your eyes and return to your present moment.