Read My EMDR Journal
A Vulnerable Share of What Happens in My EMDR Sessions
My EMDR Journal: A Personal Glimpse into Healing Trauma
When a traumatic event occurs, your brain’s natural memory processing can get “stuck.” Instead of filing it away as a past experience, the memory remains vivid and highly emotional, as if it’s still happening now. This is why flashbacks, intense reactions, and physical sensations hijack your present – your brain constantly alerts you to a danger that no longer exists, locking you in a loop of fight, flight, or freeze.
I intimately understood this cycle. I was plagued by recurring flashbacks tied to a narcissistic, manipulative individual who’d caused immense anguish, shame, and substantial business loss. Traditional approaches offered no real relief.
Then, EMDR entered my life. It helped me to “unstick” those traumatic memories. While I call it “rewiring the brain,” it’s actually doing something quite clever: it helps my brain reprocess and properly file away those distressing memories so they’re no longer active and present, effectively freeing me from their relentless grip.
This journal chronicles my EMDR sessions from 2020, a journey I began when a lifelong friend suggested trying something truly different, after years of traditional counseling had led nowhere. My hope is that by sharing this intimate experience, it might help someone else take a vital step forward on their own path to healing.
Journal entries coming soon
He Saved My Life
Entering the Rock Garden with a Sense of Adventure and Leaving with Shame I was working at REI when a group of us went whitewater rafting. It was one of those crisp, sun-drenched days and we were ready for adventure. The water was fierce, swollen with spring melt. Class IV and V rapids waited downstream, and I was equal parts terrified and...
Why I Started EMDR Therapy: A Personal Account
The Day I Decided to Give EMDR Therapy a Try "I can't live like this anymore. How can I change? Fast?" An exasperated sigh escapes me. My bad decisions are compounding. "Your boundaries are eroded." John's frankness comes from decades of knowing me. "You need to reestablish them." "Boundaries?" I ask, self-deprecating. "How can I...
