Overcoming Trauma Using EMDR
I recently had a tough therapy session. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been working with a therapist to resolve the trauma I faced in my childhood. It’s been a journey that I welcome.
During my most recent session, we addressed the trauma I had from kindergarten when I first experienced racism. The kids wouldn’t play with me because I’m black. It was a difficult moment, and one that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helped me to desensitize. The Cleveland Clinic defines EMDR as a “mental health treatment technique that involves moving your eyes a specific way while you process traumatic memories. The goal of EMDR is to help you heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences.”
After a few rounds of EMDR, I was able to not think about that moment as a victim or think that something was wrong with me because of it. When I consider that moment, I pity the kids, and the terrible lesson they were being taught at home. Children aren’t born racist. That is a learned behavior. Instead of thinking about that moment with insecurity, I am grounded in the belief that I am good enough just as I am. With help from my therapist, this belief is one that I identified as an alternative to the negative beliefs that I formed when initially…
