Seeing Through the Smoke: Achieving Healing with EMDR Treatment
The sound of fire alarms blared throughout my apartment. Thinking it was a false alarm, I casually looked around my home but noticed no reason for it to be going off. The alarm continued and my heart began racing, full panic setting in. I opened the front door, and black smoke loomed throughout the hallway leaving it impossible to see what lied ahead. I was alone that night with my 5 month old son. Feelings of fear and helplessness rushed through me. How do I get my baby and myself to safety? Can I do this alone? I rushed to my son’s room, picked him up from his crib, grabbed our dog, and wrapped them in a blanket hoping they would not inhale the smoke we were about to travel through. The hallway was worse at this point, making it unbearable to breathe. We began walking through the apartment hallways and I hoped the route to go down the stairs and out of the building was not where the fire had started. I was screaming for help but only heard silence in return. As we came to the outside door, relief rushed over me. My mind and body still felt scared, but we were out, safe, and alive.
I thought that this event was over but quickly noticed I would relive this moment when I would cook, smelled smoke, and when I heard certain sounds. I couldn’t even manage the fire alarms at work, even knowing it was not a real fire. My body responded like it was real, like it was happening all over again. To avoid these images, body sensations, and feelings, I began taking precautions surrounding my triggers. After working with a therapist utilizing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), I was able to reprocess and desensitize the event. After working through this, I was able to detect if the triggers were a real threat or just a false alarm. I was finally able to think about this memory without feeling an overwhelming amount of paralyzing panic.
EMDR is an evidenced based practice that works with the memory itself along with the whole body system. Francine Shapiro, the originator and developer of EMDR, writes in her book, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, Third Edition: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). “After effective EMDR treatment, the memories are stored with a less disturbing picture, a positive cognition, and an appropriate affect.” If you have experienced any traumatic experience yourself, EMDR may be the treatment for you. For more information on EMDR treatment, visit www.emdrconsulting.com or contact Mosaic Counseling Services.
Shapiro, Francine. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. 3rd ed., The Guilford Press, 2018.
Written By: Cala Ochs, MSW, LCSW