Listen to the blog:
We were both in two places at once. We were in the therapy room, having a completely normal conversation. And we were also in the midst of a car crash: one she experienced first hand and where my imagination was putting its own “footage” together based on her descriptions. She lived the event and now has a movie of it in her head that plays as we discuss it. Two places at once.
She is driving home from work on a normal afternoon when another car suddenly runs a red light. The crash itself isn’t life-threatening, but it’s terrifying. Her heart pounds, adrenaline floods her system, and the moment feels chaotic and overwhelming.
Months later, her physical injuries have healed. Life has mostly returned to normal.
But something strange keeps happening.
Every time she hears tires screech or approach that same intersection, her heart starts racing again. Her muscles tense. Her breathing changes. Logically, she knows she’s safe—but her body reacts as if the accident is happening all over again.
Experiences like this are one of the reasons therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) exist.
To understand why EMDR works, it helps to first understand how the brain normally processes difficult experiences.
How the Brain Naturally Processes Experiences
Now, I hope this doesn’t come as a shock to you, but I’m no neuroscientist. And if you’re reading this, I assume you aren’t either!
There are certainly fancier and more scientific words to explain this process, but I’ll explain it in the way that makes sense to me—and hopefully to you, too.
If you’ve ever seen the movie Inside Out, then you’ve seen the REM sleep cycle depicted in a creative yet surprisingly accurate way. During sleep, the brain gets to work sorting through the events and information of the day. Some things go to short-term memory, others move into long-term memory, and still others get tossed into the mental “trash dump” of things you won’t need anymore.
In many ways, that’s exactly what your brain is designed to do while you sleep.
God designed your brain to accomplish a few important tasks during sleep. Two of the biggest are detoxing the brain and sorting through memories.
When nothing major happens during a given day and you get adequate sleep, your brain is able to stay on top of everything. It sorts the memory queue, processes emotional experiences, and files things away appropriately before you wake up.
What Happens When the Brain Can’t Process an Event
Sometimes, however, the brain doesn’t complete these tasks.
If an event is too overwhelming, too unusual, too negative, or too intense, the brain may not be able to fully process it in the normal amount of time. It’s almost like the brain can’t fully metabolize the experience.
What further complicates things is that big events often disrupt sleep. When sleep is poor or interrupted, the brain loses one of its primary opportunities to process what happened.
Instead of finishing the sorting and categorizing process, the memory can get stuck midway through the system.
When this happens, the experience never fully makes it into long-term storage. Instead, it remains active in the nervous system.
This is when some people begin experiencing symptoms of acute stress or trauma, such as:
- Hypervigilance
- Intrusive thoughts
- Flashbacks
- Emotional triggers
- Heightened anxiety
These symptoms are signs that the memory has not been fully processed and integrated.
Think of Your Brain Like a Filing System
One way to understand trauma memories is to imagine your brain like a large filing system.
Every day, your brain collects new experiences—conversations, emotions, events, and information. During sleep, especially during REM sleep, your brain sorts through those experiences and files them where they belong.
Some things get stored in short-term memory.
Some things move into long-term memory.
And some things get tossed out because they simply aren’t important.
When the system is working well, memories are organized and easy for the brain to manage.
But sometimes a difficult or overwhelming experience disrupts the filing process.
Instead of being properly stored away, the memory gets stuck in the middle of the system—almost like a file left sitting on the desk instead of placed in the cabinet.
Because the memory hasn’t been fully processed, it still carries the images (though not always), emotions, body sensations, and beliefs from the original moment.
That’s why something small—like hearing screeching tires, encountering a similar situation, or hearing a certain tone of voice—can suddenly bring the entire experience rushing back.
The brain hasn’t finished filing the memory away yet.
How Trauma Memories Stay “Active”
As time goes on, your brain can continue processing new experiences normally. But it often has to navigate around the leftover pieces from the negative event that was never fully processed.
It’s almost like your mind is working around debris that was never fully cleared away.
Because of this, the past can still feel strangely present—even if the event happened years ago.
Another thing that often happens is when a new event occurs that your brain interprets as “close enough” to the original experience, the brain links those experiences together.
Suddenly, unwanted memories, body sensations, emotions, beliefs, and reactions show up all over again.
This is one of the reasons trauma responses can feel confusing. You may logically know you’re safe, but your nervous system reacts as if the original event is happening again.
How EMDR Therapy Helps the Brain Resume Processing
This is where trauma therapy—and specifically EMDR—can enter the chat.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
REM, the stage of sleep we talked about earlier, stands for Rapid Eye Movement.
Look at you… you’re probably already connecting the dots.
EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation, often through guided eye movements, to mimic the brain activity that occurs during REM sleep.
This specific stimulation activates both hemispheres of the brain and helps the brain pick up processing the memory where it left off.
In other words, EMDR helps restart the brain’s natural process for filing away troubling memories.
What Happens During an EMDR Session
Any memory we have is made up of several components:
- Images
- Emotions
- Beliefs
- Bodily sensations
For example, you might feel tension in your jaw when you’re angry but can’t communicate what you want to say. That’s an emotion showing up in the body.
Or you might feel warmth and relaxation in your chest when you think of getting tucked in in at night by your dear old mom.
In EMDR therapy sessions, we call up a troubling memory using these different components. While you briefly focus on that memory, bilateral stimulation activates both hemispheres of the brain.
Then something remarkable happens.
Your brain begins doing what it was designed to do all along.
You aren’t alone. I’m here to guide the process, keep you grounded, and notice signs that the memory is moving through different stages of reprocessing.
Your job is to notice what comes up and allow the process to unfold. Your brain does the heavy lifting!
At various points we pause to reflect, process, and offer support to the parts of the memory network that surface. Often, the client and I are the first two adults to ever truly see what happened and provide appropriate compassion and response. This is a true honor and always feels like such a beautiful and holy moment.
What EMDR Therapy Feels Like
It’s important to be honest about this part.
This isn’t the most enjoyable process. We aren’t working on the “greatest hits” moments of your life.
Often we are processing some of the most painful experiences a person has ever gone through.
I feel so honored to come alongside you and help you navigate this process. EMDR can help transform those lingering negative experiences that you want to truly leave in the past.
People often move from beliefs like:
- “I feel like I AM this thing that happened to me.”
- “I will never get past this.”
Toward something much healthier:
- “This is something that happened to me. It does not define me.”
The memory becomes integrated into your life story rather than dominating it.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Therapy
No. EMDR does not erase memories.
Instead, it helps your brain process and store the memory in a healthier way so it no longer feels overwhelming or intrusive.
Most people still remember the event, but the emotional intensity connected to it is significantly reduced.
EMDR helps the brain resume its natural ability to process difficult experiences.
During sessions, a therapist guides you to briefly focus on a distressing memory while using bilateral stimulation such as guided eye movements. This mimics the brain activity that occurs during REM sleep and helps the brain reorganize how the memory is stored.
EMDR often feels different from traditional talk therapy.
Rather than repeatedly describing the trauma, clients focus on aspects of a memory while noticing thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations that arise during the process.
Many people describe it as allowing their brain to naturally “sort things out.”
The number of sessions varies depending on the individual and the experiences being processed.
Some people notice improvement within a few sessions, while others spend more time addressing multiple memories or long-standing trauma.
You Were Built for Health
You were built for health.
Your brain was designed with an incredible ability to heal, adapt, and make sense of life’s experiences.
But sometimes life delivers experiences that overwhelm those natural systems.
When something is too frightening, painful, or unexpected, the brain’s normal processing system can stall. The memory remains active, and the emotions and body sensations connected to the event continue to surface long after the moment has passed.
If that has happened to you, it doesn’t mean you’re broken.
It simply means your brain may need some additional support to finish a process that was interrupted.
EMDR therapy helps the brain return to the work it was designed to do—allowing painful memories to be processed, integrated, and properly stored.
The goal isn’t to erase the past.
It’s to help the past become the past.
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting.
Sometimes healing simply means the memory has finally found its proper place.
If you’re exploring trauma therapy or EMDR in the Baton Rouge area, speaking with a trained therapist can be a helpful first step.
EMDR Therapy in Baton Rouge
We know how difficult it is to deal with the lingering impact of trauma, anxiety, and distressing memories. It is exhausting.
If you need to process and want to try a type of therapy that may help, I would love to share more about it with you. Call me or read more about EMDR here: https://crossroadcounselor.com/trauma-and-emdr-therapy/
If you’re struggling with lingering effects of trauma, anxiety, or distressing memories, EMDR therapy may be a helpful path toward healing.
At Crossroads Counseling, we offer EMDR therapy for individuals in Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities. Our goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment where clients can process difficult experiences and move toward lasting emotional health.
