A few weeks ago I did an article describing a treatment known as eye movement desensitation and reprocessing (EMDR). The response to that article has been, well, a bit overwhelming, but in a good way. People want more information and would like to know how this might work for them. In this article, I’m going to describe a case that I had years ago that I think does a good job of describing the impact that EMDR treatment can have. In many cases it is life-changing.

This young man was in treatment for obesity. At the time, I believed that his negative self-image was a factor in his compulsive eating. Likewise, it was clear that his beliefs about himself originated sometime in his childhood. This makes him a perfect candidate for EMDR. 

As we did the initial EMDR Assessment, one of his early memories had to do with being made fun of when he tripped and fell coming up a sidewalk with an ice cream cone in his hand. A family member laughed when he fell and told him he was “a spaz.” He also lost out on eating his ice cream cone.

What he noticed after that was that he became anxious anytime he was in the spotlight or required to perform physical activity. As a result, he had other memories of similar experiences during his elementary years. For example, as a seven-year-old he found himself being ridiculed again by a family member and by fellow soccer players because he wasn’t particularly good at dribbling the soccer ball. 

Over time he came to accept that he was clumsy, which ended up having far-reaching implications for him. Based upon this belief he did not go out for organized sports, audition for roles in school plays, or run for student council.  In addition, he also came to believe that food, particularly treats, were the things that made up for all of his inadequacies and disappointments.

During our EMDR session he came to realize that he isn’t actually clumsy, and in fact that he is quite good at physical activities requiring concentration such as rock climbing and scuba diving. Regarding the scuba diving,  he likens it to underwater birdwatching. As a fellow scuba diver, I have always thought the same thing lol.

The idea that he was clumsy was so well ingrained that it took several sessions and some hard work on his part as well as mine to come to the conclusion that he did not have to rely on treats for gratification nor did he have to accept the view of himself as physically incompetent in any way. 

Needless to say, he lost a substantial amount of weight over the time that we worked together, became physically fit, started dating, met the love of his life, went to a top law school, and is a very successful attorney to this day.

In my experience, EMDR can be life-changing. If you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic event even if it didn’t seem particularly traumatic at the time, reach out to me. I can help.