Many clients struggle with understanding why their brain and body does certain things. When human beings are subjected to repeated traumatic experiences, the brain and central nervous system reacts in a protective manner that allows survival. Essentially, the experiences taught them that their needs were not important. We have as human beings a need for safety, belonging and autonomy. These automatic responses are more than just the animal instincts of fight, flight and freeze that originate in the central nervous system. Learned behavior also emerges in the form of please/appease, attach/cry for help, and collapse/submit (dissociate). What I have learned over the years of practice with traumatized clients, is that these behaviors are not intentional. They occur without permission yet serve a purpose of protecting us from shame. These responses can prevent conflict which has historically been vulnerable or dangerous. The problem is that in the present these reactions are not helpful anymore when in healthier relationships. They served their purpose but have now become intrusive patterns that are no longer needed. Breaking these patterns through targeting the source of the learned behavior is where EMDR Therapy can help. Most clients experience a shift in implicit reactions through relearning that their present moment experience is informed by past circumstances. The self that is nurtured through somatic and emotional awareness can allow for self compassion. When childhood or developmental needs are not met we learn how to shut them down or ignore them. Relearning that we have psychological needs as human beings that are reasonable and should not burden others where there exists a healthy connection is key to the change in implicit response to triggering experiences.
