# EMDR: Can moving your eyes back & forth help ease anxiety?



## alanh (Jan 2, 2008)

EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is an emerging therapy for treating various anxiety disorders. It involves invoking memories of events that typically trigger anxiety, while focusing on a moving object, moving your eyes back and forth in the process. Doing so, while replacing negativity with optimism has shown to benefit numerous patients. An article regarding this unorthodox but apparently effective therapy can be found here:

EMDR: Taking a Closer Look
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=emd ... loser-look

For more information on EMDR see:

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMDR

EMDR Institute, Inc.
http://www.emdr.com/


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## paranoid (Oct 17, 2006)

I tried that with a therapist. Didn't do anything significant for me.


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## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

Funny uou should ask this. My therapist went on a course and tried it with me. I did feel a shift in my mood when thinking about the target image, but the overall shift to the new belief didn't quite make it. We are gonna have another stab at it again, but its not the only thing I'm doing with him.

Anyways I'll keep you updated 

My eyes hurt BTW :lol


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