About 20 years ago we discovered that changing your eye-movements while you process a worry, a phobia or a trauma reduces - or eliminates - the problem.
Sometimes this process is called Eye Movement Integration (EMI), or Rapid Eye Technology (RET), or Rapid Eye Movement Technology (REMT), or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
The basic premise is that eye movements signal the brain to process information in different ways.
For example:
Slowing down or holding eye movements still while you process a pleasant memory enables you to become more fully absorbed in it (try it for yourself).
Speeding up the eye movements while holding in mind a worry or a bad memory weakens its impact.
The fact that rapid eye movements appear when we dream shows that they are closely linked to brain cebtres that process information as dreams are partly a digest of that day's experiences. Interestingly, people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder often report with damage to the Hippocampus - a brain centre closely linked to memory processing.
If you want to erase a trauma or a phobia for yourself you could consult someone with a training in Reverse Therapy (I don't recommend you try it by yourself).
If you want to experiment with milder problems like a worry then just switch on the program at the top and stare at the X in the middle while you hold the worry in mind.
It works for most people.
Whoa - that was kind of cool to stare at. I'm not sure if it worked or not...but I seem to be experiencing less anxiety about this worry...hmmm...very interesting. Thanks for posting this.
Posted by: Laurie | Express Yourself to Success | June 28, 2009 at 05:20 PM
Hi Laurie. Glad you found this useful. Most of my clients report a definite weakening or (usually) an elimination of the problem. I will explore the reasons why it might not work as much as we might expect in a later post. John.
Posted by: John | June 29, 2009 at 06:37 PM