The Benefits of EMDR for Health Anxiety Triggered by Trauma
Anxiety disorders can take many forms, including generalized anxiety, health anxiety, death anxiety, and psychosomatic disorders. When anxiety is triggered by past trauma, it can result in emotional flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and an overwhelming sense of fear. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be an effective treatment in helping individuals process trauma-related anxiety and reduce catastrophizing thoughts related to health concerns.
Understanding Different Forms of Anxiety
Health Anxiety (Hypochondriasis): Health anxiety is characterized by excessive worry about having or developing a serious illness. Even after medical reassurance, individuals with health anxiety often ruminate over bodily sensations and symptoms, interpreting them as signs of severe illness. Trauma can exacerbate health anxiety, especially if the person has experienced a serious illness, medical trauma, or the loss of a loved one to disease.
Death Anxiety: Fear of death and dying can stem from unresolved trauma, including near-death experiences or witnessing the death of a loved one. Death anxiety can manifest in avoidance behaviors, obsessive thoughts about mortality, and existential distress.
Psychosomatic Disorders: These disorders involve physical symptoms that have no identifiable medical cause but are linked to emotional distress. Trauma can lead to somatic symptoms as the body holds onto unresolved emotional pain, often manifesting as chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, or other physical ailments.
How Trauma Triggers Health Anxiety
Trauma, especially childhood trauma or medical trauma, can cause emotional dysregulation and a heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations. This heightened awareness often results in catastrophizing thoughts, where minor physical sensations are misinterpreted as life-threatening conditions. Emotional flashbacks—intense, unconscious reliving of traumatic memories—can reinforce fears about health, leading to hypervigilance and distress.
EMDR as an Effective Treatment
EMDR is a structured therapy designed to help individuals process and integrate traumatic memories so that they no longer trigger intense emotional and physical reactions. The therapy follows an eight-phase protocol, which includes identifying traumatic memories, bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or sounds), and reprocessing distressing experiences in a more adaptive manner.
Benefits of EMDR for Anxiety and Health Anxiety:
Desensitization of Trauma: EMDR helps to reduce the emotional charge associated with traumatic memories, allowing individuals to process their experiences without overwhelming fear or anxiety (Shapiro, 2018).
Reduction in Catastrophizing Thoughts: By reprocessing distressing memories, individuals can shift from catastrophic interpretations of bodily sensations to more rational and balanced thoughts (De Jongh et al., 2019).
Lowered Somatic Symptoms: EMDR can reduce the physiological symptoms associated with anxiety, including chronic pain and tension (van den Hout & Engelhard, 2012).
Improved Emotional Regulation: By addressing the root trauma, EMDR helps individuals gain a greater sense of control over their emotions, reducing panic and hypervigilance (Hoge et al., 2011).
Long-term Reduction in Anxiety: Studies suggest that EMDR provides lasting relief from trauma-related anxiety, making it a powerful intervention for those struggling with health anxiety linked to past trauma (Faretta & Dal Farra, 2019).
Conclusion
For individuals struggling with health anxiety, death anxiety, or psychosomatic symptoms triggered by trauma, EMDR offers a promising therapeutic approach. By helping the brain reprocess traumatic memories, EMDR reduces emotional distress, decreases catastrophizing thoughts, and allows individuals to regain control over their anxiety. If health-related fears or trauma are significantly impacting daily life, seeking an EMDR-trained therapist may be a critical step toward healing.
References
De Jongh, A., Amann, B. L., Hofmann, A., Farrell, D., & Lee, C. W. (2019). The status of EMDR therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 68, 1-9.
Faretta, E., & Dal Farra, F. (2019). EMDR therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 13(4), 325-336.
Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Marques, L., Metcalf, C. A., Morris, L. K., Robinaugh, D. J., & Pollack, M. H. (2011). Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72(6), 1-9.
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. Guilford Press.
van den Hout, M. A., & Engelhard, I. M. (2012). How does EMDR work? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(7), 601-605.
By understanding the connection between trauma and anxiety, and utilizing effective treatments like EMDR, individuals can find relief and reclaim their mental and physical well-being.
Eugene Roginsky, LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist and the founder of Bridge2Horizon Psychotherapy and Counseling Services, PLLC, in Lincolnshire, Illinois. With extensive experience in trauma treatment, he utilizes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a powerful tool to help individuals heal from past emotional wounds.
