First sun rays on the Colorado National Monument
There is a solitary, solemn moment, in western Colorado, when the first sun ray pokes up over the Grand Mesa and shatters into the craggy red monoliths of the Colorado National Monument. Whoosh, the match is lit and soon the rock, on fire with brilliant hues of orange and red, is soaking up ultraviolet and infrared waves. Lucky rock doesn’t need sunscreen or sunglasses, I think as I dart home to avoid any extra skin exposure. Part of my strategy of getting out on the trail so early in the morning is for my skin to escape contact with those virulent rays as much as possible. My skin doesn’t need any more trauma! Too bad, EMDR doesn’t work on skin damage.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing – see why we just settle for the acronym? Evidenced-based, EMDR is approved by the Veteran’s Administration and the American Psychiatric Association (for information on how EMDR works, visit www.emdr.com/). Besides trauma, it’s used for panic, anxiety, phobias, depression, addiction, and even physical pain. It can be used as mental rehearsals to boost confidence – for example, giving presentations and competing in sports events, and the like.
But let’s get back to trauma and the trail. For those of you who have been to the Monument, you certainly know its dramatic beauty. That beauty was shaped in part by blunt meteorological and geological forces or trauma, if you will. Without that trauma, the Monument would not have its drama – and would not be the Monument. So, too, with us – trauma shapes us.
Trauma – a deeply disturbing or distressing event – sometimes can be too big to process. Unprocessed trauma can get stuck inside of us. This can lead to maladaptive thinking, maladaptive emotions, and maladaptive behavior. Unprocessed trauma changes our neural pathways. EMDR can process what is stuck and reset those neural pathways. The Colorado National Monument is evidence that our world is full of trauma. We too, know that our lives are touched by trauma. Good to know that when that trauma is too big to process, there is a monumental tool to help.
