Ghosts in the room!

Why Your Past is Playing "Ghost in the Machine": A Guide to EMDR

Do you ever have an over-the-top reaction to a minor inconvenience? Maybe a partner’s slight tone of voice sends you into a spiral of anxiety, or constructive feedback at work feels like a total character assassination.

If you’ve ever told yourself, "I know I’m overreacting, but I can’t stop feeling this way," there is a psychological reason for that disconnect. It’s not a personality flaw; it’s connected with memories and how they are “stored”.

The Connection: Why 1988 is Affecting Your 2026

Our brains are designed to learn from emotional pain to keep us safe. However, when we experience something overwhelming or "traumatic"—which can range from major life events to "small-t" traumas like being bullied at school—the brain sometimes fails to process the information.

Instead of becoming a "story" in your past, that memory gets frozen in its raw state, which are then triggered by events similar or linking to the original trauma memory.

Enter EMDR: Rewiring the Circuitry

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a specialised therapy that helps the brain "digest" those frozen memories.

Think of your mind like a wound that wants to heal. If there’s a piece of debris (the old memory) stuck in the wound, it stays inflamed. EMDR is the process of removing that debris so your natural healing can take over.

How it works

By using bilateral stimulation—usually guided eye movements, taps, or tones—EMDR engages both sides of the brain. This mimics the "processing" state we enter during REM sleep. It allows you to revisit the old memory in a safe environment, stripping away the emotional "charge" until it finally feels like just another story from the past.

Is EMDR Right for You?

You don't need a "major" trauma to benefit from EMDR. It is highly effective for:

* Performance Anxiety: Getting past that "I'm not good enough" inner critic.

* Relationship Patterns: Understanding why you keep picking the same partners.

* Phobias & Panic: Calming a nervous system that is perpetually on high alert.

The Bottom Line

You aren't broken; you're just carrying luggage that doesn't belong to you in the present. Therapy isn't just about talking through the past—it’s about “processing” difficult memories to reduce the negative impact they assert on your emotions and behaviours today.

Ready to see what life feels like without the "ghosts" in the room? Then please contact me christaylorcbt.co.uk.