More often than not, people turn to drugs to cover painful memories in the past, relieve pain or ease their suffering. Despite the harmful consequences, they use drugs because it helps them forget about their problems and mask particular emotions they are going through. Others, however, get hooked on prescribed drugs. They would rationalize using it because it came from a doctor. After some time, drugs affect the brain; hence, making it almost impossible for them to stop their drug use.
Drug addiction is a chronic disorder that needs to be treated. There are a variety of treatment options for drug addiction, including medications, behavioral therapy or a combination of both. But if you have tried those forms of treatment and haven’t seen an improvement, you may want to give EMDR Therapy a try.
EMDR Therapy is a non-invasive therapy that is often used for the treatment of trauma. As mentioned above, most people turn to drugs because they want to forget about the negative or traumatic experiences that have happened in the past. Untreated trauma can be a source of emotional turmoil, which pushes them to use drugs. Most people undergo talk therapy to overcome trauma or depression. But we have to admit that it doesn’t always work.
Whether you become addicted to cocaine, Xanax, heroin, OxyContin or marijuana, EMDR may be of help. An EMDR Therapy session usually starts with the therapist asking the patient to remember in detail the traumatic or negative memories. Then, the therapist would move her fingers back and forth in front of the visual field of the client. The client, on the other hand, will have to follow the hand motion of the therapist with their eyes.
According to Dr. Francine Shapiro, the proponent of EMDR, a series of left and right eye movement can help rid the mind of traumatic and damaging thoughts. Over time, it can help painful memories recede.
The goal of EMDR therapy is to eradicate negative memories. Here, sessions are focused on the treatment of the underlying issues. EMDR Therapy would help the patient overcome those traumatic experiences and help them deal with it. When that happens, they’ll no longer need drugs.