EMDR therapy has recently gained some attention for its highly effective outcomes for those suffering from Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a debilitating condition with symptoms that include muscle aches, headaches, sleeping difficulties, exhaustion, inability to concentrate, memory problems, depression and bloating.
Although the cause of fibromyalgia is unclear, studies show that patients have experienced some form of trauma in their lives. Trauma is considered to be caused by a series of adverse childhood events or particular distressing memories. Trauma can become trapped in the central nervous system causing all sorts of physical and mental issues. If these traumas are not processed one might continue to suffer from a lifetime of physical and psychological problems.
There has been a lot of media attention on Fibromyalgia recently due to Fibro sufferer Lady Gaga making the association of a violent sexual assault she experienced with the painful condition. Lady Gaga talks openly about her physical pain and depression. EMDR is a trauma therapy that is able to treat both physical and psychological injury. EMDR is well known as the most evidence based treatment for PTSD and is now gaining more attention for many other trauma related symptoms. In fact there is much empirical evidence to support EMDR as a highly effective treatment for Fibromyalgia.
Multiple randomised trials suggest that it is possible that EMDR is able to substantially decrease pain levels, decrease negative affect, and improve one’s ability to control pain following treatment. One particular study showed that six out of seven FMS patients actually lost all criteria for the diagnosis. These are extraordinary results considering the medical industry claims that there is no treatment for FMS.
Conclusive evidence supports EMDR therapy as very effective in the treatment of patients with FMS and my experience treating client with FMS confirms this.
If you have FMS, have experienced a single trauma, a series of small traumas, or a lifetime of them, there is great potential to improve your FMS symptoms by targeting these in a controlled manner with EMDR. If you would like to know more about how EMDR works go to:
