Processing Trauma: EMDR and Safe Place
How therapy helped me work through a difficult family situation and build emotional resilience
❓ Why I Started Therapy
I came to therapy to process a difficult experience involving a family member's hospitalization. I didn't fully understand how much it had affected me – the worry, the helplessness, the fear about what it meant for my own family. Therapy helped me recognize and work through trauma I didn't know I was carrying.
👁️ The Safe Place Technique
Through EMDR therapy, I learned to create an internal 'safe place' – a mental space where I can access positive feelings and emotional regulation. This became a counterbalance to the difficult memories.
My Safe Place: 'Pohoda Doma'
We developed an image I called 'peace at home' (pohoda doma): our family content together, everything fine, loving each other. Felix doing his happy movements. Sitting on the living room floor. Sunlight through plant leaves. Ajka smiling. Orange scent. Everything clean. We used EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to deepen this feeling – noticing where it lived in my body (a warm, velvety feeling in my chest).
Practical Applications
After therapy, I gained the ability to consciously invoke this feeling and shift my emotional state. I learned to notice when 'pohoda doma' is happening in real life – moments I couldn't perceive through my stress and emotions before. This awareness created a positive feedback loop in our family.
- Consciously access positive emotional states
- Recognize and appreciate present moments of peace
- Shift mood through somatic awareness
- Build resilience through internal resources
💡 What Therapy Gave Me
Beyond specific techniques, therapy taught me to recognize patterns I wasn't aware of, understand how past experiences shape present behavior, and develop tools for emotional regulation and self-awareness. It showed me that healing isn't about erasing difficult experiences, but about building capacity to work with them.