EMDR for Anxiety

EMDR for Anxiety

Short Answer: EMDR is used to help people work with anxiety, particularly when anxious reactions are connected to distressing memories, triggers, fears, or negative beliefs. Although EMDR has been studied most extensively for PTSD, therapists also routinely use it for anxiety, panic, phobias, and related concerns. Research specifically on anxiety is smaller than the PTSD evidence base, but studies suggest EMDR may help reduce anxiety symptoms.

Key Takeaways

• EMDR is used for anxiety as well as PTSD and trauma-related concerns.
• Anxiety does not have to come from one major traumatic event for EMDR to be relevant.
• EMDR may focus on past experiences, current triggers, negative beliefs, or situations you are worried about in the future.
• Research on EMDR for anxiety is smaller than the research on PTSD, but results so far are encouraging.
• Different types of anxiety may involve different EMDR focus areas, so the process does not look exactly the same for everyone.

Anxiety can show up in many ways. You might worry about what could go wrong, avoid situations that make you nervous, experience sudden waves of fear, or notice that certain memories or situations seem to trigger the same anxious response again and again.

EMDR offers one way of working with those reactions. Rather than only talking through your worries, EMDR combines focused attention with bilateral stimulation while you work with specific memories, thoughts, feelings, or fears connected to the anxiety.

How Can EMDR Help With Anxiety?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

During EMDR, you briefly focus on something connected to the anxiety while using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating sounds, or tapping.

The focus might be:

• A distressing memory
• A situation that makes you anxious
• A negative belief about yourself
• A physical feeling associated with anxiety
• A previous panic attack
• Something you are afraid will happen in the future

The goal is not simply to tell yourself not to be anxious. Instead, EMDR gives you a structured way to work with the memories, thoughts, and reactions that may be contributing to the anxiety.

Over time, something that once triggered a strong reaction may begin to feel less emotionally charged.

Anxiety Is Not Always About One Big Event

People sometimes associate EMDR only with major traumatic experiences. But anxiety can develop around many different kinds of experiences.

For example, someone with social anxiety may remember being embarrassed or criticized in front of other people. Someone who fears driving may remember a frightening accident or near miss. Someone who experiences panic attacks may become anxious about places where a previous panic attack occurred.

Other people cannot point to one clear event at all. Their anxiety may have developed gradually through many smaller experiences.

EMDR does not necessarily require you to identify one major traumatic event.

Instead, you can look for specific memories, situations, beliefs, or triggers that seem connected to the anxiety you are experiencing now.

What Types of Anxiety Is EMDR Used For?

Therapists use EMDR with a variety of anxiety-related concerns. These can include:

General Anxiety and Worry

Some anxiety involves persistent worry about work, relationships, health, finances, family, or what might happen in the future.

With EMDR, the focus may be on experiences or beliefs that seem to reinforce those worries.

For example, a person who repeatedly thinks, “Something is going to go wrong,” may discover that the feeling is connected to earlier experiences in which life felt unpredictable.

Panic Attacks

A panic attack can become a distressing memory itself.

After having one, some people begin worrying about having another. They may also become anxious about the place where the panic attack happened or situations in which they fear it could happen again.

EMDR may focus on memories of previous panic attacks, the situations associated with them, or the fear of another episode happening in the future.

Phobias and Specific Fears

EMDR is also used with fears such as flying, driving, medical procedures, animals, heights, or other specific situations.

Sometimes there is an obvious earlier experience connected to the fear. Other times there is not.

The EMDR process can focus on the fear itself, relevant memories, and future situations in which the person would like to feel more comfortable.

Social Anxiety

Social anxiety may involve worries about embarrassment, rejection, criticism, or being negatively judged.

Certain memories can sometimes play an important role. Being laughed at in school, publicly criticized, rejected by a group, or repeatedly feeling uncomfortable in social situations may influence how someone responds to similar situations later.

EMDR can be used to work with those experiences as well as current social triggers and expectations about future situations.

Performance and Test Anxiety

Anxiety can also appear in situations where someone feels evaluated, such as exams, presentations, interviews, auditions, or public speaking.

A difficult past experience may contribute to the expectation that the next one will go badly.

EMDR may be used to address the earlier experience and then focus on approaching the future situation with a different response.

What Might You Focus on During EMDR for Anxiety?

One useful feature of EMDR is that you do not necessarily need to spend a long time explaining why you think you are anxious.

Instead, you identify something specific to work with.

For example, imagine that you become anxious every time you need to speak during a meeting.

You might notice:

• A memory of forgetting what you wanted to say during a presentation
• A thought such as “I'm going to embarrass myself”
• Tightness in your stomach when you imagine speaking
• A picture in your mind of everyone judging you

Any of those could help identify what you want to focus on.

During EMDR, you briefly bring that focus to mind while using bilateral stimulation. You then pause and notice what comes up before continuing.

The process may bring up related thoughts or memories naturally. You do not need to force yourself to figure everything out in advance.

Does EMDR Work for Anxiety?

Research on EMDR is strongest for PTSD, but anxiety is another area researchers have studied.

A meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials involving 647 participants found that EMDR was associated with reductions in anxiety, panic, phobia, and behavioral or physical symptoms related to anxiety. The researchers also noted that more research was needed to better understand the long-term effects of EMDR for anxiety disorders.

A broader review of EMDR research also found promising results for areas such as phobias and test anxiety, while noting that the number and quality of studies outside PTSD were still limited.

This distinction is important.

It would be inaccurate to say that EMDR has been studied for anxiety to the same extent that it has been studied for PTSD. It has not.

But it would also be inaccurate to suggest that EMDR is only used for PTSD. Therapists routinely use EMDR for anxiety-related concerns, including panic and phobias, and research in this area continues to develop. The EMDR International Association also provides professional resources specifically addressing the use of EMDR with anxiety, panic, and phobias.

How Is EMDR Different From Simply Talking About Anxiety?

Talking about anxiety can help you understand what you are feeling, identify patterns, and consider different ways of responding.

EMDR uses a different structure.

Rather than spending the entire session discussing the problem, you may focus briefly on a particular memory, belief, feeling, or image while engaging in bilateral stimulation.

You then pause and notice what comes to mind.

This means you do not necessarily have to explain every detail of an experience or find the perfect words for how you feel.

For some people, that makes EMDR a useful alternative or complement to approaches that rely more heavily on conversation.

Do You Need to Know What Caused Your Anxiety?

No.

Sometimes the connection is obvious. You know exactly when a fear started or which experience still bothers you.

Other times, you may simply know that certain situations make you anxious.

You can begin with what you know now.

That might be:

• “I get nervous when I have to drive on the highway.”
• “I worry people are judging me.”
• “I keep thinking something bad is going to happen.”
• “I become anxious when I have to speak in front of people.”
• “I'm afraid I'll have another panic attack.”

From there, you can notice what memories, thoughts, images, or feelings seem connected to the anxiety.

You do not need to uncover a hidden explanation before EMDR can begin.

Does EMDR Get Rid of All Anxiety?

The goal of EMDR is not to eliminate every anxious feeling.

Anxiety is a normal human response, and there are situations where feeling nervous or alert makes sense.

A more realistic goal is often to reduce reactions that feel stronger, more persistent, or more disruptive than you would like them to be.

For example, someone who previously felt intense anxiety about an upcoming presentation might still feel a little nervous afterward, but the situation may no longer feel as difficult or consuming.

Progress can also look different from person to person.

You may notice that:

• A particular memory bothers you less.
• A trigger produces a smaller reaction.
• You avoid a situation less often.
• A negative belief feels less convincing.
• Thinking about an upcoming event feels easier.

You do not need to feel completely different after a single session for the process to be meaningful.

Using Virtual EMDR for Anxiety

Virtual EMDR is a specific self-guided online EMDR program. It is different from the general phrase “virtual EMDR,” which is sometimes used to describe therapist-led EMDR conducted remotely through video.

With the Virtual EMDR program, you work through a structured EMDR process independently.

For anxiety, you might choose a specific memory, trigger, worry, belief, or anticipated situation to focus on and then move through the exercises at your own pace.

Because the program is self-guided, you decide when to do a session, what you want to focus on, and when you want to pause or stop.

For someone who prefers working independently and having control over the timing and pace of sessions, this provides another way to explore EMDR for anxiety.

Conclusion

EMDR is not limited to PTSD. It is also used to help people work with anxiety, including worries, panic, phobias, social fears, and anxiety connected to particular memories or situations.

The research base for anxiety is not as large as the research supporting EMDR for PTSD, but existing studies are encouraging and therapists routinely use EMDR with anxiety-related concerns.

You also do not need to identify one major traumatic experience before EMDR can be relevant. A memory, trigger, negative belief, fear, or future situation can provide a useful place to begin.

The aim is not necessarily to remove every anxious feeling. It is to help the memories, thoughts, and situations connected to anxiety feel more manageable and carry less emotional weight.