What Does EMDR Feel Like?

What Does EMDR Feel Like?

Short Answer: People experience EMDR in a variety of ways. During a session, you briefly focus on a memory, thought, feeling, or body sensation while following bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, sounds, or tapping.

You might notice thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations shift as you go, or you may notice very little at first.

You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout the process.

Key Takeaways

• Everyone experiences EMDR slightly differently.
• You focus briefly on a memory or feeling while following bilateral stimulation.
• You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout the process.
• Changes can range from shifting thoughts and emotions to subtle or minimal reactions.

What to Expect During the Exercise

During an EMDR session, you briefly hold a memory, thought, feeling, or body sensation in mind while following bilateral stimulation, such as a moving point on a screen, alternating tones, or tapping.

As you move through the exercise, you simply notice what comes up. That might be another thought, an emotion, a physical sensation, a different memory, or a change in how the original memory feels.

You don't need to force anything to happen.

EMDR usually takes place in short periods of bilateral stimulation called sets. After a set, there is an opportunity to notice what is present before continuing.

Sometimes your attention may remain on the original memory. At other times, a different part of the memory, a new thought, or another association may come to mind.

You may also notice that nothing seems particularly different.

The point is not to produce a specific reaction. The process involves noticing what is there and allowing the next set to begin from that point.

What Does Focusing on a Memory Feel Like?

Focusing on a memory during EMDR does not necessarily mean replaying the entire experience from beginning to end.

You might focus on one image, a particular moment, a thought connected to what happened, an emotion, or a sensation you notice in your body. You do not need to reconstruct every detail.

The memory also does not have to remain equally clear throughout the exercise. Your attention may shift naturally as the sets continue.

For example, one part of the memory might initially stand out and then become less noticeable while another thought or detail comes forward.

Or you may continue focusing on essentially the same material for several sets.

There is no need to decide in advance what should happen next.

What Happens in Your Mind

What comes up varies from person to person and even from one session to another. You might notice:

• A memory beginning to feel less vivid or emotionally intense.
• A new thought or perspective.
• Another memory or association coming to mind.
• A change in an emotion or body sensation.
• Very little noticeable change during a particular set.

These changes do not need to happen in a particular order.

A thought that seems unrelated at first may come to mind. Your attention might move from an image to an emotion, from an emotion to a physical sensation, or back to the original memory.

You do not need to analyze every change while it is happening.

Part of how EMDR works is simply noticing what comes up rather than trying to direct every thought.

What Does a “Shift” During EMDR Mean?

You may hear people talk about noticing a “shift” during EMDR. That does not necessarily mean experiencing a dramatic emotional release or suddenly seeing an experience completely differently.

A shift can be much more subtle.

For example, the memory might seem slightly less vivid than it did at the beginning of the session. An emotion may feel less intense.

A thought that initially felt very convincing may not feel quite as strong. You might notice a different aspect of the memory or find that your attention has moved somewhere else.

There may also be sets where you do not notice an obvious shift at all.

EMDR does not require a particular moment when everything suddenly changes.

What you notice can develop gradually, and the experience can vary across different memories and sessions.

Do You Have to Stay Perfectly Focused?

No. EMDR does not require perfect concentration throughout every set.

You begin with something to focus on, but your attention may naturally move while the bilateral stimulation is happening.

Another thought might appear. Your mind may move to another part of the memory. You might notice an emotion or physical sensation that was not as noticeable before.

That movement of attention does not necessarily mean you are doing the exercise incorrectly.

At the same time, EMDR is not simply letting your mind wander without any connection to what you are working on.

The process begins with focused attention on a particular memory, thought, feeling, image, or sensation and then involves noticing what comes up from there.

You do not need to force yourself to hold exactly the same image in your mind from beginning to end.

What Happens Between Sets?

The pauses between sets can feel quite ordinary.

When the bilateral stimulation stops, you take a moment to notice what is present. You might still be thinking about the same memory, or your attention may have moved to something else.

There is no need to come up with an explanation for what happened during the previous set.

You are essentially checking in: What do I notice now?

That might be a thought, image, emotion, body sensation, another memory, or very little change.

The next set can then continue from what is present at that point.

This repeated rhythm of focusing, bilateral stimulation, pausing, and noticing is an important part of what an EMDR session actually feels like in practice.

What Physical Sensations Might You Notice?

Some people notice physical sensations during EMDR, while others notice very little.

A physical sensation might already be connected to the memory you are focusing on. For example, you may be aware of tension somewhere in your body when bringing the experience to mind.

That sensation may change during the session, remain about the same, or become less noticeable as your attention moves.

You may also notice very little change in how your body feels during the exercise.

There is no specific physical response you are supposed to have during EMDR. Not noticing a bodily change does not mean you are doing anything incorrectly.

Does EMDR Feel Emotional?

It can, but a strong emotional reaction is not required.

EMDR involves focusing on material that may already carry emotional significance, including experiences connected with anxiety, so emotions can become noticeable during the process.

At other times, the experience may feel relatively calm or matter-of-fact.

The intensity of what you feel can also change within the same session. One set may bring an emotion more clearly into awareness, while another may feel less charged.

What matters is not whether the session looks or feels dramatic.

You do not need to cry, feel an emotional release, or experience a major breakthrough for the session to count as EMDR.

If crying does happen, crying during EMDR is only one possible emotional response and is not required for a meaningful session.

There is no particular emotional reaction that everyone is expected to have.

What If You Don't Notice Much Happening?

Not every set produces an obvious change.

You might finish a set and feel that the memory, thought, or emotion is essentially the same as it was before.

You might have difficulty identifying anything new. Or the differences may be subtle enough that you are not sure whether anything changed.

You do not need to manufacture a reaction just because you expect something to happen.

This is especially important when reading other people's descriptions of EMDR. Someone else's experience does not establish what your own session should feel like.

The purpose of the exercise is not to recreate a particular reaction. You simply work with what you notice.

Can Different EMDR Sessions Feel Different?

Yes. What you notice can vary depending on what you are focusing on and what comes up during that particular session.

One memory may bring certain thoughts or emotions into awareness, while another may feel quite different.

Even when returning to the same memory, what stands out may not be identical each time.

That is one reason it is difficult to give a single description of exactly what EMDR feels like.

The basic structure can remain consistent, including focused attention, bilateral stimulation, brief pauses, and noticing what comes up, while the subjective experience within that structure varies.

You Are Always in Control

EMDR is not hypnosis. You remain awake, alert, and fully aware of your surroundings throughout the exercise.

You know that you are doing EMDR, you know where you are, and you can communicate during the process.

Bilateral stimulation does not put you into a trance or remove your ability to make decisions.

You are actively participating by bringing something to mind, following the stimulation, and noticing what comes up.

This is an important distinction because the eye movements used in EMDR can sometimes lead people to assume that the experience resembles hypnosis.

The two are not the same.

Do You Have to Talk About Everything That Comes Up?

No. Much of what you notice during EMDR can remain internal.

You may notice an image, thought, emotion, memory, or sensation without describing every detail out loud.

In therapist-guided EMDR, there can still be conversation before, between, and after sets.

But the processing itself does not require a detailed running narration of everything you are thinking or remembering.

That can make the experience feel different from forms of therapy that rely more heavily on extended discussion.

The important part is that you are able to notice what is happening internally. You do not have to turn every part of that experience into a detailed explanation.

Can PTSD Affect What EMDR Feels Like?

EMDR has its strongest research support for PTSD, but there is still no single way a session should feel.

A person working with a distressing memory may notice thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, or changes in how vivid the memory feels, while someone else may experience the process differently.

The condition or experience you are working with does not create a required emotional or physical reaction during EMDR.

Common Misconceptions About How EMDR Feels

• "It feels like being hypnotized." EMDR is not hypnosis. You remain awake, alert, and aware throughout the entire process.
• "You have to describe everything in detail." You don't need to describe everything that happened out loud. Much of the process happens internally while you focus on the memory and follow the bilateral stimulation.
• "If I don't feel a big emotional release, it isn't working." A strong emotional reaction isn't required. You may notice clear changes, subtle changes, or very little during a particular set. A dramatic response is not a requirement for EMDR.
• "I should know exactly what I'm supposed to feel." There is no single emotional, mental, or physical response that defines a successful EMDR session.
• "My mind shouldn't wander at all." You begin by focusing on particular material, but your attention can shift as new thoughts, feelings, sensations, or associations come up.

What Should You Pay Attention to During EMDR?

You do not need to monitor yourself constantly or judge whether each set is producing enough change.

Instead, notice what is present when you check in.

You might ask yourself what stands out now compared with a moment earlier.

Perhaps the same image is still there. Maybe a different thought has appeared. An emotion might feel stronger, weaker, or simply different.

You may notice a physical sensation, or nothing particularly new.

There is no need to search for a more interesting answer.

EMDR is structured around what you actually notice rather than what you think you are supposed to notice.

That distinction can make the process easier to understand: you are not trying to perform a particular reaction.

You are paying attention to your experience as it changes or does not change from one set to the next.

Conclusion

What you notice during a session is unique to you. You may notice changes in thoughts, emotions, memories, or physical sensations during a session, or the changes may be subtle.

You remain awake and aware throughout the process, and there is no particular reaction you need to have for a session to be meaningful.

The basic structure of EMDR is consistent, but the experience within that structure can vary.

A session does not need to feel dramatic, and you do not need to produce a particular thought, emotion, or physical sensation.

The simplest approach is to notice what comes up without trying to force the experience in a particular direction.