"Take a deep breath. Let it out. What did you notice?"

This is something we say a lot when doing EMDR trauma work with our clients. As we process together in therapy the big, painful moments that have occurred throughout a client's life (that when processed alone and incorrectly can lead to anxiety, depression, even PTSD), it's a required part of the EMDR treatment to briefly stop, take a breath and just notice what's coming up.

More on EMDR later, but first - we wanted to take a moment and connect with you on how you may be feeling about the crisis in Ukraine.

Take a breath. What are you noticing?

Goodness, we've already been trudging through the incessant outcomes from a global pandemic together. For many of us, the crisis in Ukraine may add another layer of instability, fear, stress, anxiety...weight. We get that. And whatever it is you may be feeling is completely validated.

Here are a few simple tips - if you haven't considered them yet - that could be helpful to apply now.

1. Limit your media and social media consumption. Really.

2. Talk to someone who is like-minded enough to understand your concerns but who is not so like-minded that they may send you spiraling. A counselor would absolutely be a great person to talk to.

3. Give to an organization that already has boots on the ground.

4. Remember your three Circles of Control:

Things you can control:

• Time I carve out for self-care

• The way I choose to spend my time

• Communicating my needs

• How I vote
  

Things you can influence:

• My family, my children and my relationships

• My health, working hours and priorities

• The general "mood" in my environment

Things you cannot control:

• What others think about me

• What others do and say

• Other people's feelings and how they behave

• Natural disasters and foreign policy

Try to spend the majority of your time focusing on what you can control and what you can influence. Focus on how you are keeping your home emotionally and physically safe. On how you're staying present with your children when/if they have questions come up about the crisis Ukraine is facing now.

And if you can, put the rest away. I know it's a privilege to be able to do that, and that's okay.

Lastly, if you're noticing that it feels impossible to put the rest away, that you're feeling glued to the overwhelming flood of information or to the fear of the potential outcome of this crisis, I want you to look into where that might be coming from. Is it a past trauma you experienced? Is it a wound? Is it a message you received early on that comes up now, leading to a specific core belief about yourself or the world around you?

Maybe EMDR therapy is right for you!

EMDR therapy is a beautiful form of treatment which allows you to isolate and hold a disturbing memory in your mind (and really- a series of memories usually), processing together what's happening in your mind, until the disturbance is gone. This can take a while or this can be relatively quick. We'd love to work with you in this way or with the more traditional talk therapy.

Reach out any time: cumberlandcenters.org

Warmly,

Alexandra Thompson, LCSW, and the Cumberland Counseling Team