Difficult vs. Traumatic
Everyone has difficult experiences. These experiences are necessary for us to learn and develop through our lifespan. So, what separates a difficult experience from a traumatic one? Is it the severity of that experience, our reactions to that experience, or other people’s reactions to that experience?
The answer to that is actually dependent on how we have processed that experience.
Often, when an experience is too much for our brains to process at the moment, it can be displaced into a nonverbal part of our brain (the midbrain or brainstem). This is your brain’s way of protecting you from trauma, emotional dysregulation, and distress.
Emotional Triggers
Although this can be helpful in the moment, if these experiences are never consciously processed by our brain, our brain may lose its ability to coherently process any stimuli in our outside environment. When this happens, we might notice that things in our environment begin to “trigger” memories, feelings, and bodily sensations relating to that experience that make us feel uncomfortable. For example, maybe someone who used to love coffee can’t even drink it anymore because the smell of coffee reminds them of the day they were in a major car accident when their coffee spilled all over them.
When these unconscious triggers occur, we might have flashbacks of the experience, constantly worry that something bad will happen, feel disconnected from reality, or even have chunks of time we can’t remember at all. When triggers become unmanageable and interfere with our daily life, it often means that our brains need to process the information differently than it has been processing it previously.
How our brains process information.
Have you ever noticed that when someone else is telling a story or trying to remember something, that their eyes will focus on a particular spot? They might say something like “I’m trying to remember” and turn their eyes up towards the ceiling or gaze down at the floor as they are focusing on retrieving that memory. This is our brain’s natural way of accessing information that is not readily available to us. In order to recall information, we have to begin to focus on one point in our surroundings rather than getting distracted by all of our surroundings.
Although our brains are always naturally scanning our environment to get information from it, those of us who have experienced trauma almost become hyper-scanners because we feel as though there is always a perceived threat in our environment. When we do this, our brains become overloaded with information that keeps us from fully processing the experiences of our past as well as our current experiences. This state of being always on edge is often referred to as “hypervigilance” which often results in having difficulty sleeping, anxiousness, panic attacks, mood swings and several other symptoms that interfere with our daily functioning.
How brainspotting works.
The method behind brainspotting is that, with the help of a therapist, we are able to move out of this state of hypervigilance and locate these “brain spots” that may not be safe to remember or process on our own. In brainspotting, a therapist uses the tip of the pointer as a focal point to guide us through these memories, refocus our emotions, and begin to process all that has been stored in our mind and bodies. By bringing this part of our subconscious into consciousness, we are finally able to fully process our past experiences and begin to heal.
Limitations to brainspotting
Brainspotting has been an effective method for individuals experiencing all forms of trauma, as well as treating anxiety, attention issues, anger issues, substance use issues, and impulse control issues. Although a large number of individuals have reported positive results of brainspotting treatment, this form of therapy is still new. Brainspotting is an increasingly popular modality among therapists specializing in trauma, but has not had as much research behind it as other trauma-informed approaches.
Supporting Research on Brainspotting
David Grand, a therapist focused on treating trauma, developed brain spotting through combining his somatic experiencing (SE) interventions with eye movement desentization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR). This combination proved to be beneficial to 9/11 survivors he was treating. After monitoring improvements, he noticed that physical and emotional symptoms could also be triggered through memories that come to surface with a locked eye position. After combining all of these modalities, Grand developed a training program to encompass all he had learned which later got the name “brainspotting.” Today, over 8,000 therapists are trained in brainspotting and it has been recognized as a successful treatment modality in many studies and practices.
Brainspotting vs. EMDR
EMDR was the first neurologically-based treatment that acknowledged eye movements correlation with accessing memory and healing trauma. EMDR is still a widely used and supported modality by several therapists world-wide.
As more discoveries are made by trauma researchers, there are more and more studies being done on how to access trauma in the brain and begin to heal it. Although Brainspotting and EMDR are both seen as efficient modalities, Brainspotting is simply an advancement on EMDR with the current evidence that research has presented.
Overall, Brainspotting tends to be a bit of a faster process compared to EMDR therapy and is more adaptable. Although both methods are essentially accessing and processing the same information, it depends on what modality the therapist and client prefer to use.
References
Authenticity Associates (2018) What is Brainspotting Trauma and PTSD Therapy? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiPzm9VAGh0
Good Therapy (2018) Brainspotting (BSP) Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/brainspotting-therapy