Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy

by Francine Shapiro

EARTH: GROUNDING, SAFETY in the PRESENT/REALITY: Take a minute or two to “land” and to be here now. Place both feet on the ground and feel the chair supporting you. Look around and notice three new things. What do you see? What do you hear? AIR: BREATHING for CENTERING: You can use your favorite breathing exercise here. Another option is to breathe in through your nose as you count four seconds, then hold it for two, then breathe out for four seconds. Take about a dozen deep, slow breaths like this. WATER: CALM and CONTROLLED to switch on the RELAXATION RESPONSE: Check to see if you have saliva in your mouth. Make more saliva by moving your tongue around and imagining the taste of a lemon (or chocolate). When you are anxious or stressed, your mouth often “dries” because part of the stress emergency response involved in “fight or flight” shuts off the digestive system. So it seems that when you start making saliva,