EMDR is theorized to utilize bilateral stimulation to activate the right and left hemispheres of the brain in order to activate the full capacities for the adaptive information processing system, which allows the brain to sort, make sense of, organize and store information/memories with a “time stamp” so memories can be recalled, but with a normal orientation to the present moment and regulated awareness. When a person is in an overwhelmed state, such as a traumatic or high/chronic stress event, the brain can switch into a survival information processing mode in which sensory input indicates danger (including emotional), and information moves straight to the amygdala to engage immediate survival actions of fight/flight/freeze. The information is then stored in a fragmented way, causing sensations and feelings from that event to be triggered and recalled as if they are happening now. So one might feel terror, dissociation, shutdown, rage, or other overwhelming emotions as if the original event is happening now, even though it is a memory from the past. EMDR is theorized to engage the adaptive information processing of the brain through bilateral stimulation and a sophisticated therapeutic process, to turn on the brain’s natural capacity to process, organize, make sense of and store this overwhelming and fragmented information, with a sense of wholeness, present-centered awareness, neutrality/okayness, insights, and natural regulation/emotion processing. To learn more watch this video.