How EMDR Can Help Women with Modern Day Struggles
- Shannon Stern
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
In today’s world, women face unique demands that can lead to emotional turmoil and mental health concerns. From social anxiety to the pressure of achieving work-life-family balance, body image issues, disordered eating, and stress with dating, many of us are feeling overwhelmed and undervalued. Therapy can be incredibly helpful to receive support, and EMDR can go a step further in relieving distress of present day issues.
What is EMDR Therapy? Isn't it just for trauma?
EMDR is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and release traumatic and distressing memories. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR involves a structured process where clients focus on the emotional distress associated with a memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements.
Studies have shown that about a high percentage of individuals treated with EMDR report a significant reduction in symptoms of trauma within three sessions. However, EMDR is used for more than just trauma symptoms. Studies have shown EMDR to be effective for anxiety, depression, OCD, eating disorders, and other diagnoses. For women facing modern-day struggles, this means that EMDR can help address the root causes of overwhelm and distress, improve confidence, and empower you to reclaim your mental well-being and achieve greater life satisfaction. Let's look at specific ways EMDR can help you:
EMDR & Social Anxiety

Social anxiety can be overwhelming, affecting how women interact in personal and professional environments. A survey by the National Institute of Mental Health indicates that about 15 million adults in the U.S. experience social anxiety, with a majority being women.
EMDR helps women tackle the negative experiences that fuel their social anxiety. For example, if you felt excluded by a group of friends in childhood, you can reprocess those memory in EMDR therapy. This allows you to desensitize your emotional response and develop healthier beliefs about yourself in social settings.
Other examples of distressing experiences that EMDR can help reprocess are: public humiliation, challenging transitions in high school, lack of strong friendships in adolescence, loss or abrupt ending of friendships.
EMDR & Work-Life-Family Balance
Striking a work-life balance can feel like an uphill battle for many women juggling careers, family responsibilities, and personal goals. According to a survey by Gallup, over half of working women report experiencing stress related to their work-life balance.

Through EMDR, women can confront underlying beliefs that hinder achieving this balance or feeling deserving of self-care. For instance, a woman might struggle with guilt when prioritizing career advancement over family time or vice versa. Many women are primary caregivers to both young children and elderly parents, which can lead to burnout or neglected with their own needs. In EMDR therapy, these feelings can be processed, with healthy self-referencing beliefs installed, allowing women to view their choices with a healthier perspective.
As they work through these issues, participants often discover effective strategies for setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care, even with restricted time. While EMDR may not physically make room in your calendar for rest, it can help you have the confidence to ask for help or create a lifestyle that works for you.
Other examples of distressing experiences that EMDR can help reprocess are: strict academic expectations in childhood, chronic imposter syndrome, negative workplace experiences such as toxic boss or coworker, being compared to sibling's success.
EMDR & Body Image / Disordered Eating
In a culture that often emphasizes unrealistic beauty standards, many women grapple with body image issues and disordered eating patterns. The National Eating Disorders Association reports that around 28.8 million Americans experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives, with a significant percentage being women.

EMDR can facilitate healing by helping women revisit the origins of their concerns about body image and eating behaviors. For instance, a woman who was teased about her weight in childhood can reprocess that painful memory. By doing so, she can replace harmful beliefs with more neutral or healthy beliefs, leading to a more compassionate self-image.
With EMDR therapy, you can find a newfound appreciation for your body and healthier approaches to eating, enabling you to break free from societal expectations and feel more connected with yourself.
Other examples of distressing experiences that EMDR can help reprocess are: being enrolled in Weight Watchers as a child, chronically being physically compared to others, observing mother's negative body image or disordered eating, feeling physically out of place in peer group, feeling invalidated by medical professionals due to weight.
EMDR & Relationships

Interpersonal relationships can be intricate and often fraught with challenges. Whether facing conflicts with a current partner or the dating scene, unresolved issues can lead to significant emotional pain. In addition, society often expects women to reach relationship milestones by a certain age, placing pressure on women who do not want a relationship, or are struggling to find a compatible partner.
EMDR supports women in identifying and addressing the emotions and memories linked to their relationship difficulties. For example, a woman who experienced past relationship betrayal or emotional abuse can greatly benefit from EMDR. It can help process the pain of harmful relationship patterns, enhances empathy for self, and increase insight about future relationship needs.
Other examples of distressing experiences that EMDR can help reprocess are: being cheated on, narcissistic abuse, feeling chronically lonely, anxiety about first dates, painful breakup.
EMDR is helpful, but cannot change systemic issues
It would be unwise not to speak on the systemic issues in place that create barriers for total mental well-being for women, especially those with intersecting identities. Racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, political policies, and other oppressive forces have consistently contributed to mental health issues. How could they not? It's inherently disrespectful, exclusionary, harmful, and even life threatening. EMDR cannot change the world we live in, but it can help lower the distress you've experienced from the world thus far.
Want to try EMDR?
I often hear clients say "but I didn't have THAT bad of a childhood" or "but my problems aren't THAT bad". To which I say, you do not need to have experienced the worst trauma in the world to be deserving of help and support. And listen, this was by no means an exhaustive list of issues that can be treated with EMDR. By engaging in EMDR therapy, you can reprocess emotions and experiences, promoting healing and personal growth in most life realms. In an ever-changing world, prioritizing mental health and considering therapies like EMDR is vital for thriving emotionally.
If you are interested in learning more about my EMDR offerings, click here.
コメント