Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) Bundle (50 pages)

Earth, Air, Water, Fire Exercise

As you feel the stability of your feet firmly on the ground, take three or four deep and slow breaths from your abdomen, ensuring each exhale is complete to make room for fresh, revitalizing AIR. As you breathe out, visualize releasing some of your stress and exhaling it away. Focus your attention toward your center. As you continue to feel grounded and centered with each breath in and out, notice the presence of saliva (WATER) in your mouth. Try to generate more saliva. When we're anxious or stressed, our sympathetic nervous system often shuts down our digestive system as part of a stress response, which can lead to a dry mouth. By stimulating saliva production, you're activating your digestive system (parasympathetic nervous system) and encouraging a relaxation response. This is why offering something to drink or chew after a stressful experience can be beneficial. Continue feeling grounded, breathe deeply, and as you feel more relaxed and in control while producing more saliva, let this serene state guide your imagination (LIGHT/FIRE). Picture a place where you feel completely safe, calm, peaceful, and relaxed, or recall a memory where you felt positive and confident about yourself. Now, let's assess your current stress level on a scale from 0 to 10. Where do you stand with your stress right now? To build resilience against stress, practice these steps—what we'll call the 4 Elements—at least ten times a day for the first two weeks. It's useful to practice during moments of low stress to establish positive conditioning, which will make this technique more effective when you're experiencing higher levels of stress. Consider setting a reminder on your phone or wearing a bracelet that will prompt you to practice the 4 Elements.