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

Emotional Pain Release Exercise

Part 3: Techniques to Alleviate Pain Visualization for Releasing Pain: Now that you have identified and explored the pain it is time to release.

What is the color/sound of the pain?

Visualize directing your breath towards the location of the color or sound within your body Envision the pain exiting your body like a dense fog or stream emerging directly from the skin. Ensure each out breath is slow and deliberate. Expel the pain (visualized as a color or sound) from various parts of the body. Begin by inhaling into the center of the brain and exhaling slowly from the middle of the forehead. Repeat this sequence three times. Inhale into the center of your brain again, then exhale, allowing the color or pain to flow out through your eyes. Do this three times. Inhale deeply into your chest, then exhale the color or pain along your arms and out through the palms of your hands. Repeat this three times. Take a deep breath into your abdomen and exhale, visualizing the color or pain traveling down your legs and out through the soles of your feet. Do this three times. Breathe into your abdomen and then expel the color or pain through your navel. Repeat this three times. Assess if any color or pain remains in the body. If so, focus your breath into that area and exhale it out. Perform this action three times. Once all pain is reported as cleared, reassess the emotional charge associated with the original event. Recall the event—does it still evoke feelings of guilt, shame, or anxiety? If these feelings persist, it indicates that more emotional processing is necessary. A response of sadness, grief, or regret suggests that the pain has been successfully released. If feelings of sadness, grief, or regret continue to cause discomfort, repeat the pain release technique targeting these specific emotions.