You're Not Broken: How Your Brain's Natural Healing System Actually Works

If you're considering EMDR therapy or have recently started, you may have heard your therapist mention "Adaptive Information Processing" or "AIP." Understanding this concept can help you better understand how EMDR therapy works and why it's so effective for healing from trauma and distressing life experiences.

What Is Adaptive Information Processing?

According to EMDRIA (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association) and EMDRIA Canada, Adaptive Information Processing is the foundational model behind EMDR therapy. It's based on a simple but powerful idea: your brain has a natural ability to heal itself, much like your body heals a physical wound.

Think about when you cut your finger. You don't have to tell your body to heal consciously - it automatically sends the right cells to close the wound and repair the damage. Your brain works the same way with emotional and psychological experiences. Under the right conditions, it naturally processes experiences in a healthy, adaptive manner.

How Does Your Brain Normally Process Experiences?

Every day, your brain processes countless pieces of information - sights, sounds, feelings, thoughts, and sensations. It does this by connecting new experiences to existing memory networks in your brain. These networks hold related thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and images, all linked together.

For example, as a child, you may have been told that stoves can be hot. Perhaps you even touched a hot burner once. That experience was properly processed and stored, and now whenever you see a stove with burners on, you automatically know to avoid touching it. This is your brain's adaptive information-processing system working correctly.

When Processing Gets "Stuck"

Sometimes, particularly during distressing or traumatic events, this natural processing system gets overwhelmed. As EMDRIA explains, when the brain faces an alarming experience, several things can happen:

• Changes occur in your nervous system that disturb its natural balance

• The experience isn't fully processed due to a disruption in normal information processing

• The memory gets stored in a way that doesn't connect to the healthy information networks that could help you heal - it remains active and stuck

  
  

When this happens, the memory becomes "frozen in time" with all the original emotions, physical sensations, and distorted thoughts attached to it. It's stored in what's called implicit memory - you can access it, but you're not consciously aware that you're doing so.

The Impact of Unprocessed Memories

According to the AIP model, these dysfunctionally stored memories are at the root of many current problems people experience, such as:

• Anxiety and panic attacks

• Depression

• Relationship difficulties

• Chronic pain

• Phobias

• Low self-esteem

  
  

As a result, "the past is present" - these old, unprocessed experiences become like "glasses" through which we view current situations. Even if you don't consciously think about the original disturbing event anymore, it can still affect how you feel, think, and behave today.

A Real-Life Example

Imagine you receive negative feedback from your boss in front of your coworkers. You feel humiliated. (EMDRIA, 2024)

With Adaptive Processing: You talk about the event with trusted people, perhaps dream about it, and think through different scenarios. Through this natural process, you gain self-awareness and understanding. You realize you can either learn from the feedback and move on, or have a private conversation with your boss about giving feedback differently in the future. Either way, you've learned and grown from the experience.

When Processing Gets Stuck: If you had earlier experiences where you were criticized in front of others (perhaps teachers or parents talked about your grades publicly), you might be more sensitive to public criticism. The current situation triggers those old, unprocessed memories. You might think "I'm stupid" or "I'm not good enough," feel scared or hopeless, experience physical symptoms like stomachaches, and develop unhealthy coping behaviours. The memory gets linked in a maladaptive way and continues to cause distress.

How EMDR Helps Resume Natural Processing

If, in reading this so far, you recognize patterns or triggers connected to the past but manifesting in the present, remember, you are not broken. As EMDRIA (2024) states, "people are not biologically broken. They are stuck because of how disturbing life experiences are linked to their nervous system."

EMDR therapy works by removing the "blockages," so your brain's natural healing process can continue. Your therapist creates the right environment and uses specific techniques, including bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds), to help your brain:

1. Access the stored disturbing information

2. Connect it with adaptive memory networks that contain positive, helpful information

3. Process and transform the memory so it's stored with appropriate emotions and adaptive beliefs

4. Shift the memory from implicit memory (unconscious) to explicit memory (conscious and integrated)

   
   

The result? You remember what happened, but you no longer experience the overwhelming emotions, physical sensations, or negative beliefs when you think about it. The memory loses its power over you.

What to Expect During Processing

EMDR is primarily a client-centred approach. Your brain knows what it needs to heal - your therapist is simply creating the conditions and guiding the process. If your therapist suggests something during a session that doesn't fit for you, your brain will naturally reject it.

Some clients worry about losing positive memories. For example, when processing the loss of a loved one, many people fear they'll forget the good times. Adaptive information processing accesses and strengthens positive memories while healing the trauma of loss. The painful event doesn't disappear, but it no longer defines your entire relationship with that person.

The Bottom Line

Your brain wants to heal - it's designed to process experiences in healthy ways. Sometimes it just needs a little help getting "unstuck."

As EMDRIA describes it, once disturbing memories are correctly processed and reconnected with adaptive information, you can begin to see your present situation more clearly and positively. You're no longer viewing today through the distorted lens of yesterday's unprocessed pain.

If you have questions about how adaptive information processing relates to your specific situation, reach out to me here, and I'd be happy to discuss this with you!.

For more information about EMDR therapy and the Adaptive Information Processing model, visit EMDRIA.org or EMDRCanada.ca.

Amy

References:

• EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). (2024). Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model. Retrieved from https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/aip-model/

• Shapiro, F. (2007). EMDR, Adaptive Information Processing, and Case Conceptualization. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 1(2): 68-87.

• EMDR Canada training and consultation resources on adaptive information processing principles