When Trauma Deeply Impacts Your Functioning — and How EMDR Can Help

For some people, trauma doesn’t just live in the background — it shows up every single day, making life and relationships feel overwhelming. If you’re struggling to function at work, at home, or within yourself, you’re not alone.

Signs Trauma Is Affecting Your Daily Life

You may notice patterns like:

• Struggling to get out of bed in the morning.

• Dreading work, lacking motivation, or missing deadlines.

• Feeling triggered or uneasy around colleagues or supervisors.

• Wishing every day didn’t feel so hard.

• Feeling unpredictable in your marriage or close relationships.

• Reacting with big emotions — anger, irritability, or intensity that feels “too much.”

• Constantly worrying about the future or ruminating on the past.

• Struggling to follow through on plans, goals, or intentions.

These struggles are exhausting — and they often come with shame and guilt. Thoughts like “Why can’t I do better?” “Why is this so hard?” or “No one understands me” may feel familiar.

You Are Not Alone

Even though these struggles are common, they can feel incredibly isolating. Anxiety and depression spirals make it hard to get through the day, leaving you feeling stuck and misunderstood.

It’s important to remember: you’ve already survived so much. The tools and coping strategies you’ve used up until now have gotten you here. And that means you already carry resilience within you.

How EMDR Therapy Helps

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a research-backed therapy that helps your brain heal from trauma. Instead of only managing symptoms, EMDR reprocesses painful memories so they no longer overwhelm you in the present.

For people whose functioning feels deeply impacted, EMDR can bring:

• Relief from the heaviness of daily anxiety or depression.

• Fewer triggers at work and in relationships.

• More stability in how you respond to stress.

• A sense of calm, stillness, and freedom that may feel completely new.

Moving From Surviving to Living

Despite how hard life has felt, you’ve made it this far. That strength matters. Now, with the right support, you can move beyond survival.

EMDR can help you heal what’s holding you back, so you can step into a life of greater freedom, peace, and even joy.