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Comment by mptest | Hacker News Reader

Walking your blues away by thom hartman is a beautiful book that applies emdr + walking to process trauma.

In the book, he notes the prevailing theory that our daily happenings remain on a sort of temporary scratchpad. As we sleep we sort, discard, process as necessary. Trauma however, is too big, too hard to process naturally. So, it stays on that daily scratch pad. Always with you. Every day, the same as if it were happening today. No relief, no dissipation of the emotional charge. Emdr therapy while walking to facilitate both hemispheres of your brain working together, is his prescription.

The book/methodology I can honestly say saved my life and gave me a life, a future. A way to cope with things that were driving me crazy. Everyone I've given a copy to has deeply thanked me later. Please, if you have anything weighing on you, give the book a look. It's only like 70 pages.

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Why We Sleep by Matt Walker goes into a similar topic. Paraphrased in hacker language by me, the gist is that the brain’s “cache” holds memories alongside the emotions. Whereas the “hard disk” part of the brain doesn’t hold on to emotions. The process of moving stuff from “cache” to “hard disk” happens during the dreaming/REM phase. Which is inhibited if you’re

1. Having nightmares that wake you up 2. Using sleeping pills 3. Using Alcohol to sleep

I’ve found that dreaming about the trauma/loss can soften the emotions over time

Exactly right, the idea is basically to force the processing that happens during that rem phase.

That's done, Hartman theorizes, and I forgot the level of basis in empirics he has, by doing anything that facilitates both sides of your brain working together. That's easiest done by walking, since you really are forcing both sides to communicate to facilitate the motion. Then thinking and focusing on the trauma/loss basically mimics the processing done during that rem processing.

Thanks for the recommendation. I find myself ruminating on things that are years separated from me, on a daily basis, so maybe this will be helpful.

Best of luck friend. As mentioned in my other reply, it works best with some therapy to help process while you're focusing on the issue, and it works best on more acute trauma, but I've found it helps at least a good bit with everything. After all how many famous thinkers espoused the value of walking to help them think?

It really helped me think about the issues as healthily as they could be, and it severely diminished the constant presence of them in my thoughts. I hope it helps you.

Can you briefly outline the method. I actually do this sometimes but I'm not sure how systematic or "correct" it is.

1. Walk 2. Think of traumatic or challneging thing 3. Rapidly dart eyes left to right and rinse/repeat for a while 4. Profit?

I can't tell anything about 1. and 3., but depending on how you do 2. it might be a form of mental exposure from CBT.

Assuming you reach the threshold level (i.e. you're outside your comfort zone), and stay there, a habituation happens, because your brain adjusts to the situation.

In case of fear, you basically think about the proverbial spider so long, that the brain realizes "hmm, it's been 30 minutes, so maybe it won't annihilate me"? (Again, you need to actually feel the fear to the point of being uncomfortable.)

(Of course I don't know your specific case, and also I'm not a professional.)

Take out three and you've pretty much got the idea.

1. Any movement that utilizes both halves of your brain/body. Walking is just easiest and the one he chooses. In therapy I've had something as simple as alternatively tapping my hands on my thighs. The point is to be using both sides of your brain. I've found walking works best personally.

2. Think of traumatic thing/event. Really focus on it at the front of your mind. The idea is that while using both sides of your brain walking, and keeping the idea at the forefront of your mind can sort of manually force the processing of the trauma. I have to note it works best (in my experience) with more acute trauma. Complex trauma is harder to keep in the same mental box while you're processing.

3. Unneeded. The walking is what facilitates the idea behind the eye movement. Utilizing both sides of your brain basically.

4. Yeah, the idea is to force the processing. Eventually the sort of "charge" with the memory/event dissipates as you begin to better be able to think about and handle the event.

4b I should note being in therapy helps too, as in general how best to think about the trauma can be difficult. For me though, I'd had plenty of therapy and had the tools, the method helped me actually do the "work" of the processing. YMMV.

So what should I do with my gaze, should I zone out, would that be helpful

Whatever helps you focus on the thoughts. Personally, I've found walking in nature is the best. There's plenty of empirics about being in and around nature and even if you're focusing on your surroundings it won't harm your focus (in my case at least, it feels like it helps). But honestly I haven't made any concerted effort to force behavior gaze wise either way. YMMV

I've done that! When I've had a setback. When my friend died. I use my bicycle but maybe the same deal.

One hundred percent the same deal. The idea is anything that utilizes both sides of your body utilizes both sides of your brain too.

Walking is just the easiest and something almost everyone can do. In therapy I've had it be something as simple as tapping each thigh with my hands alternatively.

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