Brainspotting is a therapeutic intervention that David Grand, PhD discovered and developed. In his book, Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change, he writes, “Where you look affects how you feel. In other words, when you look left or right or up or down, you experience things differently. The difference may be slight or very noticeable.” He goes on to explain that when you think about something you feel strongly about, the differences in how you feel when you look left-right or up-down will be more pronounced.
During Brainspotting, eye positions are used to access body sensations and emotions that are essentially frozen in time. When the emotions associated with a traumatic experience are stuck in the body, the limbic system is stuck on high alert (Giotakos, 2020). This might feel like anxiety, panic, hyperactivity, exaggerated startle, restlessness, digestive problems, emotional flooding, chronic pain, sleeplessness, hostility, or rage (Levine, 2010). When body sensations are overwhelming or unsustainable, it is common to experience dissociation, a defense mechanism that can feel like emotional numbness, depersonalization (i.e., looking at yourself from the outside), or derealization (i.e., surroundings seem unreal).
While focusing on an eye position that taps into stuck emotion, it is normal for defenses to emerge. This might feel like a fight or flight response, or you might disconnect from your feelings entirely. There are techniques available to help move the process along when this happens. Dr. Peter Levine, developer of Somatic Experiencing, describes an effective strategy that he coined: pendulation, “the body’s natural restorative rhythm of contraction and expansion that tells us whatever is felt is time-limited…that suffering will not last forever.” In other words, pendulation is when we move our awareness back and forth between sensations of safety and sensations of discomfort. Brainspotting helps facilitate this process by locating points in the visual field that feel safer. When we do this, the brain recognizes that painful feelings are temporary and comfort is accessible. As our defenses start to relax, suppressed emotions can come up and out.
Brainspotting is a natural process that happens daily without even realizing it. Our eyes are constantly moving, and it is believed that they are scanning not only our external environments, but also the inner workings of our brains. Next time you are lost in thought, notice where you are looking. It is undeniable that where we look affects how we feel.
Citations:
Giotakos O. (2020). Neurobiology of emotional trauma. Psychiatrike = Psychiatriki, 31(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.22365/jpsych.2020.312.162
Grand, D. [PhD]. (2014). Brainspotting: The revolutionary new therapy for rapid and effective change. Sounds True.
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma. North Atlantic Books.
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