Does Bilateral Stimulation Work for Anxiety?

With a range of therapies available for mental health disorders, it can be challenging to know which technique will be most beneficial for you. Take anxiety disorders, which 19.1% of adults and 7% of children live with in the United States, according to the National Association of Mental Illness.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a common choice for people with anxiety, but another option is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, particularly the use of bilateral stimulation.

What Is Bilateral Stimulation?

According to Dr. Dana Wang, a psychiatrist and the co-founder and CEO of RIVIA Mind, bilateral stimulation is all about rhythmic patterns, such as walking, playing the drums, or even following a ball as it moves back and forth in a tennis or ping pong match.

This seemingly simplistic technique can be tremendously impactful in uncovering and healing from your experience. “From the perspective of the therapist, it’s almost as if the client can get to the other side of a trauma they keep reliving or a ‘stuckness,’” says Ariana Cardozo, LCSW, a senior clinician certified in EMDR at Mountainside Treatment Center.

How Is Bilateral Stimulation Performed?

The nervous system-calming technique “involves alternating stimulation of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This is often done through guided eye movements, auditory tones, or tactile sensations,” says Nilou Esmaeilpour, a registered clinical counselor at Lotus Therapy. 

According to Esmaeilpour and Cardozo, bilateral stimulation can include:

• Eye movement: You follow a therapist’s finger or an object (such as a light) with your eyes as it moves back and forth in your field of vision.
• Physical sensation: You tap or create a vibration with a buzzer on your body, alternating sides of your body.
• Auditory tones: You hear different sounds, often through headphones, alternating between your ears.

Your therapist will control or instruct you on the speed and frequency of each activity. “The idea behind this stimulation is to mimic the natural process of the brain during the REM sleep phase, where traumatic memories might be processed,” says Esmaeilpour. “By alternating stimulation, therapists hope to help the brain reprocess traumatic or anxiety-provoking memories in a controlled and safe environment.”

EMDR and its specific techniques have shown success in treating anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, explains Esmaeilpour.

Like any form of treatment, results vary from person to person. “I have worked with clients who have felt the results are almost miraculous and clients who find it awkward and don’t want to engage in this modality at all,” says Cardozo.

In cases where it’s found to be effective, the benefits are vast. According to Cardozo, bilateral stimulation can:

• reduce instances of emotional and physiological disturbances
• improve relaxation and executive function
• highlight positive aspects of the recovery experience
• increase awareness of social support systems
• alleviate symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, stress, and trauma
• improve resilience and coping mechanisms for trauma
• Create distance between you and your trauma

Risks of Bilateral Stimulation

Bilateral stimulation is not the right fit for everyone and may produce the opposite of its intended effect. Without the proper guidance, you may feel exposed to the difficult event without benefiting from the experience.

“Worse, it can retraumatize someone by allowing them to relive it when they aren’t ready,” says Wang. “People who have a tendency to dissociate or numb themselves with subtances could also have issues as it becomes harder to control their responses. In general, the person has to have specific skills to maintain safety and feel grounded to go through this type of treatment.” 

Is Bilateral Stimulation Right for You?

So, when should you try bilateral stimulation for anxiety or other mental health symptoms? It should always be after the experience causing these feelings has ended.

“When they feel ready to process trauma, when they are stuck in specific emotions or behavioral patterns, when they want to be free from, and when they are “ready to do the work,’” says Cardozo. “A candidate for EMDR therapy should not be currently enduring a trauma if they want to effectively process and release trauma.” 

Wang recommends exploring bilateral stimulation if other types of treatments or talk therapy alone isn’t proving to be beneficial. If you’re currently seeing a therapist, it can help to discuss this and other options with them. You might need to find a different mental health professional—one who is trained in EMDR—and it might require some time on a waitlist.