🎙️ Episode 47: Why EMDR Therapy Works – Trauma, Anger, and the Brain Explained: EMDR Lesson #2

Why do traumatic experiences keep showing up years later—through anxiety, anger, addiction, or relationship conflict—even when you know you’re safe now?

In this episode, Mark Odland breaks down why EMDR therapy works by walking through two powerful, fictionalized case examples that reflect what many people experience in real life:
• A combat veteran struggling with rage, numbness, and addiction
• A married couple caught in painful, repetitive arguments that are never really about the dishes
Using clear language, vivid metaphors, and neuroscience-informed explanations, Mark explains how trauma becomes “frozen” in the brain—and why insight, logic, or willpower alone often aren’t enough to heal it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why traumatic memories feel like they’re happening again instead of staying in the past
How anger, numbness, and addiction function as survival strategies
What the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model says about trauma
Why the truth often gets stuck in the head but never reaches the heart
How EMDR therapy helps the brain reprocess trauma at its root
Why many couples fight about surface issues while deeper wounds drive the conflict
The difference between managing symptoms and actually healing old emotional injuries

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👉 https://escapethecagenow.com/books/

📞 Interested in EMDR therapy or coaching?
Book a free consultation with Mark or his team:
👉 https://escapethecagenow.com/call/

Click here to watch a video of this episode.’
Click here to view the episode transcript.’
💬 Join the conversation
Which example resonated more with you—the veteran, the couple, or both? Comment below.
About the Lion Counseling Podcast

The Lion Counseling Podcast is for men who want clarity, strength, and freedom—from anxiety, trauma, burnout, anger, and the invisible pressures of life. Hosted by Mark Odland, LMFT and EMDR therapist, the show blends psychology, neuroscience, faith, and real-world wisdom to help men heal deeply and live fully.
New episodes drop every Tuesday.