Leah Stewart, who survived a brutal shark attack on Sydney's Coogee Beach in June, has revealed how a revolutionary therapy has helped her overcome post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Stewart, 35, shared an emotional video detailing her experience with eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), a treatment that utilizes bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. The mother was swimming at Coogee Beach when she was mauled by a suspected great white shark. She spent two weeks in a coma and underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one arm below the elbow and a failed skin graft on her leg.

Following the attack, Stewart struggled with vivid nightmares and a constant fear response. "If you had told me that by November I would be handling it mentally, I would not have believed you," she stated. "Now, I can think back on it and it just feels like something that's happened. I can recall it but my body doesn't feel it like I felt when I was in the water."

EMDR requires patients to recall traumatic memories while performing specific eye movements, such as tracking a therapist's hand. This process helps the brain re-categorize the event from a state of immediate danger to a distant memory. While EMDR has been recognized as a first-choice treatment for PTSD, it gained wider public awareness after Prince Harry demonstrated the therapy in the docuseries 'The Me You Can't See'.

The EMDR Association of Australia reported that the therapy's spread across the country was faster than anywhere else globally. In May 2020, EMDR was officially added to Medicare's list of approved Focused Psychological Strategies. Stewart expressed her relief at finding this treatment effective and encouraged other Australians dealing with PTSD to consider it. "When I used to recall the event, I would have an eight-out-of-ten fear response," she said. "I would feel like I was back in the water. Constantly, the shark attack was replaying in my head on a loop, 24 hours a day, for months on end."

Stewart's experience highlights the potential of EMDR for trauma survivors, a therapy that has also been spoken about by other public figures like Miley Cyrus and Sandra Bullock.