I had EMDR mixed with hypnosis from my first therapist. It started out the first few sessions like it was helping because my nightmares lessened, then it started getting worse and worse till I started having nightmares about other things. My GP ended up sending me to a different therapist who is now doing TFT therapy on me. I have mixed feelings about TFT. I totally trust my GP so she must know what she is doing sending me to this new therapist. But logically speaking I fail to see how thumping me on the head, chest and ankles is going to cure me of anything especially PTSD.
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Does Anyone Have Experience Of EMDR?
- Post starter cherryblossom
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Dear Tsalagi
Saw that you're starting a new TFT therapy and have mixed feelings about it, I quote "But logically speaking I fail to see how thumping me on the head, chest and ankles is going to cure me of anything especially PTSD."
It all depends on the mallet they use!
A big enough mallet will take your mind off most anything!
Sorry, that's been tickling my funnybone for a week.
Jesta
Saw that you're starting a new TFT therapy and have mixed feelings about it, I quote "But logically speaking I fail to see how thumping me on the head, chest and ankles is going to cure me of anything especially PTSD."
It all depends on the mallet they use!
A big enough mallet will take your mind off most anything!
Sorry, that's been tickling my funnybone for a week.
Jesta
Just want to activate this thread again as it's been sitting here for two months now with my little joke stuck as the last post and I've been worried some people might be put off by it.
I also see new people coming on the forum looking for information on EMDR.
I have had EMDR and it was helpful to me.
I believe you need an open mind to just go along and see what comes up during the treatment. There is no right or wrong response I was told.
My treatment was backed up with CBT (Cognetive Behavioural Therapy) at times when I had questions about what was happening.
The tapping part I didn't like, because I didn't want close contact if there was any risk of my anger being brought out during a session.
About halfway though the sessions, we had a talk/reapraisal as my therapist was encouraging me to get up and shout or hit the arms of the chair if I wanted. This made me very sad as it showed a disbelief of what I had been telling her and made me feel she was steering me to a conclusion she expected. But she was good and it was like we had a fresh start from that point.
For me the breakthrough came by concentrating on something in my past which made my present difficult.
I also see new people coming on the forum looking for information on EMDR.
I have had EMDR and it was helpful to me.
I believe you need an open mind to just go along and see what comes up during the treatment. There is no right or wrong response I was told.
My treatment was backed up with CBT (Cognetive Behavioural Therapy) at times when I had questions about what was happening.
The tapping part I didn't like, because I didn't want close contact if there was any risk of my anger being brought out during a session.
About halfway though the sessions, we had a talk/reapraisal as my therapist was encouraging me to get up and shout or hit the arms of the chair if I wanted. This made me very sad as it showed a disbelief of what I had been telling her and made me feel she was steering me to a conclusion she expected. But she was good and it was like we had a fresh start from that point.
For me the breakthrough came by concentrating on something in my past which made my present difficult.
strawberryjulius
New Here
Long reply.. sorry!
I've had two and a half EMDR sessions. I say half because the first one was just going over the process (we had talked about it for a couple months before), talking about my safe place, "installing" the safe place, seeing what was more comfortable (tapping, moving fingers) etc. We spent more time talking and getting comfortable with the whole process. I tried left to right horizontally, up down, tapping with my eyes closed...nothing was really working to be honest. It takes a while for my brain to relax. I was having a really hard time visualizing my safe place.
Anyways, my two sessions so far of the EMDR we've been using memories from elementary school. The abuse was over by now, but I had moved to a new town where I didn't fit in or at least I felt I didn't. I was ostracized and bullied, so I know it wasn't all in my head.
Both times we have done these sessions I have a left a bit dazed. I go to work and a half hour or so later I am angry. The anger builds throughout the day that by the time I leave I have to go to the gym to get some of the anger out. If I go straight home I lock myself in my room. I'm snappy at my boyfriend and my roommate and I'm pessimistic. I can say there are a lot of things I am angry about, but I am not an angry person. So many people in my life correlate me with "rainbows and unicorns" (their words, not mine). Some have joked that they can't imagine me angry. I'm a fairly optimistic person also. I'm a half full kind of girl...always thinking things will get better, there's a reason, yadda yadda. But the last week I've been a walking/talking raincloud. I'm moody, irritated...I just don't feel myself.
Also, during each session my back would start to hurt. We would do some breathing exercises to try and open it up and picture healing colors. It didn't really work. After yoga one night it went away. My next session (same memory) it came back and lasted ALL day.. I went to bed in terrible back pain...and I don't have a bad back (I dont think). The interesting thing is, I sprained my back in 4th grade when I slipped on ice while running. I was in a wheelchair for a month and had to use a cane for two months (this didn't help my social status one bit). My therapist and I both think that the back pain is correlated with the 4 grade memories. This makes me a little nervous...what happens when we start getting to the other things? possibly the more painful things?
We've barely hit the tip of the iceberg and I'm already angry and not really acting like myself. I feel like I've regressed...I USED to feel hopeless...it took so much time and effort to put things in a more positive perspective and I don't want to lose that ever again.
I've had two and a half EMDR sessions. I say half because the first one was just going over the process (we had talked about it for a couple months before), talking about my safe place, "installing" the safe place, seeing what was more comfortable (tapping, moving fingers) etc. We spent more time talking and getting comfortable with the whole process. I tried left to right horizontally, up down, tapping with my eyes closed...nothing was really working to be honest. It takes a while for my brain to relax. I was having a really hard time visualizing my safe place.
Anyways, my two sessions so far of the EMDR we've been using memories from elementary school. The abuse was over by now, but I had moved to a new town where I didn't fit in or at least I felt I didn't. I was ostracized and bullied, so I know it wasn't all in my head.
Both times we have done these sessions I have a left a bit dazed. I go to work and a half hour or so later I am angry. The anger builds throughout the day that by the time I leave I have to go to the gym to get some of the anger out. If I go straight home I lock myself in my room. I'm snappy at my boyfriend and my roommate and I'm pessimistic. I can say there are a lot of things I am angry about, but I am not an angry person. So many people in my life correlate me with "rainbows and unicorns" (their words, not mine). Some have joked that they can't imagine me angry. I'm a fairly optimistic person also. I'm a half full kind of girl...always thinking things will get better, there's a reason, yadda yadda. But the last week I've been a walking/talking raincloud. I'm moody, irritated...I just don't feel myself.
Also, during each session my back would start to hurt. We would do some breathing exercises to try and open it up and picture healing colors. It didn't really work. After yoga one night it went away. My next session (same memory) it came back and lasted ALL day.. I went to bed in terrible back pain...and I don't have a bad back (I dont think). The interesting thing is, I sprained my back in 4th grade when I slipped on ice while running. I was in a wheelchair for a month and had to use a cane for two months (this didn't help my social status one bit). My therapist and I both think that the back pain is correlated with the 4 grade memories. This makes me a little nervous...what happens when we start getting to the other things? possibly the more painful things?
We've barely hit the tip of the iceberg and I'm already angry and not really acting like myself. I feel like I've regressed...I USED to feel hopeless...it took so much time and effort to put things in a more positive perspective and I don't want to lose that ever again.
S
SpringRain
EMDR - Does It Work
Sorry, I keep asking questions. Has anyone had success with EMDR - does it work? I've had one session and I'm questioning whether it's for me or not. Sorry to always be asking questions! SR
Sorry, I keep asking questions. Has anyone had success with EMDR - does it work? I've had one session and I'm questioning whether it's for me or not. Sorry to always be asking questions! SR
Mina
Diamond Member
Hi SpringRain - I've merged your EMDR thread with an existing EMDR thread which should provide input on your question. Asking questions here is not only okay, but encouraged :thumbs-up You might first want to do a search, though, to see if someone else has already asked your question.
For example, click
>> Search (at the top of the page)
>> Advanced Search
>> Keyword: EMDR
>> "Search Titles Only" from the pulldown menu
>> Search Now (at the bottom)
This will bring up a number of threads about EMDR...hopefully you will find them helpful!
By the way, if you do want to discuss an old thread or topic you find, feel free to respond to it (also known as "bumping" a thread). Bringing up old threads is fine here!
For example, click
>> Search (at the top of the page)
>> Advanced Search
>> Keyword: EMDR
>> "Search Titles Only" from the pulldown menu
>> Search Now (at the bottom)
This will bring up a number of threads about EMDR...hopefully you will find them helpful!
By the way, if you do want to discuss an old thread or topic you find, feel free to respond to it (also known as "bumping" a thread). Bringing up old threads is fine here!
S
SpringRain
Thanks, Mina, I appreciate this. This thread has given me a lot to think about. For some reason (probably because I'm new to this forum and did it wrong!) I didn't find this info on my original search so I really appreciate you moving my post to here. I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of posting here, but please excuse my mistakes as I learn the ropes!
As far as the EMDR goes, some of the most useful things I've learned is that other people have trouble connecting as well. From what I had heard about it I thought I might be doing something wrong, or not a suitable candidate. I was going to cancel my appointment for my second session on Monday, but have now decided to keep the appointment and bring up some of my concerns as well as some questions that I've been able to formulate from here.
As far as my EMDR experience goes, to answer to this thread - I've only had one session. It was really uncomfortable to be trying to think about these things in front of someone, I found it really hard to connect and found my mind wanting to go elsewhere and the hardest work was trying to connect. I didn't have huge emotional reactions, but then I'm not real connected with my emotions so that's not a huge surprise. I did feel like a truck had run over me afterwards and felt pretty wiped out, and had a vague feeling of something being really wrong for quite some time. I'm not sure how to explain that. It was sort of like feeling rough without connecting to my trauma - if that makes any sense at all! It was a strange experience and like i say I wasn't sure I'd try again. But having read this post I think I have a better idea of what to ask, and a better idea of what I need to be sharing about my EMDR experience with my therapist. I'm also encouraged by some people's experiences. Don't know that this helped the original question at all, but this is my limited experience with it. SR
As far as the EMDR goes, some of the most useful things I've learned is that other people have trouble connecting as well. From what I had heard about it I thought I might be doing something wrong, or not a suitable candidate. I was going to cancel my appointment for my second session on Monday, but have now decided to keep the appointment and bring up some of my concerns as well as some questions that I've been able to formulate from here.
As far as my EMDR experience goes, to answer to this thread - I've only had one session. It was really uncomfortable to be trying to think about these things in front of someone, I found it really hard to connect and found my mind wanting to go elsewhere and the hardest work was trying to connect. I didn't have huge emotional reactions, but then I'm not real connected with my emotions so that's not a huge surprise. I did feel like a truck had run over me afterwards and felt pretty wiped out, and had a vague feeling of something being really wrong for quite some time. I'm not sure how to explain that. It was sort of like feeling rough without connecting to my trauma - if that makes any sense at all! It was a strange experience and like i say I wasn't sure I'd try again. But having read this post I think I have a better idea of what to ask, and a better idea of what I need to be sharing about my EMDR experience with my therapist. I'm also encouraged by some people's experiences. Don't know that this helped the original question at all, but this is my limited experience with it. SR
I finally did a session of EMDR on Wednesday. I left the office feeling like a mostly normal person for a radical freaking change. The week before was a bit of bitch in that we spent the whole session dumping memories...left the office a wreck. So this last session after the EMDR I was able to review the memory with out having any visceral attachments to it. Improvement! Yahoo. And...I was not expecting to spook less but I am not jumping as much. Now just about a hundred or so more traumas to work through...ha ha..not that I am gonna work each one.
My therapist did some positive patterning after which was kinda kewl...then taught me some bubble boundary visualization trick to keep out creepie people ;-)
My therapist did some positive patterning after which was kinda kewl...then taught me some bubble boundary visualization trick to keep out creepie people ;-)
amethist
VIP Member
My husband is going to have his first session on Tuesday.
Even though i have tried my best to explain to him how it works he does not seem to be able to grasp what might or might not happen.
I will just have to make sure i am there to reasure him on the day.
Amethist
Even though i have tried my best to explain to him how it works he does not seem to be able to grasp what might or might not happen.
I will just have to make sure i am there to reasure him on the day.
Amethist
Just wondering how it's going with the EMDR therapy for all of you out there taking it.
It was initially recommended to me by one doctor but the doc I'm seeing now says I'm not ready for it. I still can't get my story out without hyperventilating so I guess he has a point.
Anyway, would love to hear back from some of you.
Cate
It was initially recommended to me by one doctor but the doc I'm seeing now says I'm not ready for it. I still can't get my story out without hyperventilating so I guess he has a point.
Anyway, would love to hear back from some of you.
Cate
Cate,
My EMDR doc went out of town (dirty rat ha ha kidding) for some conference again...so I have an appointment next week. After letting things sink in...I am ready to go as often as he has appointments. I am lucky that my insurance is such that I could be crazy as a loon and go to the shrink everyday. So I am going to try to go a couple times a week. I feel much different; like something in my brain clicked. While I am struggling much with NOT being numb, finding places for feelings can be an overwhelming burden. This is not a direct result of the EMDR but, one I know I will need to master in order to get out of the pattern of escaping from the fear of future traumas.
So my point here Cate is this...why don't you try out a session for some other memory that is less traumatic but not the the one that makes you hyperventilate or terribly upset. Say... I have a childhood memory of being called Jabba the Hut...ya know the fat wormy dude from Star Wars...ewww makes my chest kinda palpitate... I wouldn't choose that one for myself as one to use for EMDR cause I have a list the length of thirty arms to work out that are way more pertinant...but I suppose you get my point? :-)
And on another note...I get why this works...the waking eye movement repeats what we would be doing during REM if we were getting REM sleep. So during REM sleep is where you pattern or learn your days experiences...effectively putting them to bed, learning, and storing them. The whole process of the flashbacks and lack of sleep/REM is linked here. Most of us are probably waking during REM with nightmares or waking or having poor REM, hence we are not effectively putting to rest these memories. I think there is something in the hypervigilance also, the eye movements involved in that waking state, attempts at daytime REM, but it is overridden by adrenaline. But...alas I lack the proper understanding to completely to convey this in writing or provide citations. Anyway....
I'll report back after my next laser light show with the EMDR doc (my doc uses a this funny light thing.) ;-)
In the meantime....Tetris, Nervous Brickdown and Pong seem to help a little. LOL.
~R
My EMDR doc went out of town (dirty rat ha ha kidding) for some conference again...so I have an appointment next week. After letting things sink in...I am ready to go as often as he has appointments. I am lucky that my insurance is such that I could be crazy as a loon and go to the shrink everyday. So I am going to try to go a couple times a week. I feel much different; like something in my brain clicked. While I am struggling much with NOT being numb, finding places for feelings can be an overwhelming burden. This is not a direct result of the EMDR but, one I know I will need to master in order to get out of the pattern of escaping from the fear of future traumas.
So my point here Cate is this...why don't you try out a session for some other memory that is less traumatic but not the the one that makes you hyperventilate or terribly upset. Say... I have a childhood memory of being called Jabba the Hut...ya know the fat wormy dude from Star Wars...ewww makes my chest kinda palpitate... I wouldn't choose that one for myself as one to use for EMDR cause I have a list the length of thirty arms to work out that are way more pertinant...but I suppose you get my point? :-)
And on another note...I get why this works...the waking eye movement repeats what we would be doing during REM if we were getting REM sleep. So during REM sleep is where you pattern or learn your days experiences...effectively putting them to bed, learning, and storing them. The whole process of the flashbacks and lack of sleep/REM is linked here. Most of us are probably waking during REM with nightmares or waking or having poor REM, hence we are not effectively putting to rest these memories. I think there is something in the hypervigilance also, the eye movements involved in that waking state, attempts at daytime REM, but it is overridden by adrenaline. But...alas I lack the proper understanding to completely to convey this in writing or provide citations. Anyway....
I'll report back after my next laser light show with the EMDR doc (my doc uses a this funny light thing.) ;-)
In the meantime....Tetris, Nervous Brickdown and Pong seem to help a little. LOL.
~R
Update:
EMDR session number 2.
Today I worked on a childhood issue that is personal that I don't really care to share, but I will say these things about what I worked on with the EMDR.
As of now I have little if any visual recall of the event, it was a very vague early childhood memory. I can close my eyes and think about the event but there is no visual record anymore. The visceral feelings associated with the event are gone. When my Doc asked me to drag up what I was feeling about it after... I got nothing. This is near miraculous. Now, how this carries into my day to day will remain to be seen. But...as my last session as affected lots of day to day that had little to do with the actual memory I have trust that taking away the trauma/visual of the event and finding the underlying feelings that grew out of the event the session will have long term results.
So part of the process is not easy...there are tears and it drags up stuff you didn't know was there. But...your Doc/therapist should be expecting these underlying issues...as the event is the root cause of a myriad of other problems. So recognizing these sources and the repatterning with light or movements and positive thoughts allows the visual record to become less visceral and threatening.
I have two sessions scheduled for next week. My insurance is now such that I am allowed 2 visits a week. So I am dropping the psychoanalyst for now and doing EMDR. If I did not have any insurance...I would beg borrow or mortgage whatever I could to go to a therapist.
I tried the exposure...the talk, the drugs, the psychoanalysts. Bah!
Find an EMDR person who knows the work through the international site...one who has lots of experience. I feel blessed to find someone who has been doing this about as long as it has been around.
Anyways....I will report back next week or after I get some time in with the shit I dragged up today.
~R
EMDR session number 2.
Today I worked on a childhood issue that is personal that I don't really care to share, but I will say these things about what I worked on with the EMDR.
As of now I have little if any visual recall of the event, it was a very vague early childhood memory. I can close my eyes and think about the event but there is no visual record anymore. The visceral feelings associated with the event are gone. When my Doc asked me to drag up what I was feeling about it after... I got nothing. This is near miraculous. Now, how this carries into my day to day will remain to be seen. But...as my last session as affected lots of day to day that had little to do with the actual memory I have trust that taking away the trauma/visual of the event and finding the underlying feelings that grew out of the event the session will have long term results.
So part of the process is not easy...there are tears and it drags up stuff you didn't know was there. But...your Doc/therapist should be expecting these underlying issues...as the event is the root cause of a myriad of other problems. So recognizing these sources and the repatterning with light or movements and positive thoughts allows the visual record to become less visceral and threatening.
I have two sessions scheduled for next week. My insurance is now such that I am allowed 2 visits a week. So I am dropping the psychoanalyst for now and doing EMDR. If I did not have any insurance...I would beg borrow or mortgage whatever I could to go to a therapist.
I tried the exposure...the talk, the drugs, the psychoanalysts. Bah!
Find an EMDR person who knows the work through the international site...one who has lots of experience. I feel blessed to find someone who has been doing this about as long as it has been around.
Anyways....I will report back next week or after I get some time in with the shit I dragged up today.
~R
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