Does Anyone Have Experience Of EMDR?

[cat]

I'm sorry to disagree with you James but in no way do I think EMDR is voodoo. I do think we need to be careful when talking about our own experiences of therapy. Most people will find one type of therapy works better for them than others.

You say EMDR worked for you which is great but why do you end your post with saying its some kind of 'voodoo'? Please explain for those people who are about to begin EMDR therapy and have many questions on it.

Personally, I have been in therapy with a wonderful psychologist for 18mths & have been using EMDR together with talk therapies. Although I was really scared at the thought of it (I'd read too many negative experiences of it) EMDR has been very beneficial, helping me to access childhood memories that were locked away and yet causing me a great deal of anxiety. The memories have been very painful to acknowledge but in doing so have helped me to understand myself & my cptsd more. EMDR has helped to reduce my symptoms & helped me to be more open to discussions on how I feel about myself.

EMDR sessions need careful planning, you need to be stable enough to be able to ground yourself afterwards & strong enough to accept the memories that will be revealed, you also need to be prepared for your symptoms to be more troublesome for a few days afterwards while you reprocess those memories, then you will noticed that you worry about them less & can talk about them without so much distress.

With the guidance of a well trained & experienced therapist EMDR can be very beneficial & nothing to be scared of.

In the words of my psychologist ' stay strong & keep going, things will get better for you' I say this to myself daily.

 

[TLight]

My therapist had to retire and she did 'slight' emdr on some stuff I remembered, which isn't the main trauma since I don't have the memories. Since then, she's told me to do it at home whenever stuff about the trauma comes up for me.

This just totally doesn't do a thing for me. Moving my eyes back and forth like that while I'm forcing myself to 'go with' trauma thoughts is just NOT something I particularly want to do. I've tried to force myself to do the eye movements, but a part of my mind just thinks it's stupid BS.

Perhaps I'm just resisting.

I'm getting back into therapy in a couple of months. Perhaps I'll try it again. But doing it on my own just isn't happening.

 

[amethist]

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but it is related to your statement James, "EMDR is a little bit of Voodoo"

Just wondered if you actually knew anything about the true origins and history of Voodoo, and not how it is portrayed today James. Or was this just a connection you thought of.

Just curious thats all.

Amethist

 

[James B.]

It was just a figure of speach, Amethist. I appologize if it offended you. While the "machinery" or inner-workings of Exposure therapy are, for example, self evident, it appeard to me the exact way that EMDR works is "less evident". Just a figure of speach, I "over-liberalized" in my word usage, and I appologize. Sooner or later I knew I would trip, so sorry again if it rubbed you the wrong way.

 

[James B.]

Let me expand on this if I may. You are finding EMDR helpful, so did I. But I cannot reccomend it, because I am not a therapist. A qualifed therapist who understands an individual trauma suvivors history is the only one who can.

I have had way more bad experiences (and major setbacks) working with the mental health profession, than good. So, in order to try and be objective, I emphasized a cautionary note. Because, as I was advised by my T whom I did EMDR with, there are risks. And becaue I feel, having tried various types of "therapy" for over 20 years, crappy therapists are more common than good.
Maybe that is not a statistical fact. But I think its worth mentioning.

Poor word usage for sure, I will try and be more factual in the future. I hope this clarifies my post. Once again, my sincere appologies for seemly belittling something you (and I) have found of value. It was not my intention to come accross that way.

 

[James B.]

As a CPTSD sufferer, I feel one more post on this topic might be relevant. I had old trauma that I could not find emotion for, could not express grief over. And I feel the main reason I couldn't find the emotions, is that my anxiety disorder was raging. The reasons it was raging? A very stressful living situation, I was pushing my technical skill set way too hard, and I was eating a very unhealthy diet. None of these things were addressed by the T I did EMDR with. I walked out of there after ten months *still* not knowing I had an anxiety disorder, still no clue how to procede.

Then, I did EMDR and talk therapy with the guy who trained the T mentioned above for about 4 months or so. I left still cluless about my runaway anxiety. The T mentioned above (whom I worked with for 10 months) didn't understand why I couldn't meditate. I still can't meditate because my anxiety disorder is only now coming under a degree of control. I can only meditate when in motion: walking, swimming, rock climbing etc. Becaue my stress and hypervigilance is too pronounced.

I would hate to give someone the impression they can manage a life threatening disorder through EMDR alone. Or any therapy. For me it is requiring finding the right medication for my neurotype, changing my lifestyle, and working my diet plus getting a fitness level comensurate with the seemingly overwhelming task at hand. Stress management and being realistic about the challenges of living with CPTSD. For instance, I may *never* be able to properly manage the stress of an intimate relationship. And, I am ready to make that sacrifice if it will help me have a quality experience in other aspects of my life. That's just me.

Can EMDR be helpful, you bet. But for me it was only a componant, one piece of the highly individualized "Tao" of my healing process. And to present it in any other way is only a partial truth, meaning certain facts have been omitted, which is tantamount to a lie.

 

[amethist]

You did not offend me James, I would have been tried as a Witch" back in the days of old England, for a lot of what I do today.

Even Aromatherapy would have been classed as "Witch Craft", So you can imagine how a lot of todays treatments and therapy's for PTSD itself would have been viewed, even PTSD would have been a reason for casting us out into the wilds to survive as best we could, though it would have just been called insanity then.

Thank heaven for progress.

Amethist

 

[James B.]

Roger that Amethist - I can see why my word usage came under justifiable scrutiny.

Fact is, they probably would've burned my ass at the stake back then too - or maybe saved me for roasting alive on a spit. No joke. Salem. And then in Poland last two women burned as "witches" in 1793, or so I've read. Reading history probably added a layer or two to my tramua.

take care Amethist, and yes - thank heaven for progress.

best always,
James B.

 

[James B.]

Folks, I wanted to start off this week with a sincere apology. I did not realize Voodoo was an active religion. My ignorance is no excuse, it was not my intention to mis-use a word of this kind. Had I known, I never would have said what I did in writing, especially here where we are all coming together in a quest to heal and better our lives.

I understand Voodoo healing uses lots of very powerful herbs, is deeply connected to a strong belief in spiritual forces, and in a belief that spirituality,is an essential aspect of healing.

Again, please accept my sincere apology for misusing a word of faith, I had no intention of demeaning or degrading this important and - to many - relevant religion.

Thank you.

 

[Elphaba]

I tried EMDR for the first time last week. That was my second time seeing a therapist and part of me feels this is all happening too fast. I have agreed to have 3 more EMDR-sessions which gives a total of four, but I am very confused as to what 4 sessions actually can achieve? Can EMDR really make it all "go away"? I have a feeling no, and that feeling is reinforced after reading this thread. I feel worried not knowing where four sessions of tapping actually can take me to.

I am also very new to PTSD as a concept, only coming to terms with it after the first EMDR-session five days ago. Since then I have been bursting into tears for no reason (or no obvious reason) and a lot of new information has surfaced which I don't really know how to handle. It in a weird way it helped me come to terms with the fact that I do have PTSD, I think, as it brought so much back, but it is exhausting sitting here dealing with it afterwards.

So, I am new to therapy, new to PTSD and new to EMDR. I don't really know what I am doing, to be honest.

I read here that those that have tried EMDR have usually had therapists who have spent time going through your histories etc, but here we jumped straight into it after only one initial session. Any thoughts/advice/ from someone more experienced?

(By the way, there is a lot of information here that I am reading through - apologize in advance is this is an "old" question to which I haven't found an existing answer).

-E

 

[amethist]

Hi Elphaba

If ever you think your therapist is pushing you to do something your are not comfortable with, then YOU can slow it down. You are in control for the most part of therapy, yes they do push you to move forward, but not if it pushes you too far backwards. You should have some control of how your therapy session go, you are the sufferer who needs help. If you need to talk more with your therapist before you engage in your next EMDR session, then tell them.

EMDR should be done by a therapist who understand how to use this tool properly. EMDR cannot make it all go away, but it can help subdue the the brain into not reacting so badly to some of the triggers of your trauma. It is a slow process, it can help, as it did my husband, he is now ready for his next session. He has only had one so far, but it did help him with his flashbacks/nightmares. They are now reoccurring in intensity, so this next session should calm them again, hopefully even more.

Remember you are in control, not them. OK so they hopefully understand more about PTSD than you just now, but you understand more of how YOU tick over not them.

Hope this helps.

Amethist

 

[Elphaba]

Thanks amethist. It's been nearly a week since my first attempt at EMDR, and it has brought up a lot of questions. At the moment I feel the triggers have intensified - or that my reaction to them have. I suppose it is a bit like taking meds; it should be natural to want to know of possible side effects. I know I am not a specialist, but I am definitely very confused having tried this. Thanks for your advice - I find it very helpful!

-E