Emdr And/or Neurofeedback?

[bring em all in]

Does anybody here have experience having EMDR and/or neurofeedback for PTSD/Bipolar II? If so, what did you think of it/them?

 

[mrsmegan]

I'm going through EMDR therapy now. I will say it's really intense. I do think it's working, but for me it's taking a really long time. I have a long history of abuse/trauma - so EMDR is less straight forward than it is with a single event trauma

 

[joeylittle]

I don't believe either EMDR or neurofeedback will have any effect on the Bipolar, but you will want to make sure that you are feeling very secure in how you manage the bipolar. That diagnosis should be as stablized as possible, and you may want to keep a separate journal to track those symptoms specifically, so you can notice if a problem is emerging.

Trauma therapy is tough, no matter which modality you use. It will put a strain on you for a time. If your bipolar isn't fully managed, you could run into problems.

 

[bring em all in]

Thanks for the replies. There are so many options and so many things to consider.... My bipolar mood swings have stabilized lately, but emotional flashbacks, anger, and anxiety are nearly off the charts. I've also been advised the EFT (tapping meridian areas on the body-like acupressure) and low-level laser light therapy are also promising benefits for PTSD.

Anyone have experience with these?

 

[Marymickaela]

Thanks for the replies. There are so many options and so many things to consider.... My bipolar...

I have a Bipolar dx, Complex PTSD, lots of anxiety, etc. etc., and in therapy at least 12 years, but serious EMDR therapy the last 18 months. Most progress with EMDR. Also occasionally do some EFT tapping on my own. Like I said with EMDR I've been able to really tap into deep emotions and can feel and tell I'm slowly recovering. Baby steps, but still moving in the right direction of becoming more self awareness.

EMDR when it works is grueling. I've cried so hard tapping into repressed emotions to the point of having excruciating headaches the rest of the day, and it may take days to recover from a session.

For me it's working.

 

[Freedomfighter]

I'm going through EMDR therapy now. I will say it's really intense. I do think it's working, but for m...

Yeah, I think I have to do that today too, my brain is in total shambles, so tired of people who want to hurt me, who spread lies about me. It is tough enough to fight PTSD, but to be stalked, defamed, libeled on top of that is rough.

 

[bring em all in]

I have a Bipolar dx, Complex PTSD, lots of anxiety, etc. etc., and in therapy at least 12 years, b...

Does EMDR work when you don't have vivid memories/specific events to process? My complex-PTSD stems from chronic stressful events building into trauma over the years. There are few specific memories for me to "tap" into, but very clear symptoms and engendered negative beliefs that resulted from them.

 

[Marymickaela]

Definitely. I have PTSD from my abusive childhood, but also from around 2003/2004 when I had a nervous breakdown, party due to work stress. I experienced horrible traumatic care while inpatient several times. So my job of 10 years I had to process and it was very fresh in my mind as was the trauma from the hospitalizations.

I did have a horrific childhood repressed memory surface in 2005. I was in a very relaxed state while having acupuncture, needles all over my body, alone in the room drifting off into blissful relaxation when this memory of (like I said) horrific event surfaced. I was probably about 6 or 7yo and have absolutly no memory of this event happening. But, while on that table it just came into my mind. I was in that moment, heart pounding out of my chest in terror. For 2 weeks after every time I would start to relax the memory and terror would resurface. Then it slowly faded and I've never been able to re-connect to it. Did it really happy? I don't know and it has never re-surfaced in EMDR either. So imagine my confusion. I have asked a couple therapists and they feel it did and I read that repressed memories that come spontaneously are more likely to be true.

Sorry for digressing. To answer your question memories I do remember are very processable and I've reconnected into memories from my 20's that left me sobbing and sobbing and I was able to remember people's names I had long ago forgotten. I'm 66 and have a terrible memory, but it was like I was able to remember the smallest details. Can't explain it, but it's so amazing.

 

[Marymickaela]

Did I answer your question or misunderstand?

 

[bring em all in]

Did I answer your question or misunderstand?

I wouldn't say that you misunderstood my question. Maybe I wasn't very clear. Except for a few very traumatic experiences most of mine is a series of daily occurrences that wove themselves into a tapestry. I don't recall many of the threads as they were woven- all I see/feel/think is the overall pattern that emerged. For example, I know that my parents said and did things that harmed me- my mother was mentally ill and used me as an emotional substitute for my dad (who was still alive and with us). I've learned this is called emotional incest. I remember being very young and my mom pouring out her heart and tears telling me of the horrors of her childhood. I was a little kid feeling afraid, overwhelmed, and desperately trying futilely to "fix" my mom. She and my dad argued constantly, and both of them tried to enlist me in their battle against the other. But I can't remember a specific occasion- they are more like icons on a desktop rather than the actual file data/program opened by the icon.

Does that make any sense?

And these are just a few threads of the tapestry of my Complex PTSD.

 

[Marymickaela]

I wouldn't say that you misunderstood my question. Maybe I wasn't very clear. Except for a few...

I think I understand better. WOW!! Your childhood has so many similarities to mine in one sense, which is my mom used me from a very young age to lean on, dump all her frustrations on about my alcoholic, abusive dad. I remember as early as age 11 she told me to go ask my dad for money as he wouldn't say no to me. But her family lived hundreds of miles away and I don't think they had a clue about how horrible it was. If they did I think they would have done something to help, but mom was too proud or ashamed so it was a deep secret. So being the only girl with two brothers, I was who she leaned on for support. Having to deal with garbage no child should have to. She begged me once to pray that my dad die so she could have a life and tragically she died at age 63, and my dad outlived her by 11 years.

I found out from one of my cousins in the summer of 2015 that her mom (my dad's sister) told her my father had been madly in love with another woman (Delores). Delores was in nursing school with my aunt and my father went to her and begged her to marry him. She asked him to wait a year until she finished nursing school, but he refused, blew up and told her he was going to go out and marry the first woman he met. You can guess who that was. My mom. So he married a woman he didn't love and was saddled with 2 babies 11 months apart. My cousin felt bad about telling me, but it all made sense why he treated my mom and us kids so horribly.

Please feel free to talk if you want.

 

[bring em all in]

I'm sorry that you also know the pain of "having to deal with garbage no child should have to." You stated the situation perfectly. I also lived with family secrets, and it's amazing the damage they can do. Knowing my past and how it affected me is a start- now I need to find a way to process it and free myself.