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EMDR During Session Experiences?

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oakleaves

MyPTSD Pro
I had emdr today and felt really nauseous when I was remembering things for a while quite intensely and also felt like I needed to move around and not stay still.

Have other people had these sorts of experiences during emdr? I have been told it's normal especially during certain types of trauma processing but wanted to know if others had felt like this?
 
felt really nauseous when I was remembering things for a while quite intensely and also felt like I needed to move around and not stay still.
Just to clarify?

I feel like that just with just flickers of thought/memories in normal life/outside of therapy. The longer I’m thinking/remembering, the more violent the reaction.

Do you not feel like that outside of therapy; or do, & your expectation -or concern- is that therapy is supposed to be soothing?
 
Oh yes... I have to take zofran to keep from throwing up often.... I also get body type memories which are miserable..... sorry!
 
Just to clarify?

I feel like that just with just flickers of thought/memories in normal life/outside of therapy. The longer I’m thinking/remembering, the more violent the reaction.

Do you not feel like that outside of therapy; or do, & your expectation -or concern- is that therapy is supposed to be soothing?

I do feel like that outside of therapy if I have a particular memory or something triggers like a body memory or in response to certain smells that are linked to what I experienced and things like that. I assume it is just an anxiety response or flashback type thing.

I have never felt that intense body sensation in therapy (to the point of thinking I might throw up which I hate anyway) but also other body sensations like feeling weighed down also just really activated like panicky etc. I have only done a couple of emdr sessions. I assume it is part of processing as the memories are to do with feeling disgust etc but I just wanted to make sure I am not unusual in experiencing that intensity if that makes sense? Like even moving around the room which I haven't ever done.

Also just thought of course I usually push those memories away so if I stay with it in therapy I suppose it will give more of an intense response.

Oh yes... I have to take zofran to keep from throwing up often.... I also get body type memories which are miserable..... sorry!
Feel funny liking that because it isn horrible and I am so sorry that you get that.

I assume it is body memories that I feel more because I am processing I suppose. Thank you. I hope you have some ways of managing it that work for you.

Sure. While in was processing the hardest stuff I constantly felt like I was going to be sick.

I am sorry. It is so horrible. Thanks for sharing though I wanted to make sure I wasn't unusual. I feel really self conscious about it because I feel like my therapist can see how I am feeling and tell and it just feels embarrassing even though it's not that anything else could be done to make it feel less embarrassing.
 
Sure. While in was processing the hardest stuff I constantly felt like I was going to be sick.

Probably made you feel terrible but at least it made you feel. My previous T had been practicing EMDR for over 40 years and tried it on me 8 times, zero effect. My disassociation and protection mechanisms have an impeneratrable wall made of steel :-( I wish like you I had felt something, anything.
 
My previous T had been practicing EMDR for over 40 years and tried it on me 8 times, zero effect.
How long did you do talk therapy before doing EMDR? I've experienced and also heard anecdotally that talking a lot about the trauma before doing EMDR on it gets better results.
 
How long did you do talk therapy before doing EMDR? I've experienced and also heard anecdotally that talking a lot about the trauma before doing EMDR on it gets better results.

A couple of months. For me EMDR was a negative experience. Not because of the EMDR itself but the inability of EMDR to pnetrate the steel wall makes me think the horrors are so bad that I am protecting myself, this scares me
 
A couple of months. For me EMDR was a negative experience. Not because of the EMDR itself but the inability of EMDR to pnetrate the steel wall makes me think the horrors are so bad that I am protecting myself, this scares me

To be honest I think ideally you would work with those things before you did emdr because if you are blocking and not going with it then it won't work for you but it doesn't mean it can't help just that you might need to work on the parts of you that are trying to keep you safe first. I did a lot of attachment work before to stabilise and I wouldn't have said I needed to but I think it has helped my internal relationship with myself. It isn't perfect but I think it helps.
 
A couple of months.
That doesn't seem long enough to me, especially if you have a "steel wall" preventing you from talking about it. You're right, EMDR is not necessarily going to break down that wall. That may be something you have to do yourself first.

Abuse thrives in secrecy. The best way to get better is to get it all out in the open, and that means talking about it with someone you trust.
 
Feel like it's triggering a lot for me to be honest like not only memories but also really uncomfortable attachment feelings of wanting to be cared for and nurtured in quite a strange way. Like I have people who love me and know but it is a different feeling to that. It's weird.
 
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