Emdr

[jackrabbit]

Hey gang,

I've combed through the site with the search function and found lots of references but no full discussions. I got a book by the gal who invented it and am pondering starting EMDR, but I'm wondering what people here think.

Whose tried it, had luck, hated it, got no results...?

Thanks.

Jack

 

[JarHed]

Hey Jack

Before I settled on the form of therapy that I took, Prolonged Expose, I researched all the forms available to me through the VA with my therapist. I think also is to find a therapy type that you feel is a good fit for you. Here's a link to some info. Perhaps you've got more than this presents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_and_reprocessing

I don know that there are a few here who's been through it. I don't recall their thoughts about it though. The only thing I would say is with any therapy having a good therapist is the key to getting the best and most that any particular type has to offer. Best of luck.

Jar

 

[reddevil1111]

I had a therapist that was very much for it and was pushing me to do EMDR. I looked into it a lot. For me personally I decided not to do it. From what I was able to gather from others that had undergone EMDR, if your PTSD is complex it has a greater chance of aggravating it. By complex I mean lots of different things could be points of stress. My ptsd comes from my childhood being raised by a Marine who had untreated ptsd as well as from my service. some folks call it secondary ptsd.
Understand if you can narrow it down to one or two incidents that caused your ptsd I think you have a good chance of it working. if you get more complex than that I think it could make your ptsd worse not better. EMDR does not work for everyone either.

 

[Chin Strapped]

I found it very hard to take serious for my first two attempts, however have always struggled to relax with any psych. I am keen to try it again and hope I can engage some sort of emotion, which may help me process a little. Can't help think I've just got to lock certain memories away and deal with it alone, they are my personal experiences. The memories are never leaving entirely.

I don't think I'll ever be able to just tell some of my stuff, let it all out and cry for an hour, I'm kinda numb for life in some respect. So I guess you could say I'm even considering the actual benefit of therapy as a whole:confused:

 

[Sarg]

Dan,

Let's go back to Jimmy's "stress cup". Putting it as simply as my little pea brain can conjure, it would seem to me, that if you siphon off some of the not-so-difficult to talk about stress, your over all stress will come down, allowing you to concentrate on the really bad stuff.

A long time ago we had a discussion about going toe-to-toe with the beast. Don't do it! You'll lose. You basically turn into a perpetual stress machine, generating your own stress.

Baby steps.

Sarg

 

[jackrabbit]

Well that pretty much rules EMDR out for me. If it deals with PTSD incident by incident I'll be in therapy for the next fifteen lifetimes.

 

[JarHed]

Hey Jack

I'm not trying to sell any therapy here but I did Prolonged Therapy. It basically dealt with focusing on one incident and exploring it in depth. By doing so you learn how to deal with your feeling about it and over time it becomes less difficult to talk about and deal with. This is a very basic idea of what it is. Look for a therapy that you feel is going to be a good fit for you. There are a number of very good ones out there and with the help of a good therapist it will be a great benefit to you. Do your research and your homework. No matter what you choose you'll be doing the work. It's hard work but it's about and for you and in the end you benefit by getting better. Notice I didn't use the word 'cure', as there is none. But yes you can get better. Best of luck Mate.

Jar

 

[Chin Strapped]

That's what I am doing Jar, taking ages to get into it though. However it must being doing something, I'm better than I was. Still think I owe allot to this site (members included); realisation; glad I joined after the main substance abuse part of the cycle! I still have about 20% of me that still won't accept that I have a mental health issue, even though I know I do. Does that makke sense? I think it's a good idea to try everything, then you can say you've done the best you can to help yourself.

 

[Spock]

Dan: just curious...did you ever try any Guided Imagery for relaxation? I've seen that you are really getting after it with effort taking on a routine of Yoga and the other items you mentioned? Congrats brother!

 

[Chin Strapped]

Cheers mate. I've not actually looked at it properly yet; the first instance was looking at it as a type of exposure therapy I believe, I can't remember :ROFLMAO:

Yoga is very good, well yogalates. I've even bought a tropical fish tank and will be purchasing one or two fish with character in the not too distant future; little calming project I hope.

 

[vikingr12]

I tried EMDR. It requires a therapist to meet with you regularly to reinforce the exercises. One session a week at least until you feel you can do it yourself. I did not have that kind of therapist and it failed. But I do think there is some value to it. The few sessions I had explained a lot of memories I could not explain myself and how they affected me.

One thing to be cautious of: your happy place as they describe it, must truly be a happy place, not one conjured in your mind. Think about places you have been that relaxed you and gave you peace, a hunting or fishing trip. Mine was a place I remembered as a kid in Switzerland: a snow melt lake you could see clear to the bottom from a mountain overlooking it. A cool breeze. God was there somewhere I know. Another was a little clearing near a river bed where the jungle canopy opened a little and a rivulet of water ran through the jungle floor. There was violence all around it but it seemed so peaceful.

It will not replace a good talk therapist. They are hard to find but do not give up.

 

[jackrabbit]

Thanks, Viking. That's actually really helpful.

I haven't every considered the fact that my happy place being a figment of my imagination might be doing me harm. It's something I constructed, rather than someplace I've been, and that may be why I have such a hard time holding on to it.

Time to comb the archive for something real. In my current state of mind that may be hard, but it gives me something to work on.