Exhausted after EMDR session

[erigby]

Dear fellow trauma survivors,
I recently started EMDR therapy for childhood trauma(s). Today I had my second session and I am finding that the sessions themselves are very exhausting. I do believe they are helpful. I was in talk therapy for a little over 2 years and had started to get frustrated with the process. It felt like I wasn't getting anywhere anymore and that the therapy itself was stirring up a whole bunch of junk that had nowhere to go. I came across EMDR after some soul searching, praying and asking and recognizing that my body was literally physically holding on to so much pain. All that to say, I have been able to process during the sessions and oh my, those emotions and the pain are sooooooo real!!!
So much so, I am exhausted afterward.
Has anybody else had this experience?
Is it a good sign that I am working through the stuff?

 

[Wendell_R]

Has anybody else had this experience?

Almost everybody has this!! My therapist often books EMDR sessions in the late afternoon, so her clients can go home & collapse. Your therapist will likely want to know how you feel between sessions.

Is it a good sign that I am working through the stuff?

For me, exhaustion is a good sign. I'm trying to re-wire my brain 50 years after my trauma, and there's no harder exercise.

You're doing great!

 

[Freida]

Yep. Wipes me out for 24 hours each time. Make sure you update your t on how you feel once you leave so she can tweak the sessions to help with the recovery

 

[hithere]

It's been a long time since I had EMDr, like over 25 years ago. I don't remember how I felt, but I know how it "fixed" some things for me quickly. However, in the last few years with the cbt therapy I did when I actually did get healing work done in a session, I was exhausted afterward and would need to physically rest until the next day. I think this is natural. I had just "relived" the trauma in a way, and right after anything traumatic rest is needed. In the original traumas there was no way to rest, I had to stay on my toes 24/7! This time through re-processing it I can take care of myself.

 

[Missycat]

Yep, sometimes i am absolutely exhausted. I feel like ive given my brain a good work out. I used to dissociate so emdr was difficult at times, this was the most tiring. At the start and end of a session my t checks in with me and many times she will comment that i look tired and that i have worked hard. Where possible my partner will drive me and pick me up or we book a session at a time that allows me time to have a sit down and relax before i go to work. Im sure your t will talk to you about post emdr .

 

[HealingMama]

EMDR is a learning process for the brain. Your brain is literally relearning past experiences. Learning a lot of new information is exhausting. Have you ever started a new job, get inundated with info, feel really tired? It's normal :)