Feeling Nervous About Doing Emdr

[woundedsoul]

Gizmo, I know nothing about EDMR except the little I've read so I'm of no help there. Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you and I hope and pray that the EDMR goes very well for you. Don't feel bad about being anxious...I'm sure many of I would be because it an unknown. Anything completely new to us is going to make us feel afraid and anxious I think; perfectly normal for you to feel that way.

I have faith you will know what to do and say to handle yourself and ensure that the EDMR is safe for you in each session and by talking about your greatest fears before you even start. Your therapist should be able to guide you in assuring your safety ever step of the way.

Best of luck! I wish you the very best!

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Thank you Woundedsoul, your words meant so much to me. I really appreciated what you had to say. It was so comforting to hear those things. Thank you for the well wishes it means alot to me. I feel more and more prepared to do this thing.

I told my daughter that I was going to do this and she did not say a word about it. She has lost faith in the system to help people with the wounds of the minds. I wish she had more faith so you see I do not have much support. I have my sponser who is rooting for me and my husband who wishes me the best and you good people here in this group. I feel alittle better about everything now. /thanks again.

 

[Pale Warrior]

Oh Gizmo, how very, very brave and amazing.

I shall be thinking of you a great deal this week, sending joyous and enquiring thoughts.

 

[^^FlyingSolo^^]

Gizmo,

I've heard excellent things about emdr, however only heard it from 1 person who went through it. The results of doing it for a while were very favorable. However, in the beginning she mentioned how it brings a lot of memories to the surface.

I wish you the best of luck with it.

We're here for you!

Regards, Solo

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Thank you Pale Warrior,
Thank you for your support it means so very much to me.

thank you FlyingSolo for the heads up on the memories. Today I am having a good day. I will try to get prepared in case I get other memories. I will go slow and take extra special care of me. I do not know how long this will take and I do not know how often I will go.

I have alot of questions I have to write down to take into it with me. I appreciate your help and support, it means so much to me.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Hi- I am so scared of what I am getting into. I think I am horribilizing. I know it is a good thing. I have to drive that day. I will have to run an errand afterward and do some thing else.

I have to wait until Thurs. I need to calm down. I am so afraid it will unearth new buried memories. I do not want to do that. Doing this emdr is a big risk for me. I can hope for the best, but I will prepare for the worst.

I really appreciate the responses. I will take care of my safety concerns on that day. I hope I will have success. I do not know so much. I am so afraid to mess with my brain. I do not want to deal with buried memories. I have to be able to function as a caregiver.

This is really triggering me. It is the idea that my brain is being tinkered with. I am afraid of the unknown.

I am preparing myself to go into it as strong as I can be. I am so afraid it will mess with me and I will be worse off. I have to do something. So I am listing my fears to get them out of me.

I have had my brain messed with before by people who did not know what they were doing. The therapist that I will be working with has been dealing with this for awhile. I will learn what to expect.

Mabe the first session will be just talking and getting my questions answered. I so appreciate the responses of hope and encouragement. I am just so afraid of what if. This is dangerous ground for me. I am what iffing myself to death. I need to tell myself the truth and sort out the irrational thoughts.

I need to replace the irrational thoughts with the truth. It will be good for me. It will help me. It will make me feel better. The pieces of the puzzle will fit together better. I am hoping it will decrease my anxiety.

I am just so scared. The great unknown. I do not want to be left off worse than I am now. I have such a hard time thinking for myself. I am not naive, gullible, or vulnerable, but I will have to be vulnerable to do this. I will have to let go and trust the process. I do not know how my hmo deals with this.

I am needy of help and assistance. I will have to let go of the control to another human being, fallible. I am messed up with the memories that I do not know if they are real or not.

I am writing to get it out of me. I want to let it go. This day has gone by fast. I think the days will go by fast. I am so afraid. I have have had such bad experiences. I need to get strong. I need to say if it goes to a bad place I can walk away. I am enough. I will take proper care of myself. I have gotten good responses and alot of help and support.

I have ptsd and I need to do this. I am hoping for a good experience. I do not want to be branded or burnt beyond belief again. Oh well. Thanks for listening to me rant and vent. I will be ok. I will take good care of myself. I will be a friend to me. I will be a help and a support to me. It will be ok. Lots of people have done this with good results.

I will have to ask them what the risks are. I need to know what I am getting myself into. oh well enough for one day.

 

[Chondra]

...I will have to ask them what the risks are. I need to know what I am getting myself into.

Sadly, there are no guarantees Gizmo, but we can take well calculated risks in order to grow.

Bravery is moving forward in spite of the fear.

 

[Nicolette]

Gizmo I'm with you - I'm starting on Friday.

 

[cat]

Hi Gizmo & Nicolette

Well done for taking this very brave step, from my experience, EMDR it will put you on the road to recovery.

Its good you are going with an open mind, there will be much talking to do with your T before you plan for EMDR sessions. There will be boundaries to set, grounding techniques to practice & most importantly a building of trust between you and your T. Be prepared for your symptoms to worsen following emdr sessions, its perfectly normal, try to plan some relaxation afterwards, just something simple like going for coffee & cake or a walk in a park, something to reward yourself, it will help a lot.

The thing i found most helpful with emdr was not having to keep going over my traumas time & time again, with emdr you tend to work on the smaller details of trauma, smells, sounds, tastes, images. I also found that exploring these memories in detail meant that other details of my traumas faded quicker.

The road to recovery is a slow one Gizmo, you can't rush it, small steps = biggest gain.

Good luck to you both, I'll be here following your progress.

 

[Venusian]

Hi gizmo,

I started EMDR a few weeks ago and have my third session on Thursday. So far I haven't had any new memories surface but I have have had them fall into place. I knew they happened but I didn't know when they happened and once I knew the context I could process it. There were also a few emotions that surfaced that didn't come with any other memory. That happened during the last session and I have noticed that my anxiety attacks have been a lot milder and farther between since then. I don't know if that will continue but I really hope so. What happens as we go farther into it I don't know.

I hope you have success with this.

V

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

Be prepared for your symptoms to worsen following emdr sessions...

...it is perfectly normal, try to plan some relaxation afterwards, just something simple like going for coffee & cake or a walk in a park, something to reward yourself, it will help a lot.

The road to recovery is a slow one Gizmo, you can't rush it, small steps = biggest gain.

Sometimes, there is no noticeable affect, and when the effects begin to 'kick in', it can manifest into different parts of your life. There is a possibility that your symptoms will worsen, but not necessarily. They may take an unexpected turn for the better as mine did. Such as having a slight sense of things just feeling 'not quite so bad' type of thoughts. Or you may find yourself having little 'lightbulb moments'.

I felt a small sense of power, feeling that now I was going to have a 'real weapon' to fight my deeper issues. No more just talking round and round about my feelings....

Try to go in with curiosity and hope. Even if it only helps you shift some beliefs, or ideas about your situations that are causing negativity in your life, it is worth the time and effort.

The best of luck to you!

 

[piratelady]

I know you can do this Gizmo!! I really hope you find the process helpful. I am sure the therapist will answer all of you questions and address your concerns before anything else. Based on what Cat said, your symptoms will get worse before they get better, but that seems to be the case with all trauma therapy. You're strong and you can get through it and will come out even stronger! :)