Have You Had Emdr? Did It Help You Heal Relational Trauma?

[NatBird]

Hello All

I'll be starting this treatment soon. I have a few anxieties and questions, all being shared with the therapist at our meetings.

I'd like to get a sense of what other people's experience has been with EMDR? Particularly whether the treatment helped you to heal (or go some way towards healing) relational trauma?

 

[Padfield]

EDMR helped me immensely. To simply put it, it helped me be at peace. I'm glad to hear you're starting it. My thought process has been, I am willing to do or try anything if it could help me get better. Personally, it made me anxious and uncomfortable at first. I was doing CBT for months and then my therapist recommended EDMR.

 

[NatBird]

EDMR helped me immensely. To simply put it, it helped me be at peace. I'm glad to hear you're start...

@Padfield123 thanks for the response.
I'm glad to hear it worked for you. I've heard it can be a bit uncomfortable at first -- the 'gets worse before it gets better'. This is really encouraging:)

Can you say a little more about how it has helped you relationally?

 

[Seasounds]

EMDR did not work for me, at all-which is putting it mildly. Tried it 3 times, over the course of 5 years, with 3 different therapists. My current therapist believes that it is because my traumas occurred so early in my childhood. Long term relational therapy has been a much bigger help.

On the other hand, I have a friend who got great results, while using it to work through a trauma that happened in her adulthood.

Hope you have a good experience!

 

[Snowflake]

I have done EMDR about 15-25 times in the last 1 1/2 years. It has helped, however it is not easy. After an EMDR session your still processing-possibly for an additional week. You need support. My therapist calls me the next day and sees me for another session 3 days later-to talk about it further. I think after you start processing trauma you begin to see and feel differently in your relationships. You become alittle more confident. It's a big step - :)

 

[NatBird]

EMDR did not work for me, at all-which is putting it mildly. Tried it 3 times, over the course of 5 yea...

Thank you @Vandya

 

[NatBird]

EMDR did not work for me, at all-which is putting it mildly. Tried it 3 times, over the course of 5 yea...

...glad you found something that helped.

 

[NatBird]

I have done EMDR about 15-25 times in the last 1 1/2 years. It has helped, however it is not easy. A...

@Snowflake Thanks for sharing.

It's the support and self regulation aspects I'm concerned about.
The two people I consider as friends aren't the most able to show up.

I'm scared about going through those experiences only to re experience a sense of being alone in/with it - abandonment, again.

I'm hoping that in being able to take care of myself this will show myself that I need not fear being abandoned.
Does this make sense or sound like deluded jibberish?

Are you still in therapy?

 

[Snowflake]

@Snowflake Thanks for sharing.

It's the support and self regulation aspects I'm co...

I have no support other than therapist. It's not easy with no support.

Yep still in therapy 2x weekly. I still do emdr too.

 

[zeldazonk]

So, is EMDR meant to be as successful for complex trauma (early childhood) as for simple trauma?

I have both but I'm afraid that very early childhood trauma seems to make things very difficult.

I'm also on the Autism spectrum.

I'm trying to find something that might help as I think what can be achieved with talking is very limited.

Thanks, Zel.

 

[zeldazonk]

I've just read that dissociation needs to be dealt with before treating complex trauma with EMDR.

How on earth do you do that?!? I'm extremely dissociative...

 

[PetuniaPusher]

I've just read that dissociation needs to be dealt with before treating complex trauma with EMDR.

How...

Where did you read that and what exactly does dissociation mean?