I Cant Get Emdr To Work

[BloomInWinter]

Here's some mindfulness techniques to try...and I hope you do.

http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/mindfulness-exercises.html

 

[Zad]

I have been giving myself EMDR for a couple of years now but I have only been successful once.

EMDR therapy needs to be done with a trained clinician. There are many clinicians who will work with you. You can find them through the EMDR International Association or the EMDR Institute

You can get an overview of the way it is supposed to be done and self-help techniques that you can use immediately in the book Getting Past Your Past by Shapiro.

There is a lot of misinformation out there, including that you can do it yourself. So, please take a look at the the book

 

[Deleted member 16646]

EMDR and CBT have both been determined to be effective methods of treatment for PTSD by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Dept. of Defense practice guidelines both consider EMDR to be "highly recommended" for the treatment of trauma. Many more countries and organizations have approved and recommended EMDR.
All that said, EMDR is definitely not something you can do to yourself! Only a trained professional should use EMDR within a therapeutic setting. Safety, grounding techniques, and resource building are the first steps. You can read about these steps and learn techniques you can use at home, as well as get a full description of EMDR in "Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy," a terrific and easy read. To find a qualified therapist go to the EMDR Institute website or the EMDR International Association website. And good luck!!

 

[lighteningdarkness]

Sorry to hear you're struggling.

I would agree with everyone else. I don't think it's safe or useful to try and do EMDR on yourself. I've been doing this for several weeks and I don't see how this would work? The EMDR isn't just about releasing the memory / reliving it or however you want to describe it, it's about changing your perception and feelings about it and yourself. This really needs to be guided. Without it surely it's just re-experiencing and potentially re-traumatising?

Feeling numb is tough, but I reckon it's the mind's way of protecting you. There's a lot of great self help books and on line. I would also recomend the 'getting past your past' book and also '8 keys to safe trauma recovery'

Good luck