New To Forum - Undergoing Emdr

[barry]

Hi Kath, I have had EMDR all I can say is, set your own pace do some of the things they teach you at home and try and stay calm, hope this helps

Take care, barry

 

[KP the nut]

Thank you Barry. Today has been a good day. I even drove in the snow - feel drained now but I DID IT!! You're right the exercises I do are a huge help. And when all else fails I look at the posts here.

 

[cat]

Hi Kath
Welcome to the forum. I hope you find as much help & support as I have, it helps so much to to able to share your thoughts & feelings with people who really understand, so that when you want to ramble or vent you can without apologising.

I have just finished long term trauma therapy (2yrs) with my psychologist, she uses an eclectic approach & we have used EMDR very successfully with other talking & exposure therapies. EMDR sessions are tough but you are always in control they do make your ptsd symptoms more intense & will raise lots of forgotten events for a number of days after. However, you should find that over time your symptoms will subside & you will feel less anxious & depressed. In those difficult days it is important to use the coping & relaxation strategies you learn as part of emdr as they really will help, sometimes i found the only way to comfort myself was to go to bed with an electric blanket & blanket to wrap myself up tightly, its as though it contained me while i couldnt do that for myself.

At 53 I too missed my Dad (he died 12yrs ago) he was my significant adult when i was young & i felt he was the only one who could understand what i was going through. We did an emdr session on this need & i felt very comforted by it, it was as though all that time i had been waiting for him to come back.

I hope EMDR can help you through your trauma, i am convinced it has been a significant part of my recovery. One thing i have noticed since therapy is that I feel i can finally grow up & i am no longer searching for validation.

Please let us know how you get on. I'll be here to support you or feel free to PM me.

Stay strong. Annette

 

[cat]

Kath, I'm in UK too!

 

[KP the nut]

Thank you Annette. I've only had one EMDR therapy so far and I was amazed how quickly it went. At one point I related how I snapped at my grown up children to stop messing as I was F*****g just holding it together! I told my T, I had to cope. He asked me what would happen if I didn't and I didn't know. The next morning I got out of bed and thought I have to cope because if I don't someone will leave me just like my Dad did when I was 5! That knocked me for six, I'm 50, I thought I'd dealt with all that.

What is PM me? (A bit of a dinosaur with technology) I'm in Shropshire.

Thanks again

Kath

 

[amethist]

Hi Kath a PM or PC as it is called now is a Private Conversation. You can start one with any member by clicking on there Avatar/Picture above their name. This will pop up a box with a bit more info on it. You will then see "Start A conversation", click on that and off you go. To send it scroll down under the message box and click again to send it.

There are a few of us from the UK Kath, I am in Yorkshire :)

Amethist

 

[KP the nut]

There are a few of us from the UK Kath, I am in Yorkshire :)

Amethist

Why do strangers being kind make me want to cry? Thank you :)

 

[deer_in_headlights]

Hi Kath,

Members on this site are great at heart-touching kindness! Very quickly though, members are much more like friends and the family you need, rather than strangers. I'm glad you've joined!

Kath, I am so proud of you for driving today in the snow!
I know what kind of courage that takes.

(I was dealing with PTSD before this, but ): 2 days before Christmas last year, I was caught in a 15-car pileup, hit hard from behind by a large van and pushed off the highway and down a steep embankment. As my car plummeted, I thought, "I didn't know I was going to die, today!" and a quick "Oh, God" translated to "I'm coming, please catch me! I hope You'll bring me Home!". Car jumped a creek and smashed head-on into a large tree. From the injuries, and the long time it took for rescue trucks to reach us, I didn't think I was going to live, or if I did, that I would never walk again. I was given Christmas miracles: alive and walking. Still dealing with acute and chronic pain issues, and it's a major challenge to drive in snow, so I deeply understand the enormity of your success, today! Hooray Kath!!!!

EMDR by a therapist well-trained in it is fantastic, along with Cognitive, Exposure and Somatic Experiencing therapies. Trauma therapists often use a mix of these therapies.

It's amazing how a recent trauma will bring up earlier (even childhood) traumas. It's good that it happens, because you can address unresolved pain for further healing.

I'm very glad you found us, and I'm cheering you on as you heal through therapy and driving!!!!!!
Well done!!!!!!

 

[KP the nut]

I've just had my second EMDR session. It was so hard. I had a really bad night last night, I was stuck in a real bad place. Thank you to Heather who joined me in the chat room and a huge thank you to tigrou who helped me put my demons into my pary poppins handbag. I did manage some sleep.

I was quite agitated to start the day. I met some work colleagues, work is not a happy place and then went to T.

He uses hand tapping so I don't have to look at him just follow the tapping with my eyes. It was so hard reliving the crash. Then he picked on a specific point and we looked at it in tiny detail.

At one point I was sobbing, it was so fresh, painful and my whole body hurt. We stopped and he said you're ok , you're in the room with me, do you see me? I said no, I'm still there, the windscreen is over my face and something (car roof) is resting on my head. He then had me look at the car from a bystanders point of view as if I were watching it on TV. That helped and we did some grounding exercises.

No appointment next week as I'm facing the dentist chair.

My doctor has not said I have PTSD, I asked my T and he can't make a diagnosis but said I have most of the symptoms and he said I make the criteria. I need to speak to my doctor again. My T did confirm I'm not nuts so maybe a change of name:D

 

[deer_in_headlights]

Oh Sweetheart,

I'm so sorry your session was so difficult!
((((((((((((Kath))))))))))))))

It does get better, Hon... it really does....

I'm glad your T did tell you you're not nuts! You definitely aren't!!! You're wonderful, gentle, kind, funny, delightful, compassionate, one of the finest people on this planet.... What would you like your name to be?

(((((((((((((((Kath))))))))))))))
Sending you love,
Deer

 

[blwnawy]

Hi KP, sorry to hear your second session was stressful.
Hang in there.