General Rage After Starting Emdr

[MIMI MAHOO]

I'm really worried as my husband only just been diagnosed with PTSD and started seeing a psychiatrist. The psych started on EMDR in the first session and then went away on holiday. Reading here it says you should lay groundwork on stress management processes before starting EMDR, and not to use for muyltiple incidents of abuse (my husband was beating regularly by a sadistic older brother - along with the 2 other older brothers and his father). My husband has been getting more and more angry since the session and can't bear to be anywhere near me as all his rage bubbles up. We have been living apart for about 6 weeks now, though we see each other most days and generally get on pretty well most of the time. He can't deal with any stress though.

I have family problems and have to leave the country and now I'm really worried to be leaving him. He is driving fast, talking about dying and just says he is so full of rage he doesn't know what to do with himself. I'm in Mauritius which isn't top of the list on modern therapies. I'm leaving in 4 days. I only just found this forum and found that the marital problems we've been having are likely due to PTSD ... it's all flared up since we moved back to his country .. he wasn't like this when we lived in the UK.

Please help.

 

[Deleted member 16646]

You're absolutely right, Mimi, when you wrote "you should lay groundwork on stress management processes before starting EMDR." Also, EMDR therapists are trained never to begin treatment right before a vacation, and to be available just in case. With the correct "front-loading" of resources and self-soothing strategies, that provide the essential groundwork, multiple traumatic incidents can be handled safely and effectively. Read "Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR" by EMDR's creator, Dr. Francine Shapiro. It's an easy read, very user-friendly, and can help both you and your husband right now. Also, I recommend that he either see the therapist who is covering while his current doctor is away, or go to an Emergency Room to get some help ASAP. Good luck!