Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1428827 tn?1285117111

anyone benefit from EMDR?

I was diagnosed with PTSP about two years ago and began therapy. Not long after my therapist recomended that I began intence therapy with EMDR, where you go back and re-live the tramatic event or pick one if you have more then one and make the experience safer to lesson the effects of PTSD. I am wondering if there is anyone out there that has gone through EMDR and is better for it?
8 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
12482552 tn?1425514799
I love the way you describe your experience with EMDR and your BF's experiences sound very similar to how I felt leaving so many sessions. Sometimes the amount of processing was so great that it took me 2 or 3 sessions. But I didn't feel like I was being desensitized, for me it felt like what my adult mind could see as truth was finally able to join with my child's mind and I was able to fully believe in my heart and soul what my adult mind knew but my child didn't believe and trust in. It was such a magical experience!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello,
I have been in Therapy using EMDR and DNMS therapies for my PTSD.
EMDR, as I have experienced it, is very gentle.
My therapist and I sit and talk, with little vibrating paddles in my hands. This is the same conversation we would have, if we were not doing EMDR.
When, in the process of  talking, I get triggered, she starts the paddles vibrating from hand to hand. She then "talks me down" through gentle discussion. The triggering would happen one way or another.
The EMDR has desensitized me from triggers that were setting me off pretty regularly. If done properly, you will not walk away from a session with the feelings you have expressed here.
I have had a therapist try using EMDR on me previously, without any result.
He was new at it. He was using his finger for me to follow with my eyes. I think the stopping and doing the eye thing was what caused the failure that time.
My Boyfriend has PTSD as well. He started with a therapist recommended by my therapist. He also uses the vibrating paddles.
My BF has expressed how good he feels afterward, and how something so simple could help so much. I am impressed with his rapid progress, in light of his Viet Nam combat PTSD, and how long he has suffered with it.
EMDR  uses the mind/body natural process, to process information from the emotional side of the brain to the thinking side of the brain. The REM phase of sleep is what this process is derived from.
There are ways you can use this method, on your own. Go for a long walk.
Walking has the same effect of processing information with the back and forth motion of walking. When you take a long walk, you give yourself time to think and process.
PTSD comes from the body protecting the mind. It is normal for humans to want to move away from the bad... Even forget it, in order to survive.
I am 54 and remembering things from childhood. The weird thing is, that when the memories come back, they seem like they were there all along, and there is a sense of "no big deal" about it.
Then, with time, the memory leaves the "little girl" part of me and I learn to see it as an adult. That can be difficult. I get very angry at people who I cannot lash out at.
It is in my adult mind that I can learn to put away the pain.
Learn that fear is just the steam that comes out of the teapot. Turn off the burner, and the steam dissipates IMMEDIATELY. That is how EMDR works for me. It is gentle.
The trauma keeps happening in our mind, because we have not processed it. The more we experience it that way, the stronger it becomes. It is an emotion, that needs to be changed to a thought.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am considering EMDR treatment.  Its being offered by my therapist and I fit the criteria.  From what I've read, EMDR has been successful in numerous clinical situations, but they are starting to refine the criteria that one must meet in order to be a candidate for the therapy. (I kind of laughed at my diagnosis....a mild major depression!  LOL)  

I've had a few situations in my life that caused me major trauma, but my mood swings dont have any particular "trigger".  Sometimes I just simply wake up in a horrible mood.  Apparently my condition is what makes me an ideal candidate.  I am willing to take a poke at it.  Ive been dealing with this depression for better than a decade that I know of and perhaps a lot longer.  Somethings got to give.  I am making strides in regular therapy sessions, but I'll be broke at the current rate of attendance and the cost per session.

Are there any success stories of EMDR out there?  I'd like to hear one or two before I sell into the idea.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My psychiatrist said the medication used to treat my schizophrenia also treats my PTSD so maybe you can look into medications such as antipsychotics?  I know when I was relapsing with my schizophrenia and needed my antipsychotic agent increased I ALSO started having flashbacks once again.  You have to weigh the benefits against the risks though because AP drugs can cause things like tardive dyskinesia which a lot of times can be permanent.  There are a few members here on Medhelp that I know of who can testify to that from personal experience.  You have to determine if it is really worth it to take the medication if you're suffering too much and can't handle it.  I don't like that I have to take an antipsychotic one bit due to the risk of things like TD and weight gain and such but I don't have much of a choice, I can't function at all without medication.  I think they can also use other medications to treat PTSD but for me I just take an antipsychotic for everything and am lucky I only have to take two different pills instead of a whole med box full like some people.
Helpful - 0
675718 tn?1530033033
yeah i do not want to release my inner-demon or anything like that :)
Helpful - 0
1428827 tn?1285117111
OKKKAAAYYYYY!!! I wasn't sure if I was just crazy or what, but I also freaked out after the first sesion with EMDR . I only made it through 2 sessions before I called it quits.

    Not only was I trying to deal with my garbage my husband was diagnosed with PTSD from the military and the sherrifs dept. We almost lost him. He was sent to a wonderful in patient treatment center for ex police officers and emt who experience tramatic situations and was given EMDR....from what he said it helped him a little but the setting was what it's all about. He was living with multiple counselors, and was very well prepped for the sessions. I am gratful that it was able to help him .

From what I have read it is for those who are emotionally stable and those with good cooping skills both of which I definetly didn't have and probably still don'e I don't know cause I never went back. In theory it sounds like it can work for some but for the majority of folks I don't think so unless you have years of counseling and like I said It was my first or 2nd time of counsenling that she recomended me for it. I wouldn't recomend to anyone.

To Paranoid~ Im glad that you have mediccation that helps you it is so important. Before I found meds I was suffering alot, I am still in need of better medication but am not ready to walk bacck into my doc's office ......I had to spend time in the psych ward last year and I totally shut down. I thought I would be able to get help there and at least get on the right meds but it didn't happen. I go from Rage to shutting down there is no in between , I don't know what it is and they call it bipolar but I don't know cause I am not always honsett with the docs.

To Drifter , ya I thought the same thing at first ....it didn't make sence to me, why I would go ahead with it , I have no idea. I was so lost and wanting help from all the flashbacks and nightmars and I though since they were the professsionals that they knew what was better, I was wrong.

Now I am lost as to what is best for me, I am struggling to get off all the pain pills...don't know if therapy would bring all the PTSD symtoms back full blown or help. Im scared to go through it again. Right now it's managable but again I have been using for the last 4 years and I don't want to continue to do that, I know i need cooping skills or whatever I just don't want to rehash all the crap just to get better , Im lost as to what to do or where to go from here. So I get sober and then what I have a flashback.....I don't know how to not use when I get manic. Any suggestions....
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
OK I had the misfortune to be forced to relive the conditions of a post traumatic experience and it caused me to threaten to kill everyone I lived with at the time in all seriousness and I experienced my first full psychotic break with my schizophrenia and now I can't function at all without my medication.  All this means to me is either I wasn't ready for it or EMDR is an extremely bad idea or EMDR would just not be for me or something along those lines.
Helpful - 0
675718 tn?1530033033
i actually don't believe in this treatment, but i have not tried it for myself .... something about going back to the stressor doesn't make sense to me :)
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the PTSD / Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Community

Top Anxiety Answerers
675718 tn?1530033033
El Paso, TX
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out what can trigger a panic attack – and what to do if you have one.
A guide to 10 common phobias.
Take control of tension today.
These simple pick-me-ups squash stress.
Don’t let the winter chill send your smile into deep hibernation. Try these 10 mood-boosting tips to get your happy back
Want to wake up rested and refreshed?