1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

EMDR Therapy

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Serperior, Jul 23, 2018.

  1. Serperior

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Messages:
    301
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Washington
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Family only
    Hi.

    I have been diagnosed with PTSD and a high probability of BPD, my therapist said I qualify for BPD too. We have known I had PTSD for like a year and a half but now I'm getting a referral to do EDMR therapy at a clinic in my city starting in a few weeks and I'll keep the therapist I have now to help with teaching how to have healthy relationships/develop coping skills for my bpd. My question is if anyone has done EMDR therapy what I should know, expect or be prepared for when I start it. They told me it will be 4-12 weeks about for the EMDR therapy and I've been told it is very very quick compared to normal therapy and I question the credibility because it seems like I'm just gonna have a magic wand waved over me and then my PTSD is gone in that time frame. Please reply if you have any knowledge/experience with this because I really wanna know what I'm getting into.
     
  2. signmypapyrus

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2017
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    107
    Location:
    Out west
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    So, I’m really late, but I do EMDR and here are some things I wish someone would have told me.

    1. Trust your therapist!! You HAVE to trust your therapist because they are going to probe into some really traumatic memories. If you don’t trust them, you can actually be retraumatized.

    2. For a while, you won’t feel like a human. I still feel sort of like a lizard human. What I mean is, you may suddenly feel like you’re more out of touch or control of your emotions. You may feel more anxious or agitated, for example.

    3. You will feel exhausted. Like, you ran a marathon AND then got hit by a MACK truck.

    4. Each person responds differently. Some people want to eat afterwards whereas I threw up and was super nauseated for twenty-four hours afterward. Be patient and careful with your body. Since I teach, I do EMDR so I have the weekend to recover.

    5. Reprocessing memories is super weird. They become more vivid and detailed since you’re mimicking bilateral simulation and channeling the cerebral cortex. I took a pretty bad memory and now I have good feelings toward it, but it was so hard (see number 1). I’ve never panicked the way I did, but my therapist got me through it.

    6. You may have weird sensations in your body. I feel like I’ve never truly been in my skin so I feel agitated and weird. Colors look different, almost more vivid. Smells are super intense. I want people to hug me and nurture me. It’s hard to comprehend.

    7. EMDR is both amazing and incredibly difficult. Good luck!
     
  3. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Great input from signmypapyrus. My experiences (as someone trained in a variant of EMDR, and as someone who has received it) is that it is usually not as intense an experience ais papyrus described, but results do vary. It isn't something to be worried about, as interventions go, it's one of the more gentle ones. For many, it's simply an experience of recalling the memory and then... noticing that it no longer holds the uncomfortable feelings previously associated with it.

    I think you'll find it to be incredibly helpful. It's been around quite a long time and has been used very successfully with some really severe PTSD, sexual abuse, and other trauma.
     
  4. Serperior

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Messages:
    301
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Washington
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Family only
    thank you both so much! @Chip @signmypapyrus I am at the new clinic doing preparing for it and start in several weeks. I hope it goes well because my PTSD is debilitating
     
  5. signmypapyrus

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2017
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    107
    Location:
    Out west
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Let us know how it goes.

    I’m about two months in and have worked through about six memories. I find EMDR really hard, but my trauma is extensive. I will say it helps with coping so I don’t react the way I used to.

    Good luck!
     
  6. not2shabby

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Idaho
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    I will say that it’s definitly not like a magic wand, like any therapy it is very much a process. I do think it was very helpful for me but like most things in life some things in life that work some people may not work for others. I would recommend giving it a try with an open mind though. Best of luck!
     
  7. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I would actually disagree here specifically on EMDR. When it was first introduced to the US Veterans Administration some 25 years ago, it was described as revolutionary; many veterans who had struggled for years with flashbacks, uncontrollable panic attacks, anxiety, and other PTSD-related symptoms found pretty miraculous, and near-instant relief from EMDR.

    To be fair, it certainly didn't resolve the PTSD in a single session. But as traumatic experiences were individually processed, sometimes a few experiences each session, sometimes more slowly, depending on the tolerance level of the client, many clients reported an elimination of chronic insomnia in a very short time, reduction in panic attacks, and an ability to get their lives back on track.

    And the largely unique part of EMDR is... it is not necessary to really dig through and process the traumatic event; the EMDR simply disrupts the traumatic recall associated with the memory of the event. The client still remembers it, but it no longer carries the emotional trauma that had been associated with it.

    Even more amazing... the effect of EMDR has been shown to be stable over time. In other words, the improvement people experience immediately tends to be stable over the long term, unlike many other psychotherapeutic interventions.

    Success rate is variable and highly impacted by the skill of the therapist doing the EMDR, but when done by someone skilled and competent, the success rate is something in the 80 percentile range.
     
  8. signmypapyrus

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2017
    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    107
    Location:
    Out west
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I’ve been told that it specifically heals the brain but that it takes time, and obviously patience with the process.
     
  9. Serperior

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Messages:
    301
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Washington
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Family only
    Woah that is seriously insane. I have my first session on friday FINALLY and am very nervous and exited. I hope I am part of the 80 percent
     
  10. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    "heal" is not a term I'd use. At least back when I did my training (years ago), it was not understood exactly how EMDR and its related skills (Brainspotting, directed eye movement therapy, etc) did what it did. What we do know is that it somehow disrupts the relationship between the memory and the traumatic sensation associated with the memory. So it basically eliminates the negative feelings that come with the memory. What it may do is make it easier to repattern the brain by reducing the 'fight or flight' responses and allow the 'rest and digest' responses to come forth more easily.
     
  11. Serperior

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Messages:
    301
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Washington
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Family only
    wow thats super cool. I'm really hoping it helps me. My first session is tomorrow and I'm so glad, I've waited FOREVER for it.
     
  12. Serperior

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Messages:
    301
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Washington
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Family only
    9 months later and spoiler alert. I think I am in the 20%. EMDR has done little for me and my therapist is now wanting me to do something with her called ego-something therapy to try and make EMDR work more. I am at such a loss of what to do, my mental healthh has been shit for years and hasn't significantly improved apart from my social phobia vanishing when i started my SNRI 2 years ago. I'm at such a loss for what to do- CBT (a ton), DBT, Talk therapy, and now EMDR have yet to work. I've looked into alternative treatments like the MDMA trials for PTSD but the vast majority of them only take military vets so I can't join them. I don't know if this disease will ever go away and I'm at the end of my rope.