To ask your experience of EMDR

[PumpkinSpicedLatte]

This isn’t an AIBU but I’m hoping for some success stories/advice.

I’ve been advised to try EMDR therapy for PTSD surrounding my daughters birth 2.5 years ago.
I suffered post natal mental illnesses but went into recovery after a lot of intervention. The one and only thing I haven’t made a recovery in is my PTSD.
i have read a lot about what EMDR involves but I’d love to hear of any experiences, and I know MN is a very honest platform.
Thank you

I've had a lot of EMDR from a top practitioner. It's useful for small focused traumas but not enough for those with C-ptsd. You often come out feeling quite 'free' for 3 or 4 days but then it wears off. I imagine it's very helpful in less complicated histories.

Can I ask what if you have not had a 'major' trauma but just a generally crap childhood. Being left out, ignored, ridiculed, being told to shut up and go away, feeling lonely. I ended up just blending into the background and not speaking. I think I may have has selective mutism for a bit too. I think I may have cptsd. Would it work for someone like me?

Currently undergoing it now, for C-PTSD. Via WebEx. Early days, so can’t really comment, but sometime feel traumatised afterwards, and sometimes utterly numb for a few days. We’re using the tapping method, rather than eye movements.

My experience of it was very strange. I had to stop before the end of treatment as my physical reaction to it was so strong (headaches, nausea, shakes/twitches etc). I'd be full-body shaking for hours after a session.

I had loads of different types of traumas - health problems, parenting, traumatic deaths of loved ones. It worked for me.

You can have it and be on anti depressants without coming off them. I was.

It can be used for other reasons as well as ptsd.

I am currently having it for CPTSD due to childhood abuse. I have been having it for almost 6 months now as there are so many traumatic memories that need reprocessing. My therapist did warn me at the start that I would need a longer course of treatment due to the sheer amount of trauma. It is having a brilliant effect. Was very hard the first few sessions but so much easier now. Would definitely recommend.

I had some of these. And the therapist asks you to think of the situation. Or as pp said group them together.

So when you say group them together do you mean memories or feelings? So in my example would that mean - thinking about being left out or do you think about the feelings of being left out? Or both? Sorry if I'm not making sense.!

I think I had a few examples of feeling abandoned. So they were grouped but I worked on the strongest memory.

It was weird as some stuff I’d not thought about but perhaps it was having an impact because as soon as I started focussing on it I was in floods of tears and right back there.

Can I ask if anyone has experience of EMDR for someone on the autistic spectrum? I am thinking about whether it could be helpful for 18 year old DD who has trauma over school experiences.

Also how typical is sadcatsface’s experience? They related ‘sitting with a flashback for a solid hour, being made to describe it whilst being prevented from dissociating by the therapist’. I don’t think DD could manage that because of her tolerance of distress.

Also, how much talking by the participant does there need to be. DD has selective mutism.

I’ve had it. EMDR that is for ptsd. The therapist used the eye movement (finger following) in person.
The first few sessions left me feeling hollow and exhausted and nauseous (DH picked me up after each session and had a fizzy drink and chocolate which was actually a good idea of his.
I have PTSD (or had?) for over 3 years after SA (by a doctor) and found it impossible to live any kind of normal life. Constant nightmares, sweaty, heart-pounding, feeling (and being) sick if I had to go near the hospital he works at (with a disabled DD that was often), developed social anxiety and couldn’t go out after mask wearing stopped because I’d be shaking in my legs etc.
Flashbacks that twice nearly caused me to have a car accident.

EMDR literally saved my life. I’m also on Sertraline and have regular counselling.

I think trauma of any kind that’s experienced as trauma could potentially be helped greatly with EMDR - though I had about 12 sessions I had to come back after a year as the nightmares started up again (I’m going through a legal issue over this).

What made it worse was being called a liar or mad or “overreacting “ by so many people.
it seemed like everyone saw me as a crazy liar.

I’m also someone who had child SA, other violence on my life and lost my first DD at full term. None of those things affected me (possibly made me more susceptible to ptsd) so the trauma based CBT I did with the EMDR therapist helped me sort through what was affecting me.

I had a strong ability and tendency to dissociate which the therapist had to really work on to get me to focus on the memories .

there is very little talking in EMDR when you start the treatment part in my experience

Can someone please explain step by step what a session involves. Do you talk about the traumatic event whilst doing the eye movement? Is this for a few minutes?

I don't know how much it varies but for me it was a bunch of talking sessions first, I don't remember how many, 5 or 6 to kind of explore around the memories. What I was thinking, doing, smelling, feeling everything.

The actual EMDR sessions were more like a guided meditation where I was lead through the memories while being prompted to experience it as fully as possible while following his finger.

Not sure about the time, maybe 15mins max, probably more like 10. Lots of breathing exercises after, making sure I was OK.

The first session I remember thinking part way through that I wanted to stop, that I was going to be a complete mess and unable to get home but to be fair, apart from being very tired I was surprisingly together if somewhat numb and feeling empty.

It wasn't an instant cure but I did have a lessening of symptoms over a period of about a week and was offered more talk or more emdr each week.

I've been twice about 18 months apart and would have probably continued longer each time if funds had allowed.

I found it incredibly helpful. I can now think of the traumatic experience like any other memory, rather than something completely overwhelming that I'm reliving. Mine was face to face.