I tried it and I ****ing hated it. For months after I stopped going I'd randomly get this image of my T waving his finger at me and literally twitch. There I'd be, cooking breakfast, and -BAM! - All the sudden there he and his stupid finger are, swimming up between me and my burning risotto.

Everything I heard about how wonderful and effective EMDR is - It sounds so ****ing ridiculous to me now I have no idea how it ever seemed like a good idea. All that talk about how the toxic ******** is supposed to be transformed into a neutral memory from the past?

I mean, by what mental gymnastic does an objectively horrific event become 'Neutral'? How the hell is an experience which by DSM definition induced "intense fear, hopelessness, or horror" supposed to take on the same quality as that normal memory of the too-garlicy bagel you ate that one time?

And yet, that's what EMDR promises.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself that there are plenty of ways to improve one's quality of life that don't involve sitting in a tiny room focusing on the worst experiences of your life while someone bilaterally stimulates you. Like self-care or breathing or safe place imagery or Weird Al Yankovic videos or, you know, any of the million other techniques they teach you in tandem with EMDR.

Anyway. But plenty of other people have found it helpful - even a godsend - and it's not as though there's a shortage of success stories.