EMDR

Hi,

I started seeing a EMDR therapist almost a year ago. I am having some mixed feelings.

I am pretty isolated and have no where to really talk about whats going on in my current struggles. The EMDR therapist is focused on the EMDR. Although I am in no spot to even start processing anything. There are no coping skills or whatever to aid when we do start. I can't pushing down what I am going through right now - I need to be able to vent that and feel supported. Do people who use EMDR have two separate therapists ?

Some do have both an emdr specialist and a regular therapist, and some even more things like group, and online support groups. Hey wait, here's one right now. Vent to us. What's on your mind?

I am very interested in EMDR.

Would be grateful for any advice you could offer.

Feel free to talk here, do you need advice or support?

Sending hugs, respect and loving kindness to you on your journey.

I'm just starting EMDR - so can't help much on what those going thru it do. For now, my EMDR therapist is the only "pro" I'm seeing....and from just two sessions, it's driven me back to here, this wonderful online forum, that has helped me in the past. Sometimes I can talk to friends and family....but have found that with this, and the things it's bringing up, that's not best for me.

I have no idea what EMDR is suppose to do. Haven't got that far with it. The therapist put me off with some insensitive comments. I guess complex trauma is not a disability. So that keep circling my head. I am disabled and at some point I will need her to sign papers for my disability. I know change therapists. There aren't many for are trained in complex trauma. I been kicked around the system with therapist who have no idea how to treat it and tell me to forget it. That wasted many yrs of my life.

As for whats on my mind:
1) trauma related anxiety and depression
2) Isolation - no support
3) an ongoing dental issue that causes more anxiety and depression and more isolation
4) pain from the dental causes physical pain - adds more to anxiety and depression
5) female related issues endometriosis and a rather large complex cyst on my ovary- adds more anxiety and depression (not to mention it took over 10 yrs for them to listen to me on this - you know your body any time I complained I was tired/dizzy they said it was anxiety)
6) the pain and extreme fatigue from that also causes anxiety and more depression
It's and unending cycle that I keep looping through
7) then on top of all this I am going through menopause

Its a lot for one person

Sending hugs anxiety247.

I can empathise a lot with the issues you are facing.

I suffered from endometriosis years ago, the gyno I kept complaining to was very dismissive and mean to me. It eventually got so bad that I suffered an attack that would not go away and ended up having orhtoscopic surgery to lazer out the endometriosis that was causing me so much pain every month and spreading down my leg even. Your gynocologist should not be dismissive about this challenge, time to find another gynocologist and you may need the kind of lazor surgery I had myself. Sometimes however, birth control can aide in reducing the symptoms in that some birth controls reduce the menstral cycle. Also, I think there are medications that sufferers can take now too. Endometriosis can definitely change your mood and even lead to feeling depressed because it affects your hormonal balance. Honestly, it's like having more than one uterus so the PMS can be brutal, experienced that myself for so many years living my life around that and experiencing often completely debilitating attacks too.

Get those teeth taken care of so you don't have to keep suffering from dental issues.

Ugh menopause can be extremely hard for some women, I had the endometriosis that was treated and they gave me an implant of Lupron that stopped my period and threw me into early menopause. The only good thing about that is once I got through menopause I did not have to deal with the horrible pain of the endometriosis because I stop menustrating.

I do a therapy that is like EMDR, but better and it's called Accelerated Resolution Therapy. There is some talk therapy with it as well though. You may want to do a search and see if there is someone that provides this therapy close to you as it's better than just the EMDR therapy.

Thanks =) Needed that

Sounds like you & I went through the same with the GYNO. The pain is moving into my legs. It usually flares when I try to sleep. For 10 yrs though I I was getting dizzy, nausous, feeling really full after eating small, the tired part has been the worse. It's like trying to go through your day as if your body is coated with honey. It's heavy and you cant move, My insurance never approved when the GYNo wanted to give Lupron or do a laparoscopy to see whats going on. Medicare is ****** insurance for those younger. They excluded many needed things. This past July the GYN ordered the ultrasound and that is when they found a HUGE 9 in complex cyst on left ovary. I changed doctors after reading Nancy's Nook on FB for ENdo. Great educational site on endo and what doc to look for. I meet with the excision (lazer like i guess) surgeon in Sept.

The dental. All I can is shake my head. I have been fighting for over 12 yrs on this. I been without teeth - that includes dentures. I can't not stress how this has effected my mental health. Another thing my old people medicare wont cover is dental. Being without teeth so long has put strain on my TMJ joints. The teeth act as a stopping point for the jaw. I have none and causes me to over extend that joint eat day - every time I speak, chew and swallow. That lead to neck/shoulder pain, hearing loss, and sleep apnea.

I think people get menopause wrong - it's the leading up to part that is the worse (IMO) I havn't had my cycle in 6 months and hope it doesnt come back so I can be officially in menopause - I need to catch a break somewhere smh lol

I will look into that type of therapy you mentioned. Emdr is hard for me right now with all this health stuff going on - my head is so foggy and tired and then add in some dissociation it does nothing to help me.

I’m sending hugs and support

Oh, don't take the Lupron, it completely depleted me of estrogen and I ended up so severely depressed I could not even get out of bed and function. To counteract that they gave me hormone treatment and Zoloft. It took a couple of months for me to feel myself again. I did not know that was a side effect of the Lupron.

Anxiety247 - sounds like you and I are emotional twins. I'm on my third session with EMDR - and having some doubts about it too. The Accelerated Resolution Therapy Open Eyes mentioned does indeed sound like a better course, to me, anyway. Since you've given it a year - sounds like maybe it is time to look for something better to help you. As for the Medicare insurance - since you do have that, are you eligible for a Medicare Advantage plan to go with it? An Advantage plan covers WAY more than basic Medicare does, and sometimes, you can find a plan that is no-cost, or a very small cost. It works well for the over 65 crowd - not sure at all if you would be able to get one - but check it out.

I tried finding that ART type therapist in my area and shocker we have none.

The current therapist who does the EMDR I am not feeling good about

Back in July the Therapist made a comment out of no where that I didn't look disabled. I could not ask what she meant because times up.

The following week I went in and asked about that comment because I am disabled and will need papers filled out at some point to support my disability. She said 3 things that really bothered me.

1) She said I more impaired - I mentioned the disability review (anyone who knows about continuing disability reviews - will understand the the anxiety associated with it) then she went on to say
2) Basically people hide behind their disabilities and do not want to get better. That pissed me off. For yrs I have been misdiagnosed and put on medications that I never needed and essentially destroyed my teeth. The trauma was ignored.
3) While on the topic of disabled she told me of her one clients she would fight tooth and nail for. That hurt me!!!!!!!!! She knows my history of neglect and how no one ever fought for me. That stung so bad!!!!! I also felt like my trauma wasn't bad - that I was undeserving of help after all others have it worse than me.

Usually in my past I would have just said F it quit and find another therapist. However I tried something different this time and tried to work through it with the therapist. I went back for 2 appts and still those comments are running through my head still. I have not been to therapy since 8/1. I been looking for therapist and they are hardly any LISW therapist - mostly LPP and I dont know if they are skilled to help with C- trauma

Your therapist should NOT be making you uncomfortable. For many PTSD can be very crippling.