EMDR

OMG so i didn't know about the effects of emdr days after you do it... :-o
so i thought i'd post on here to let anyone else know that may not find it in their google research...

so like the next two days i had more emotions than i've felt in YEARS... thanks to the emdr and how it taps into your the opposite side of your dominate hand (for me the right side of my brain)

be prepared for intense emotions and sometimes even body reactions, like nausea or even vomiting...

HOWEVER
do not be scared of emdr for these reasons.. these are the signs that show it is working to help reprocess the event. and it's bringing up those repressed feelings so you can let them go i believe...

I had heard of that but it has never happened to me. Maybe that's why my T says we need to go over the same targets more than once. I'm glad you're aware of it and that it means EMDR is working for you!

i guess i assume it means emdr is working???

I think so. I've heard or read about EMDR bringing up intense emotions a few days or later after the session. I usually feel relaxed and tired afterwards, though often I get stirred up but not to the extent you're talking about. Maybe because I'm not processing severe trauma, but places where I'm "stuck" in my past. EMDR is supposed to be a quick "exposure therapy" so it makes sense that it makes you feel things intensely! It's weird but I know it does something good for me and I hope it helps you too.

This thread has totally triggered me and I have no freaking idea why! I am in total panic about my session tomorrow and about my T. I don' even do EMDR because my trauma is developmental and I don't have any memories to work with, yet I'm freaking out here. I am insane

i would edit and add a trigger icon but i don't know how.. i apologize.

No worries...it's my stuff.

"HOWEVER
do not be scared of emdr for these reasons.. these are the signs that show it is working to help reprocess the event. and it's bringing up those repressed feelings so you can let them go i believe..."

I totally agree..your brain will continue to process new things long after the "session" has ended. Hopefully your therapist taught you one of the grounding EMDR techniques (safe place, whirl wind) so that your emotions do not get to a point you can't handle them :-)

it doesnt bring on any intense emotions or tiredness for me. i leave feeling more stirred up and intense after just a regular session. i struggle with EMDR....i cant let my brain "go". i get stuck and distracted with EMDR...wondering if that means its not a good fit for me.

struggling, maybe you just need a different medium? Does your T use eye movements, tappers, audio? Sometimes trying something different, or doing two at once, can make stuff move :-) I wouldn't give up just yet!

struggling, I know what you mean. My T told me last week that I was trying to control the process instead of just letting my mind/brain go where it wants to go. I try too hard to focus on the target incident and the feelings. You're supposed to be like a leaf floating down the river. I get embarrassed because sometimes I'm "distracted" by a feeling about my T, but she says that is fine too. There's no right or wrong way to do EMDR. I think it takes getting used to. My T also says that it will work even if I don't think it's working! It's a strange method but I know it does help me get where "my brain needs to get." The first time I ever did it, I saw very clearly, a white picket fance with the words "I want Mommy" written in dripping white paint. I've never seen images like that again, though.

this is what i am afraid of! my T doesn't seem to be as discouraged as i do, and we are taking it v e r y sloowwwllyy

thats exactly what mine says too. i cant let go and im trying so hard but i just get stuck more. i cant do the actual eye movements i got all dizzy and it was way distracting....mine taps on my knees which is fine. and i have my eyes closed and i think that partially freaks me out. shes sitting there staring at me and i have my eyes closed and shes up close and im all "ahhhhhhhhh!!!!" i just cant relax. my mind wanders when im by myself doing things like the dishes or walking...its like my own EMDR i guess? i dont know if it could work the same. then i take what i think about in to T and try to talk to her about it. not sure what to do with it.

I had my first EMDR session on Monday. Afterwards I was sooooooooooooo tired!!! All I wanted to do was get into bed. Then when I did go to bed in the evening I kept waking up after having awful dreams. And I ended up taking Tueday off and slept until early afternoon which I never do!

Does anyone here know if this is what I should expect after each session or do you become more accustomed to it?