EMDR?

[Anonymous]

I have told my therapist about certain trauma that I still carry around from my childhood and she suggested we begin EMDR in two weeks.

Has anyone on here ever done this?
If so - was it successful in dealing with past trauma??
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I have PTSD and did EMDR.

Ultimately, it did not help me much. While I was doing it I might have had a slight reduction in reaction to triggers, but it didn't last. YMMV, many people say they are helped by it. I would say it is worth a try.

[Anonymous]

My husband could never “get in the zone” to have it work, even though he was hopeful it would help and was willing to go there. He similarly can’t be hypnotized and I’ve always wondered if they are related.

[Anonymous]

I’m a success story! Found out about EMDR here on dcum and am forever grateful and pledged to always share whenever I see a post!

Finishing up my second “round” of EMDR based therapy - sought help a decade ago for daily anxiety and increasing more debilitating panic attacks.

Specifically I have had the most success with lights only (opted not to have sound) while some of my earliest traumatic experiences were discussed (and I had to go back to age 10).

Issues I needed to address were claustrophobia, agoraphobia, anticipatory anxiety and fear of flying.

Happy to help more, OP and will return to respond if you have questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband could never “get in the zone” to have it work, even though he was hopeful it would help and was willing to go there. He similarly can’t be hypnotized and I’ve always wondered if they are related.

PP at 23:01 who didn't have success with EMDR. FWIW, I am not hypnotizable either.

[Anonymous]

I did it as part of my eating disorder treatment. It only works if you have some level of buy in… the first time I did it, I thought it was stupid. Tried again a year later and got a lot of benefit.

[Anonymous]

I tried it a couple of years ago to deal with anxiety, much of it stemming from specific traumatic events in childhood.

For the record - the "trauma" is relative, mine was not "as bad" as SA, death, etc. but was still impactful to me apparently.

Anyway, after the first online EMDR session, I saw noticeable improvement, with subsequent sessions even more helpful. It doesn't take away the anxiety or trauma from those events, but certainly blunts their impact so I could manage my current anxieties better. All my sessions were online, I'm not sure if they do it in person?

Keep an open mind and give it a shot.