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EMDR anyone? - topic revisited

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Posted 9/27/2006 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know much about EMDR or has anyone done it?

Post Edited By Moderator (percycat) : 5/5/2009 11:45:24 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/27/2006 3:55 AM (GMT 0)
My psychologist told me about EMDR because I have had a minor traumataic experience as a child. It's supposedly very simple. The psychologist, or whoever is practising it on you, makes your eyes focus on something and move it horizontally back and forth for a period of time. Supposedly, our trauma memory is arranged a certain and making the eye move horizontally rapidly back and forth will rearrage the memory somehow. It doesn't always work for every but it's definintely grounded on science and research.
Posted 10/2/2006 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks sunny...


Anyone else have any info/stories on this ?
Posted 10/2/2006 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't done it as a single therapy but this type of technique is used to some degree in EFT.

If this link is allowed it will explain more, http://www.emdr.com/briefdes.htm

Posted 10/2/2006 9:37 PM (GMT 0)
Thanx jethro
Posted 10/3/2006 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
there would be info about it on the net, I havent heard of anyone who was actually helped by it

Posted 10/28/2006 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
im suppose to be starting that next week with the pschy

normalsnofun said...
Does anyone know much about EMDR or has anyone done it?

Posted 10/28/2006 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck. I have heard god things about it so I hope it helps ya.
Posted 5/5/2009 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
(I'm bringing this 2006 thread back to the top rather than starting a new one.)

My therapist and I did EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) last week to try to address some of my health anxiety. She had not suggested this technique earlier as it is mostly used to treat PTSD. Here's how it worked for me:

She had me put on headphones (rather than using my eyes) where the sound switched back and forth from the left ear to the right to what seemed like stereo sometimes. I wasn't concentrating on that, but could tell that it was happening when I first put the phones on. The idea is that the brain forms connections between the its two sides and that these new connections help to process traumatic memories in new ways that are presumably helpful.

Anyhow, we started with me describing a particular memory that provokes my HA (so this seems very much like what someone with PTSD would need). Then, she told me to just hold that memory and "whatever happens, happens." Every few minutes, she would check in with me (we were seated in the same room the whole time) and ask me what I was experiencing. I discovered that the EMDR sensation really enhanced my ability to be "mindful": that is, I could more easily just accept that I was having a certain thought or feeling or bodily sensation without my usual habit of analyzing why I was having it. *THAT* was certainly different for me. We did this for 30-40 minutes: me just letting my thoughts, feelings, and body sensations wander as they would, and her checking with me (and taking notes) every 5 minutes or so.

When we finished, she said I might have strange dreams or other odd things because my brain would still be processing. I haven't, but maybe that's because I'm not PTSD, and the memory wasn't really very different from many others about HA (and not all that traumatic). We meet again tomorrow, and she said we'd start by seeing where I was with the memory.

I hope this description helps others understand more what EMDR feels like. I don't know yet whether it is helping me with my health anxiety, but I don't think we're done yet.

Hugs to all,
percycat
Posted 5/5/2009 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
HEY lil ONE

Check out that link
I have heard great things about it
I cannot phone you I have lost hearing in both ears now

Love ya
MOM
Posted 5/5/2009 11:32 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Percy

Pullling up this older thread of normalsnofun was a good idea.

It does sound like you and your therapist are working well on this therapy but I understand after only one session it is hard to know if it is working.  I hope tomorrow goes well for you and thanks for the indepth explanation.

I have read that it is one of the therapies often used for PTSD as you mentioned.

Take care my friend and know we support you.

Hugs
Kitt




 

Posted 5/6/2009 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
All,

Today my therapist and I discussed my HA issues and discovered another, more concrete memory/belief that we will apply EMDR to next week at my appointment.

I had initially told her I hadn't felt i'd processed anything between last week and this, because the memory and belief we tackled last time wasn't traumatic. When we got to this one, she noted that it has two of the characteristics of trauma: I felt that my life was in danger (from a sudden health condition) and I felt powerless to do anything (I was on an interstate in a rural area far from home and hospitals).

If this sounds like what you PTSDers go through, I can't imagine how shaken up it makes you. As I said in the earlier post, EMDR is used sometimes to treat PTSD, so I'll keep posting about what it's like and whether it helps me make any changes with my health anxiety. That way other folks will be able to know a little more about whether it's something they want to try.

Hugs,
percycat
Posted 5/7/2009 12:39 PM (GMT 0)

Percy,

Thanks for the update and what you posted  makes sense. If our fears and anxieties have characteristics of trauma they are akin to PTSD.  These symptoms of HA  disrupt your life, making it hard to continue with your daily activities. They make you fear for your safety and cause you trauma.................

Great point.

Thanks sweetie and I am glad you are working through this program.

Love,
Kitt

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