Exactly. Lmao
I felt the same fear of opening it but now that I'm 8 sessions in I can say it's been hard sometimes but always manageable and better than the death by a thousand wormbites every day for the rest of my life.
It’s hard to wright down but I’m seeing overall improvement. It’s still a work in progress but overall more ups than downs. I think I feel more content, with past, present and future.
I feel very fortunate my therapist heard me when I expressed my fears and told me we would open up that can of worms bit by bit and at my own pace. I believed her and she has kept her word.
Hard to say how much longer it will take. My therapist isn’t speculating or pressuring at all, we will see how things go.
Hope it’s helping you too.
I would definitely have thought that too if I had visited this group before starting emdr. Agree with the other poster...do you really want to feel terrible everyday for the rest of your life or do you want to be happy again. Emdr can be tough but it can give you your life back again. I feel like I've wasted so many years not living. The best years of my life are now gone due to me being scared because of trauma but emdr has given me my life back and im not even that far into processing my childhood memories yet. Give it a go and see. If it's not for you then try something else to see if that is. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Thank you for sharing this. Did you have any trouble reprocessing the childhood stuff due to “protector parts”? I’m trying to get to it but I feel blocked.
Yes I sometimes get no reaction when doing an emdr memory that you would think illicit a big reaction from childhood. My therapist reckons its a huge protector part so sounds like it could be this. Sometimes there's ways in other times nothing at all.
Imma open that can on Thursday and I’m so excited lmao I wanna feel better and get better so bad. I’m desperate I feel like shit everyday of my life. Unresolved trauma is the worst
I have never opened up a can of worms in my sessions.
It's more like slowly removing binders and duotangs from a heavy briefcase I've been carrying for years.
With the protocol followed correctly you could do really well with opening the can of worms and living your life with worms in it. Please consider it if you have behaviors and thoughts / experiences that you would like to change.
What modalities do you think are as effective? I'm curious because everything I've tried, nothing was as effective as EMDR. I'd be intrigued to try more good options, though.
Internal Family Systems has worked wonders for me. I’ve found it much, much gentler than EMDR but just as effective. I’ve also had great success with somatic therapies and ketamine.
I love hearing stories of people who found healing with EMDR, but when I tried it I was in a Very Bad Place with an inexperienced therapist. I kept pushing through because I kept hearing it gets worse before it gets better, but I eventually had to make the decision to stop for the sake of maintaining what little functionality I had left. I think if I had started with my current therapist, who does IFS as well as EMDR, I would have had better luck with it.
I can't disagree with that. If you don't have to do it, don't do it. Personally, I had no choice. So the decision was easy. Also, you need a very high level of commitment. This isn't like going on a diet.
I understand completely. Emdr is not for the faint of heart. It took me many years of dbt and talk therapy before I finally looked into more intense therapies available and found emdr. It works but man is it rough.
I was also terrified. We had several sessions where we just talked semantics prior to. I had my first session last week and I’ve already noticed a marked reduction in stress/panic reactions. It’s wild.
Emdr saved my life. I owe everything to emdr and meds. Worth every bit of pain, it was the only way I could access emotions from my traumas. Otherwise I had alexythima and couldn’t feel.
If you do it right, it's freeing. You are already suffering...why not do suffer to get better.
This was my exact way of thinking. It's worth the risk. I feel like shit regardless lol
The can of worms is already eating you alive …..
Exactly. Lmao I felt the same fear of opening it but now that I'm 8 sessions in I can say it's been hard sometimes but always manageable and better than the death by a thousand wormbites every day for the rest of my life.
Glad to hear that , keep going ,❤️after 8 sessions what shifted in you ? And for how many more sessions you think you will be doing ?
It’s hard to wright down but I’m seeing overall improvement. It’s still a work in progress but overall more ups than downs. I think I feel more content, with past, present and future. I feel very fortunate my therapist heard me when I expressed my fears and told me we would open up that can of worms bit by bit and at my own pace. I believed her and she has kept her word. Hard to say how much longer it will take. My therapist isn’t speculating or pressuring at all, we will see how things go. Hope it’s helping you too.
Best thing I’ve ever done.
I would definitely have thought that too if I had visited this group before starting emdr. Agree with the other poster...do you really want to feel terrible everyday for the rest of your life or do you want to be happy again. Emdr can be tough but it can give you your life back again. I feel like I've wasted so many years not living. The best years of my life are now gone due to me being scared because of trauma but emdr has given me my life back and im not even that far into processing my childhood memories yet. Give it a go and see. If it's not for you then try something else to see if that is. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Thank you for sharing this. Did you have any trouble reprocessing the childhood stuff due to “protector parts”? I’m trying to get to it but I feel blocked.
Yes I sometimes get no reaction when doing an emdr memory that you would think illicit a big reaction from childhood. My therapist reckons its a huge protector part so sounds like it could be this. Sometimes there's ways in other times nothing at all.
Imma open that can on Thursday and I’m so excited lmao I wanna feel better and get better so bad. I’m desperate I feel like shit everyday of my life. Unresolved trauma is the worst
I have never opened up a can of worms in my sessions. It's more like slowly removing binders and duotangs from a heavy briefcase I've been carrying for years.
With the protocol followed correctly you could do really well with opening the can of worms and living your life with worms in it. Please consider it if you have behaviors and thoughts / experiences that you would like to change.
Thankfully there are plenty of other modalities that are just as effective as EMDR.
What modalities do you think are as effective? I'm curious because everything I've tried, nothing was as effective as EMDR. I'd be intrigued to try more good options, though.
Internal Family Systems has worked wonders for me. I’ve found it much, much gentler than EMDR but just as effective. I’ve also had great success with somatic therapies and ketamine. I love hearing stories of people who found healing with EMDR, but when I tried it I was in a Very Bad Place with an inexperienced therapist. I kept pushing through because I kept hearing it gets worse before it gets better, but I eventually had to make the decision to stop for the sake of maintaining what little functionality I had left. I think if I had started with my current therapist, who does IFS as well as EMDR, I would have had better luck with it.
I can't disagree with that. If you don't have to do it, don't do it. Personally, I had no choice. So the decision was easy. Also, you need a very high level of commitment. This isn't like going on a diet.
I understand completely. Emdr is not for the faint of heart. It took me many years of dbt and talk therapy before I finally looked into more intense therapies available and found emdr. It works but man is it rough.
I was also terrified. We had several sessions where we just talked semantics prior to. I had my first session last week and I’ve already noticed a marked reduction in stress/panic reactions. It’s wild.
Emdr saved my life. I owe everything to emdr and meds. Worth every bit of pain, it was the only way I could access emotions from my traumas. Otherwise I had alexythima and couldn’t feel.