Very interesting! I assume you know that Francine Shapiro, who invented EMDR, came up with it spontaneously while walking as well! How interesting that you discovered it that way as well.
@@lamdafinity I just watched a video of Andrew Huberman analyzing EMDR and he says that while we walk the eyes are doing the same movement and it has similar effects, it deactivates the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that alerts us when there is danger.
It's valid. I just posted on a book called "Walking your blues away" by Thom Hartmann (though he is advocating a purposeful 20 min a day walk). I wish he hadn't used the word blues, but i suppose he wanted to keep it accessible. I just mentioned walking a labyrinth daily (non-theistically).
@@Healinglove I found the steps online and found emdr videos on UA-cam! I also was seeing a therapist at the time who helped me to create a safe space which helped. It changed my life.
@@moonlightmelodiesasmr3766 thank you! If I don't have the money for a therapist, do you think doing this alone with the UA-cam video's would be alright? I did one the other day, it helped, I felt ALOT, I was shocked, felt a little dizzy, but it was good. 🙃
@@Healinglove I started doing it by myself before I started seeing a therapist actually. So yes you definitely can. It was just helpful to see how someone who was trained in it would do it so I could improve my own technique. And also to break down the session with her. I also didn’t know I was supposed to create a safe space. I would definitely read/ watch yt videos about the proper steps. And you can also re traumatize yourself if it goes wrong. I have actually done that once when I was a hurry and didn’t follow the proper process. So it is a risk. But overall it has still been worth it for me. So since you don’t have a therapist to do that make sure you know the information and steps. Create a safe space while doing the emdr with imaging your senses involved. And also find other tools that can help when the session gets too intense. Like imagining a glass wall between you and whatever you need it to be or creating a protector that can come in and help. All of those things have helped me a lot. You can also create other spaces to help like a safe with a lock and filing system you leave the session in to file away for later. Do that has really helped me to slowly come out of the session and feel like I’m not going to be disturbed with thoughts about it until I’m ready again. I’ve also slowly built a “house” in sessions over time that have helped me create a secure attachment and self identity. It’s basically where I focus on the positive changes I want after dealing with the negative child trauma and I’m ready to move on and create something new. There’s lots of different ways to grow and process with emdr. Hope that helps and gives you some ideas!
I tried self administered EMDR having had counselling sessions and trauma focused CBT in the past and still use my CBT techniques to this day. I have diagnosed PTSD from multiple childhood traumatic events but decided to pick an isolated event which comes up as a flashback/image around the anniversary of my brothers death that usually triggers guilt and sadness. I had thought about my core beliefs and what my younger self needed to hear at that time, did the EMDR light board on a UA-cam video and managed to release all the guilt and sadness after one go! Today is my brothers death anniversary and for the first time in 28 years I feel completely neutral, calm and at peace with it! Even the image is vague in my mind now and has zero upset attached to it! I am able to say it was a really sad time and I’ll never forget him but it’s time for me to live my life now without guilt or sadness! Amazing!
I'm not sure I suffer from PTSD but I have used self-EMDR to desensitize myself to certain mildly traumatic past events and I've found it works very quickly for me. They weren't major life events, just sources of anxiety from situations where I didn't feel safe etc, and the lasting trauma from them was only mild, but I'd say my experience is that self-EMDR worked for me, even just taking a few minutes over the course of a few days to access the memories, with eye movements, and tell myself that it's in the past, things turned out OK and the memory alone can't hurt me in the present. Some are situations I can easily avoid in the future so I know I won't have to face them again, so there's nothing to continue worrying about. As a technique that's easy to use and requires no specialist equipment etc, I think it's worth a try for anyone who's curious about it - just be ready to stop if you feel like it's triggering you more than helping you. (I'm not an expert, just personal opinion.)
@@thanksexportsshoes240 I just thought about the problem memories while rapidly moving my eyes, no special techniques or apps. Like I said, I'm not sure if that should even work but it feels like it helps me.
@@dabsmomos I think these things will always work differently for different people. I have found EMDR useful with or without the videos, I hope it works for you. Really hope you feel better.
I’ve done my first self EMDR and found it super powerful and supportive. I’ve got a background in teaching transformational breathwork so I’m comfortable with catharsis and release, but it’s really great to have EMDR as an additional tool.
I didn't realise you could perform EMDR on your self. So firstly thanks for the awareness and also thanks for the balanced overview 👍. I'll be watching this again and again..
There is something about you that seems so sincere, like I FEEL I can trust what you're saying. I definitely finished this video with the sense you are committed to the mental well-being of others. It's as if you engender true hope, not just the "bank of knowledge" of many a professional or expert. I felt hopeful for the first time in awhile...i saw a trauma therapist for a short time when I was in crisis, desperate for EMDR, but she wouldn't attempt it until I was more emotionally regulated. I've seen a different therapist since for 2 years (CBT), but I'm still dysregulated to the same degree. My memories haunt me, and I can't help but feel my mind wants to expel them but can't. Something is holding on to them, and when I remember, I feel the events MORE than when they occurred. So sorry for the wall of text.
Hi Chartreuse: Thanks for the positive feedback - it is nice to hear. So sorry you have been struggling for so long. I do have a video on EMDR for complex PTSD. ua-cam.com/video/NuxMmSYea5U/v-deo.html Sometimes it is recommended for a therapist to work for an extended period of time with someone BEFORE doing the active processing stage with bilateral stimulation (sometimes it can be 1-2 years of working on emotional regulation , trust and other issues - this is still "doing" EMDR, just not the active processing stage). Other things can be very helpful, particularly yoga, meditation. There is hope!
Because they can not practice it if you are not in a safe place, away from your abusor, call it abusive family members, or the job where they totally hate you and bully you, etc
You are a true treasure. Thank you for taking the time to support us traumatized individuals. I have CPTSD and have had a few EMDR sessions. I've started doing it at home now and I love it. I have a lot of self-awareness about why and how this happened, but I would be willing to see a therapist again in the future. Keep up your amazing work ♥️
I'm currently doing EMDR with a therapist and have been for almost a year but I know that I need something additional to help me in between sessions. I've been afraid to do self administered EMDR however after watching the video I'm not as afraid and will start off with the "EMD" part of things. Thank you for posting this!
Answer is yes. You should definitely use it if you’ve been title as often as possible and as often as it helps. Take responsibility for your healing and be strong
I can really appreciate this because so many people need this but cannot afford it. I wanted to try EMDR and it was suggested for me by other therapists. But sadly my insurance wouldn’t help with it.
My daughter (now 18) and I both have had prior EMDR sessions with a therapist. I can easily talk quickly and move right to the next set of EMDR movements. My daughter, however, gets VERY distracted by the talking aspect and feels compelled to talk to the therapist, so has almost no sets of eye movement (when she was a minor, I discussed it with the therapist and they continued drawing out the talking instead of helping a traumatized/victimized teen work with EMDR who wanted to utilize it). I eventually got desperate to find something for her and found VirtualEMDR, and it has been AWESOME for her. She went from the emotional life of maybe a 8-9 year old when she was 17, to that of a 14-15 year old in a few months! Having no one to distract her with talking was a huge key for HER. The cost of the month of Virtual EMDR is less than one-hour sessions with our local therapist, too. Which is needed for a family of 8 with less than $30,000 a year! I still benefit more from an in-person session than the virtual, but it still helps me, too. Thank you for being so open about the pros and cons, not just dismissing self-EMDR!
I used VirtualEMDR before getting EMDR with a therapist. I didn’t feel like doing it on my own was helping me at all and you are correct. I was doing the EMD and not the R. Now that I am seeing positive benefits from my EMDR therapist-led sessions once we are done working together, I plan to do the self-led EMDR therapy on my own. My moods are even, I’m very in touch with my emotions and my body, and my issues are little T traumas. My therapist has been impressed with how quickly I am proceeding through all the sessions. It helps me feel neutral about these events- like they are something that I saw in a movie or read about in a book.
Thanks so much for sharing this! Yes, your experience of events being neutralized - that is exactly how it works! And it is wonderful that you are moving through everything! When you return to the self-administered, let us know how it goes! I am working on a couple of videos with some interviews with people who utilized the Virtual emdr site and a couple of them found it useful after finishing with their therapists as well: bit.ly/bhvirtualemdr
Thank you Barbara. You appear a sensible, informed and compassionate. It was a delight listening to you. Am keen to follow up with the suggested videos.
Thank you Barbara for the following comments. I felt much warmth and encouragement. " I wish you a lot of will being on your recovery journey. I truly do. It's worth doing. It is worth taking the time..." "Give yourself the time you need to heal, allow yourself the resources that are really going to help you get there." "I truly wish you health and healing and happiness" Thank you.
Thanks a lot for this! I’ve been doing online EMDR with a therapist for some months now, and it’s been very helpful. I will be stopping the sessions in some weeks, as I’m feeling better, and this sounds like a great option to try if I feel like I could use it again.
Thanks for offering such a genuinely helpful explanation. Being a novice, and having just completed a very successful self administered session, I was looking for confirmation that I did it "right," and found your video. Turns out I did. Having the experience validated by a professional is affirming and super helpful. Thank You! You've got a new subscriber.
I’ve done it on myself. 12 days straight 50-70mins per session. Then I did another 4 sessions just to follow up. Current Medication: Citilopram 10mg ^ Planning on cycling off within the next 2 months. I’ve done a ton of research on this before trying this myself. I also eased my way into the more heavy material (traumas). I’m in a “maintenance phase” right now. Just observing myself at this point. Last session was 4 days ago. Session before that was about a week before my last session. It’s a powerful tool to add to your tool belt, don’t do too much too soon.
Just started EMDR with a therapist. I've only really done the safe space exercise but even that was a great help. I started using the safe place when confronted with overwhelming negative emotions. Haven't reprocessed anything yet but just taking time to create that space was a good exercise to do.
I was looking into if this would be a good fit for me and you provided great info....looks like I need to take some other steps before I'm ready so I'm happy to know the next steps I need to take. Very helpful video!
Thanks so much for the info. I tried self administered desensitizing with a UA-cam video and got instant relief...after a few min of course. Felt lighter, mind relaxed. Thanks for pointing out adding a positive belief /outlook at the end. Gold 🙏🏼
@@vesnam7591 Thank you! I've been doing the tapping when the flashbacks come up on their own, and it's just like you said. Immediate relief, instantly calmer, and I'm able to process the memory and positive correlations much better. I may become brave and try with a therapist, but I'm not yet at the point where I can do the whole "completely falling apart" part of EMDR before getting better. Good luck to everyone reading and you, as well! We're stronger than we know.
This video provides the information I need about EDMR. However, I found the flashing sparkly lights around the section titles really startling and think perhaps to match your calm therapist demeanor perhaps use a section title style to match that is not so "Shocking"
I did EMDR on my own for 3 years. Purposeful but if I hadn’t done it with a therapist I wouldn’t have been ready. Honestly I couldn’t imagine someone hurting doing emdr alone and without support to direct them back to their safe space.
I have been doing EMDR with my therapists for over 10 years. I started doing some of the techniques on myself (tapping, butterfly hug, etc) during extremely difficult periods when I was between therapy sessions. What I found is that this helped me to move to a better place emotionally.
I believe that for small traumas (memories of offenses or insults etc ..) it can also be done alone but for serious traumas (violence, earthquakes etc) then you have to do it with a therapist.
Yes. The only caution is for some people, processing small traumas quickly brings them into the more serious ones. Things don't always stay in compartments with emdr,...
As someone from a country where earthquakes big and small are a semi-daily occurrence, I'd never even considered that earthquakes could be a cause of trauma for some! How interesting. But it makes sense, because even though it's a part of normal life, it's always slightly alarming and a bit scary. I wonder if the constant lingering threat of mass shootings/gun violence has an effect (a sense of trauma) on Americans too and to what extent?
@@user-nt6fy2jr3u I live in Mexico City and people freak the hell out even with minor earthquakes after the disaster in 2017. It's surprising that you find it surprising.
Always clear, honest, balanced and so clarifying. Your videos are useful as a teacher's guide, as well! Thank you so much for giving such a high level quality information! This subject is quite new in my country, and it is taking the risk of becoming a fad phenomenon....
Hopefully the therapists are becoming fully trained in EMDR, and then I believe it can be super useful for an wide range of issues and clients. The self-administered can be a little trickier.
This is totally working for me, Barbara! 😁🏄♀️🤸♀️🤸♀️Dr Inaki Pinuel don t recommend it... But you do.. So I started very formal, watching videos about emdr... I did like 4...but then, like Dr Inaki warned us... A bunch of unresolved trauma as flashbacks start invading you... Just as he said.... So when they started... I started moving my eyes(which by the way in itself is mindfulness... Needs concentration... And now whenever flashbacks attack me. I start moving my eyes... But also sometimes to play guided meditation at the same time or your safe place med(for me... Honestly needed more stuff as I was plagued with traumas)... Well sometimes I even forget them.. And doesn t have to be like long sessions, just half minute or less(or more), depending... The flashbacks go away... And if they come back... I fight them back... Thank you!! I did needed a second opinion, as many people complain is not safe... It is uncomfortable, however with your ahh mini series and much meditation... I don t feel so bothered... I rate my discomfort in a scale 1 to 10 and honestly sometimes, I don t even get to rate it!
So pleased this is helping and that the ahh mini series helped as well! It is very brave to do on one's own when there are flashbacks... I have heard from many that it helps however!
Thank you for putting this information here! My husband is a soldier and has PTSD from war. I have been trying to research how to perform this technique because he will not go to a therapist to have it done. I appreciate this so much.
This was honestly so helpful and beautifully explained thank you so much I found out this technique today and I already feel like I can jump into it thank you!!!
This really did help me. I have a therapist and we’ve been slowly working through trauma with different techniques but I’ve kept coming back to EMDR and I’m not sure if he’s trained in it (going to bring it up next session). But I do a lot of self-work outside of therapy and I do think I’d benefit from the self EMD aspect, and he can definitely help with at least the R haha.
i find a video on youtube that helps me, its a line of boxes you follow them with your eyes its not painful it stops me thinking about anything reduces stress for awhile ok its not a cure but helps in some way ease the mental pain.
This is the first EMDR exposition or video I have ever seen. I liked it VERY much! It was helpful and calming in itself, and I will explore the content on your site and also the virtual EMDR site you mentioned. Thank you. I am sincerely grateful..
I read Dr. Aaron Becks, ‘Feeling Good’, thirty years ago. It’’s only been recently that CBT has become mainstream. Meanwhile, life has cont’d. to unravel. Please cover real overwhelm and how to begin removing the layers, while addressing the real needs. Thank you! ..hopeful that help has finally materialized.✨🧡
Self EMDR has absolutely transformed my life over the past few years. I have a very repetitive mind. I don't know why, but EMDR gets me out of that loop. Even helps with vocal tics. I don't understand it and honestly thought EMDR was pseudoscience BS when I first heard about it. I can't believe how effective it is.
Wow. Thanks for sharing! There is a lot of good research behind EMDR. INteresting re helping with the vocal tics - that is great! Wishing you the best.
I watched an EMDR video where an instructor was training a new therapist in the technique as I was watching it I ended up answering the questions she was asking and quite suddenly I experienced massive relief. It was incredible.
The strangest thing that happened to me is that while doing EMDR is that I stepped into my mom’s perspective, meaning I was seeing life as my mom, and i kept saying “it’s not fair.” My traumas were caused by my not and father.
Because they were evil parents, we call them 0 parents, meaning you should have zero contact with them before even dreaming to do emdr... Or it won t work
I did it once with a situation I was still upset with my about when I was a kid. I was just sitting at my desk with no help or videos. As I kept going , my mind seemed to process the story and come to a different conclusion than before. My mom was doing her best at the time and I could finally see that clearly. I no longer have any emotional response in regards to that childhood memory.
I've tried just two minutes ago. I did so primarily because the emdr therapists around me seem to be closed and I have suffered from DP/DR for 8 years and just want to get rid of it. I am not feeling any immediate effects but hoping to "feel" something in the morning
Self? Yes! Administered? Not really... One time, from an upsetting event that was a lot like my upbringing (except that I handled it well, because I was an adult, I'd been warned this person was that way at times, and I've had a lot of therapy), a twitch manifested in my right temple. Eventually, after weeks of regular therapy I was already in, it moved to my eyebrow. I could affect it somewhat (a little like biofeedback), by relaxing a certain part of my brain/thinking/perspective, but not all day, every day, of course. Then, one morning, and I knew exactly what was happening, IT MOVED FROM MY EYELID TO MY ACTUAL EYE (right eye only) JUST AS IN EMDR, AND I KNEW THE TWITCH WOULD BE GONE FOREVER because of the stuff happening in my brain simultaneously. The week after that, I unravelled a bit in ways that I hadn't for YEARS but which used to be associated with attack by a critical parent, and had to ask my therapist for a 2h session on the weekend. It was the first time I was open to EMDR, but I actually ASKED FOR IT because my body had. (Sorry I wasn't open before: I'd heard from a dozen or so certified EMDR practitioners in my IFS Level 1 training that EMDR is being found to be safer in combination with IFS, so I got myself an IFS therapist with EMDR ability.) It got the rest of me over the hump! I'm FREEEEEEEE!!!!! I feel FANTASTIC. At peace in my body, not all over the place identifying as my thoughts and ideas, not afraid to take it slow anymore, not hypervigillant anymore... So... your Q... I guess I did do EMD(R) myself, but I can't say I *administered* it. It was involuntary. I know what trauma it treated: I was owning power I had given away as a child, and taking back the first-hand perspective of empowered party. This had been a looooooong time coming. I am now far more open to doing EMD myself when strong emotions arise: I think my biggest trauma has been unearthed. I'm glad I had an expert on standby when it hit the fan. I can see how self-administering could be the ONLY way some people get benefit, but luckily, my therapist was willing to drop all instructional language and do it in a way that supported my needs, accommodating my particular trauma. Instructions make me obstinate!! (I, myself, specialize in helping obstinate scientists for that very reason -- I get it!!!) Thanks for the sincere desire to make wellness accessible to all, with which you made this helpful, informative, stimulating video.
Are you aware of Bessels work in the body keeps the score? He cites studies and does a good breakdown on its comparison with cbt. For me, it was liberating to learn that the positive effects didn't rely on the therapy relationship or actual verbal disclosure.
EMDR helped me with fear of sleeping. I have schizophrenia and dreams remind me of psychosis i got scared and got up. I did self-administered EMDR and was able to sleep. I moved my fingers right-left, then i moved my fingers in the form of infinity symbol, them i moved my fingers in the form of the ring
12:12 I’ve done a substantial amount of therapy in my life. I’ve done a lot of somatic therapy, heart and body oriented therapy and narrative therapy. My question about EMDR, I have been through a tremendous amount of trauma, however, I have very little access to the actual life events.” Meaning, I can’t always remember the particulars about those traumatic events. Is EMDR something that would still benefit me ethough I cannot recall the actual events? The emotions I experienced when I’m triggered are enormous and paralyzing, but, trying to explain the actual moment in time, that simply may not be possible for me.
Thank you for this video I have never tried emdr although I’ve had a lot of therapy including trauma therapy. However I wanted to try self administered emdr for some recent smaller “traumas” that have got stuck in my brain.
I think more training is needed. I have seen counselors just dive into it. That didn’t work for me. Why is anxiety so hard to understand? Like some people don’t get it. You can’t jump into it, you must prepare first.
I think incorporating a focus on somatic experience is quite important. Some people find Somatic Experiencing very helpful (I am not trained in that). EMDR therapy does incorporate the somatic element quite a bit. When talk therapy fails, I usually recommend EMDR, meditation, twelve step groups if that applies, - there are many healing modalities.
with how i’m feeling now, i don’t feel like i can ever experience 🕹. i’m traumatized. my brain is highjacked, as bessel van der kolk says. the fight or flight is out of control. the fear and pain of the past and now and future, unbearable. i’m sick of suffering. i feel so paralyzed.
I don't get this safe place bit. I am reasonably safe most of the time. But it's not associated with a feeling so much as the lack of threat. I can put myself in mind 'unsafe' situations: Arguing with my step son, going to a class unprepared. Getting a tax audit letter from the IRS.
I would rather purge and discharge the underlying cause of the trauma/PTSD vs. desensitize myself to it. The generating cause and charge on the event is still there, underneath it all, even though the disabling effects have been reduced. Can desensitization be that specific and focused or does it become an overlay that gives us less sensitivity to all things, 'good' and 'bad'? Our sensitivity contributes to the problem where trauma is concerned but it is also our highest gift and guidance system in life.
Hi, thanks for the great advice. How do we do the actual physical self administration of the EMDR ourselves? In terms of using our hands or a moving object, etc.
I can't get a EMDR therapist. My HMO insurance approves two therapists and neither of them do EMDR. I could probably train my therapists in the method and bring a machine to the office. I have to learn the method first and buy a machine. What is nice is the vibration device isn't very expensive.
Right!?!! I know! Sometimes the relationship with the person facilitating is the first safe "place" ever... and then that can cause a power differential, as in: it hardly feels voluntary to do what they suggest, because all the really deep biological programming kicks in, making one want to please one's "secure attachment figure." ...and how safe does that feel? ...But there are practitioners who specialize enough in preserving and developing a personality/character trait you're proud to have (not just an issue they could be construed as wanting to last), and promise to help you KEEP. And there are trustworthy, collaborative facilitators. Those who specialize in not manipulating or advising, but *supporting* people like oneself, make it easier to truly welcome and weather healing ***from a place of collboration.*** I probably read way too much into your remark, Aardvark, but I respond from my own experience: having been chronically gaslit as a child, and also not having a "visual"ization-capable type of brain, it felt VERY risky to trust facilitators with a degree in not-me. I hope you find a way that allows the 'safe place' to not have to be a *place,* but an experience you can easily tap, again and again, whether through someone trustworthy's voice, rapport, and support, or through some other sense. I'm sorry you didn't get a response here for 2 years. And that the safe place has felt off-limits to you. I know that really, really sucks.
This answered most of my questions & was helpful, I’m still wondering though, what if your trauma event is more like many events from childhood, so many events they don’t necessarily have their own memory… hmmm
Yes, continual almost "atmospheric" traumas can still be worked with in EMDR. Maybe a little harder on one's own. I would usually have a client picture a "typical" experience - it wouldn't have to be specific - one of those "this happened all the time" and process. Hope that is helpful!
Thankyou for making this. Can you or anyone else help me with the following issue? When you say you wouldn't do EMDR if someone's emotions are too dysregulated and would instead focus on resources and cognitive behavioural tools? This is where I think I'm having trouble with this and other therapists: those resources and tools are things I'm perfectly aware of and know how to practice, but which no longer work. They used to work for problems I had with anxiety and ADHD-related issues, but they no longer work after life served up several large dollops of trauma on top of that. Everything - literally everything - that has been suggested to me is stuff I've already tried, and have continually attempted to use. It worked before I developed PTSD, it does not work now. So because of that, I seem to be being prevented from progressing to any other kind of treatment that would actually help me process my trauma, presumably because the risk of that with someone who is as emotionally dysregulated as I am is deemed too great. All these lectures talk about the need to "Get you stable" first. But after three years of therapy, various medications, and meditating myself into a frustrated mush while simultaneously having flashbacks, nightmares, exhaustion, and burn-out, all while trying to hold down a job so I can pay for therapy, I think this is about as stable as I'm likely to get. I admit that's not very, but it's as good as I can manage.
Awesome that you can regulate yourself! I am going to post a video on Tuesday about 3 snags that come up in processing which might be helpful. Wishing you the best!
I have done several EMDR sessions with a therapist some years ago. I have done a ton of therapy and processing of stuff but I have some new "trauma' with a current situation and I want to address the current stressors as well as peel back the layers of my original stuff. Fortunately I don't have any problems with severe trauma.. it is just a lot of smaller complex PTSD stuff and bad emotional dysregulation stuff. Specificallyl around $$ anxiety and things. I have tried to find an EMDR person but with the pandemic ti has been challenging... also interested in brainspotting
So clear and easy-to-follow summary, thanks a lot!! When you mention the simple EMD youtube videos with a moving dot… I’m wondering, does it matter if the dot and the ping sound are moving to the same direction (eg. moving dot is in the right side of the screen and I hear the sound in my right ear), or in the opposite direction (eg. when the dot is in the right side, the audio ping can be heard in the left ear). So does it make any difference? :)
I did self emdr on myself unintentionally while walking 8-12 miles a day over two years. My therapist is fascinated by what I have done.
Very interesting! I assume you know that Francine Shapiro, who invented EMDR, came up with it spontaneously while walking as well! How interesting that you discovered it that way as well.
@@lamdafinity I just watched a video of Andrew Huberman analyzing EMDR and he says that while we walk the eyes are doing the same movement and it has similar effects, it deactivates the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that alerts us when there is danger.
It's valid. I just posted on a book called "Walking your blues away" by Thom Hartmann (though he is advocating a purposeful 20 min a day walk). I wish he hadn't used the word blues, but i suppose he wanted to keep it accessible. I just mentioned walking a labyrinth daily (non-theistically).
@@BarbaraHeffernan Inviting you to say he conceptualized EMDR as Indigenous people across the world have been utilizing BLS since time immemorial ❤
@@thrisajimmy9005what's BLS?
I’ve done around 100 EMDR sessions. Self administered EMDR helped me start actually living my life.
May I ask how you did this on your own?
Thank you! 🙃
@@Healinglove I found the steps online and found emdr videos on UA-cam! I also was seeing a therapist at the time who helped me to create a safe space which helped. It changed my life.
@@moonlightmelodiesasmr3766 thank you! If I don't have the money for a therapist, do you think doing this alone with the UA-cam video's would be alright? I did one the other day, it helped, I felt ALOT, I was shocked, felt a little dizzy, but it was good. 🙃
@@Healinglove I started doing it by myself before I started seeing a therapist actually. So yes you definitely can. It was just helpful to see how someone who was trained in it would do it so I could improve my own technique. And also to break down the session with her. I also didn’t know I was supposed to create a safe space. I would definitely read/ watch yt videos about the proper steps. And you can also re traumatize yourself if it goes wrong. I have actually done that once when I was a hurry and didn’t follow the proper process. So it is a risk. But overall it has still been worth it for me. So since you don’t have a therapist to do that make sure you know the information and steps. Create a safe space while doing the emdr with imaging your senses involved. And also find other tools that can help when the session gets too intense. Like imagining a glass wall between you and whatever you need it to be or creating a protector that can come in and help. All of those things have helped me a lot. You can also create other spaces to help like a safe with a lock and filing system you leave the session in to file away for later. Do that has really helped me to slowly come out of the session and feel like I’m not going to be disturbed with thoughts about it until I’m ready again. I’ve also slowly built a “house” in sessions over time that have helped me create a secure attachment and self identity. It’s basically where I focus on the positive changes I want after dealing with the negative child trauma and I’m ready to move on and create something new. There’s lots of different ways to grow and process with emdr. Hope that helps and gives you some ideas!
@@Healinglove also feeling dizzy and drained is very normal! I also used to have vivid nightmares after too. Those has stopped for the most part.
I tried self administered EMDR having had counselling sessions and trauma focused CBT in the past and still use my CBT techniques to this day. I have diagnosed PTSD from multiple childhood traumatic events but decided to pick an isolated event which comes up as a flashback/image around the anniversary of my brothers death that usually triggers guilt and sadness. I had thought about my core beliefs and what my younger self needed to hear at that time, did the EMDR light board on a UA-cam video and managed to release all the guilt and sadness after one go! Today is my brothers death anniversary and for the first time in 28 years I feel completely neutral, calm and at peace with it! Even the image is vague in my mind now and has zero upset attached to it! I am able to say it was a really sad time and I’ll never forget him but it’s time for me to live my life now without guilt or sadness! Amazing!
Hi! So happy you’re finding peace!!! Can you tell me which UA-cam light board you were watching/using please?
There’s nothing more inspiring than hearing that someone has achieved success in this difficult situation. Power to you and thank you for sharing.
Name your sources please!??? Want to watch them myself, and do the same! Ty.
@@brotherdeluxe2782 aww thank you! I’m all for sharing if it helps someone else
@@mega-gabriel thank you! I used one off isochronicalpha channel but there are lots of different ones on UA-cam
I'm not sure I suffer from PTSD but I have used self-EMDR to desensitize myself to certain mildly traumatic past events and I've found it works very quickly for me. They weren't major life events, just sources of anxiety from situations where I didn't feel safe etc, and the lasting trauma from them was only mild, but I'd say my experience is that self-EMDR worked for me, even just taking a few minutes over the course of a few days to access the memories, with eye movements, and tell myself that it's in the past, things turned out OK and the memory alone can't hurt me in the present. Some are situations I can easily avoid in the future so I know I won't have to face them again, so there's nothing to continue worrying about. As a technique that's easy to use and requires no specialist equipment etc, I think it's worth a try for anyone who's curious about it - just be ready to stop if you feel like it's triggering you more than helping you. (I'm not an expert, just personal opinion.)
did you used vitural emdr ? for self therapy please reply your reply will give a light to me
@@thanksexportsshoes240 I just thought about the problem memories while rapidly moving my eyes, no special techniques or apps. Like I said, I'm not sure if that should even work but it feels like it helps me.
Thanks. This was helpful. I am less skeptical to listen to the video
@@dabsmomos I think these things will always work differently for different people. I have found EMDR useful with or without the videos, I hope it works for you. Really hope you feel better.
@@bobblebardsley 🙏
I’ve done my first self EMDR and found it super powerful and supportive. I’ve got a background in teaching transformational breathwork so I’m comfortable with catharsis and release, but it’s really great to have EMDR as an additional tool.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing as it might be helpful for others. And, I agree your background is helpful for this!
I am a PH.D. and EMDR certified. Your passion and presentation are spot on ! Thank you 🙏
Good day Melaney. May I contact you privately. I would appreciate getting your contacts. I'm all the way in South Africa
@@philanisukumane8405 I’d love to connect !! How would you like to do that ?
Zoom ?
@@melaneysreenan7172do you do EMDR sessions on Zoom still?
I didn't realise you could perform EMDR on your self. So firstly thanks for the awareness and also thanks for the balanced overview 👍. I'll be watching this again and again..
You are welcome!
There is something about you that seems so sincere, like I FEEL I can trust what you're saying. I definitely finished this video with the sense you are committed to the mental well-being of others. It's as if you engender true hope, not just the "bank of knowledge" of many a professional or expert. I felt hopeful for the first time in awhile...i saw a trauma therapist for a short time when I was in crisis, desperate for EMDR, but she wouldn't attempt it until I was more emotionally regulated. I've seen a different therapist since for 2 years (CBT), but I'm still dysregulated to the same degree. My memories haunt me, and I can't help but feel my mind wants to expel them but can't. Something is holding on to them, and when I remember, I feel the events MORE than when they occurred. So sorry for the wall of text.
Hi Chartreuse: Thanks for the positive feedback - it is nice to hear. So sorry you have been struggling for so long. I do have a video on EMDR for complex PTSD. ua-cam.com/video/NuxMmSYea5U/v-deo.html Sometimes it is recommended for a therapist to work for an extended period of time with someone BEFORE doing the active processing stage with bilateral stimulation (sometimes it can be 1-2 years of working on emotional regulation , trust and other issues - this is still "doing" EMDR, just not the active processing stage). Other things can be very helpful, particularly yoga, meditation. There is hope!
Yeah, I directly saw that too! She is not an ordinary therapist!
Because they can not practice it if you are not in a safe place, away from your abusor, call it abusive family members, or the job where they totally hate you and bully you, etc
@@lesleygarvs4640 I understand
I feel so much better. I just bought the
self-administered emdr membership and finished a session. Wow this is a game changer!
So pleased to hear that it helped!!
Thank you for your review
You are a true treasure. Thank you for taking the time to support us traumatized individuals.
I have CPTSD and have had a few EMDR sessions. I've started doing it at home now and I love it. I have a lot of self-awareness about why and how this happened, but I would be willing to see a therapist again in the future. Keep up your amazing work ♥️
I'm currently doing EMDR with a therapist and have been for almost a year but I know that I need something additional to help me in between sessions. I've been afraid to do self administered EMDR however after watching the video I'm not as afraid and will start off with the "EMD" part of things. Thank you for posting this!
Thanks for the pros and cons of whether we can do EMDR on ourselves or need a therapist! Very informative!
Thanks!
Answer is yes. You should definitely use it if you’ve been title as often as possible and as often as it helps. Take responsibility for your healing and be strong
I can really appreciate this because so many people need this but cannot afford it. I wanted to try EMDR and it was suggested for me by other therapists. But sadly my insurance wouldn’t help with it.
My daughter (now 18) and I both have had prior EMDR sessions with a therapist. I can easily talk quickly and move right to the next set of EMDR movements. My daughter, however, gets VERY distracted by the talking aspect and feels compelled to talk to the therapist, so has almost no sets of eye movement (when she was a minor, I discussed it with the therapist and they continued drawing out the talking instead of helping a traumatized/victimized teen work with EMDR who wanted to utilize it). I eventually got desperate to find something for her and found VirtualEMDR, and it has been AWESOME for her. She went from the emotional life of maybe a 8-9 year old when she was 17, to that of a 14-15 year old in a few months! Having no one to distract her with talking was a huge key for HER.
The cost of the month of Virtual EMDR is less than one-hour sessions with our local therapist, too. Which is needed for a family of 8 with less than $30,000 a year!
I still benefit more from an in-person session than the virtual, but it still helps me, too.
Thank you for being so open about the pros and cons, not just dismissing self-EMDR!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm so pleased Virtual EMDR was so helpful for your daughter!
Hello where did you purchase or access the virtual emdr program thank you
Violet, what was the exact program you and she used, please?
@@Hblue-ju9rvit's the program she links in her description of the video, Virtual EMDR. click that and use her affiliate link!
@@tanyawieczorek6603it's the program she links in her description of the video, Virtual EMDR. click that and use her affiliate link!
Thank you so much for being in my life
That is so sweet! You are welcome!
What a calming voice you have
Thank you 😊
I used VirtualEMDR before getting EMDR with a therapist. I didn’t feel like doing it on my own was helping me at all and you are correct. I was doing the EMD and not the R. Now that I am seeing positive benefits from my EMDR therapist-led sessions once we are done working together, I plan to do the self-led EMDR therapy on my own. My moods are even, I’m very in touch with my emotions and my body, and my issues are little T traumas. My therapist has been impressed with how quickly I am proceeding through all the sessions. It helps me feel neutral about these events- like they are something that I saw in a movie or read about in a book.
Thanks so much for sharing this! Yes, your experience of events being neutralized - that is exactly how it works! And it is wonderful that you are moving through everything! When you return to the self-administered, let us know how it goes! I am working on a couple of videos with some interviews with people who utilized the Virtual emdr site and a couple of them found it useful after finishing with their therapists as well: bit.ly/bhvirtualemdr
I've been going to a therapist, but starting to work on some things on my own. I've a lot of work to do, and sessions are exspensive.
Thank you Barbara. You appear a sensible, informed and compassionate. It was a delight listening to you. Am keen to follow up with the suggested videos.
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you for doing this and helping so many people in these difficult times
Thank you Barbara for the following comments. I felt much warmth and encouragement. " I wish you a lot of will being on your recovery journey. I truly do. It's worth doing. It is worth taking the time..." "Give yourself the time you need to heal, allow yourself the resources that are really going to help you get there." "I truly wish you health and healing and happiness" Thank you.
You are welcome! Thank you for letting me know it resonated. I’ll bring that in more - healing does take time and it is worth it!
Thanks a lot for this! I’ve been doing online EMDR with a therapist for some months now, and it’s been very helpful. I will be stopping the sessions in some weeks, as I’m feeling better, and this sounds like a great option to try if I feel like I could use it again.
Terrific! So pleased to hear the EMDR helped you!
what website was yours through?
Knowledge is power, never heard of this. Thank you!!!
You are welcome :)
I did one EMDR by my self, which helped me walk through some feeling the reason. I then discussed it with my therapist.
Thanks for offering such a genuinely helpful explanation. Being a novice, and having just completed a very successful self administered session, I was looking for confirmation that I did it "right," and found your video. Turns out I did. Having the experience validated by a professional is affirming and super helpful. Thank You! You've got a new subscriber.
Thanks for letting me know! Happy to hear it was successful for you :)
Bless you. You’re so honest, and helpful. Thank you so much.
Thank you!! That is super nice to hear :)
I’ve done it on myself. 12 days straight 50-70mins per session.
Then I did another 4 sessions just to follow up.
Current Medication: Citilopram 10mg
^
Planning on cycling off within the next 2 months. I’ve done a ton of research on this before trying this myself. I also eased my way into the more heavy material (traumas).
I’m in a “maintenance phase” right now. Just observing myself at this point. Last session was 4 days ago. Session before that was about a week before my last session.
It’s a powerful tool to add to your tool belt, don’t do too much too soon.
Just started EMDR with a therapist. I've only really done the safe space exercise but even that was a great help. I started using the safe place when confronted with overwhelming negative emotions. Haven't reprocessed anything yet but just taking time to create that space was a good exercise to do.
Awesome. I do wish you the best of luck with it, and the fact that the safe place was helpful is a great sign!
I was looking into if this would be a good fit for me and you provided great info....looks like I need to take some other steps before I'm ready so I'm happy to know the next steps I need to take. Very helpful video!
Thanks so much for the info. I tried self administered desensitizing with a UA-cam video and got instant relief...after a few min of course. Felt lighter, mind relaxed. Thanks for pointing out adding a positive belief /outlook at the end. Gold 🙏🏼
Which video did you use?
@@nineteenboston498 good luck!!
@@vesnam7591 Thank you! I've been doing the tapping when the flashbacks come up on their own, and it's just like you said. Immediate relief, instantly calmer, and I'm able to process the memory and positive correlations much better. I may become brave and try with a therapist, but I'm not yet at the point where I can do the whole "completely falling apart" part of EMDR before getting better.
Good luck to everyone reading and you, as well! We're stronger than we know.
How wonderful to hear!
@@nineteenboston498 you got the link? I posted it here, I think it was deleted
Thank you for sharing, Barbara! Always good to learn more!
I hope you found it helpful!
This video provides the information I need about EDMR. However, I found the flashing sparkly lights around the section titles really startling and think perhaps to match your calm therapist demeanor perhaps use a section title style to match that is not so "Shocking"
Agreed! The flashing lights are like a disco ball & techno stimulating us while trying to relax us verbally.
Thank you so so much for this video, just shared it to my friends. I wish us all here luck 🍀 you're strong
You are very welcome, and thanks for sharing :) I hope this is helpful 😀
I did EMDR on my own for 3 years. Purposeful but if I hadn’t done it with a therapist I wouldn’t have been ready. Honestly I couldn’t imagine someone hurting doing emdr alone and without support to direct them back to their safe space.
I have been doing EMDR with my therapists for over 10 years. I started doing some of the techniques on myself (tapping, butterfly hug, etc) during extremely difficult periods when I was between therapy sessions. What I found is that this helped me to move to a better place emotionally.
I am so glad it's helping you!
10 years?
I believe that for small traumas (memories of offenses or insults etc ..) it can also be done alone but for serious traumas (violence, earthquakes etc) then you have to do it with a therapist.
Yes. The only caution is for some people, processing small traumas quickly brings them into the more serious ones. Things don't always stay in compartments with emdr,...
As someone from a country where earthquakes big and small are a semi-daily occurrence, I'd never even considered that earthquakes could be a cause of trauma for some! How interesting. But it makes sense, because even though it's a part of normal life, it's always slightly alarming and a bit scary. I wonder if the constant lingering threat of mass shootings/gun violence has an effect (a sense of trauma) on Americans too and to what extent?
@@user-nt6fy2jr3u I live in Mexico City and people freak the hell out even with minor earthquakes after the disaster in 2017. It's surprising that you find it surprising.
Best video on EMDR on UA-cam hands down
Always clear, honest, balanced and so clarifying. Your videos are useful as a teacher's guide, as well! Thank you so much for giving such a high level quality information! This subject is quite new in my country, and it is taking the risk of becoming a fad phenomenon....
Hopefully the therapists are becoming fully trained in EMDR, and then I believe it can be super useful for an wide range of issues and clients. The self-administered can be a little trickier.
This is totally working for me, Barbara! 😁🏄♀️🤸♀️🤸♀️Dr Inaki Pinuel don t recommend it... But you do.. So I started very formal, watching videos about emdr... I did like 4...but then, like Dr Inaki warned us... A bunch of unresolved trauma as flashbacks start invading you... Just as he said.... So when they started... I started moving my eyes(which by the way in itself is mindfulness... Needs concentration... And now whenever flashbacks attack me. I start moving my eyes... But also sometimes to play guided meditation at the same time or your safe place med(for me... Honestly needed more stuff as I was plagued with traumas)... Well sometimes I even forget them.. And doesn t have to be like long sessions, just half minute or less(or more), depending... The flashbacks go away... And if they come back... I fight them back... Thank you!! I did needed a second opinion, as many people complain is not safe... It is uncomfortable, however with your ahh mini series and much meditation... I don t feel so bothered... I rate my discomfort in a scale 1 to 10 and honestly sometimes, I don t even get to rate it!
So pleased this is helping and that the ahh mini series helped as well! It is very brave to do on one's own when there are flashbacks... I have heard from many that it helps however!
Signed up for virtual emdr today.
How is it going for you?
Very helpful information about the "R" part of the process. Thank you so much❣️
You are so welcome!
Thank you for putting this information here! My husband is a soldier and has PTSD from war. I have been trying to research how to perform this technique because he will not go to a therapist to have it done. I appreciate this so much.
You are welcome. I wish you and your husband health and healing!
Thank you for this. I had to interrupt my EMDR therapy because of Covid, and I am unsure of what to do. This gave me some insight.
Terrific! Wishing you the best,
This was honestly so helpful and beautifully explained thank you so much I found out this technique today and I already feel like I can jump into it thank you!!!
Wonderful! I'm putting out another video on self-administered EMDR on Tuesday, so stay tuned!!
This really did help me. I have a therapist and we’ve been slowly working through trauma with different techniques but I’ve kept coming back to EMDR and I’m not sure if he’s trained in it (going to bring it up next session). But I do a lot of self-work outside of therapy and I do think I’d benefit from the self EMD aspect, and he can definitely help with at least the R haha.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Kolk talks about EMDR and studies they have done.
Yes, an excellent book: amzn.to/389bsSU. I refer to it in my video, Traumatic Memory Processing: ua-cam.com/video/qeURXfroyXk/v-deo.html
Thank you for explaining from a therapist point of view what it is that you do to help the patient during an EMDR session.
You are welcome!
i find a video on youtube that helps me, its a line of boxes you follow them with your eyes its not painful it stops me thinking about anything reduces stress for awhile ok its not a cure but helps in some way ease the mental pain.
Do you have a link to it? Thanks
@@ktcee803 its a simple video just follow the boxes.
ua-cam.com/video/OlfQIRJEsYk/v-deo.html
Thank you for breaking down this topic.
Thank you very interesting and helpful Marie mccluskey
I’ve never heard of this before. Thanks for enlightening me! ☺️
You are welcome! I have other videos on EMDR that explain it more - it might be able to help someone you know one day!
This is the first EMDR exposition or video I have ever seen.
I liked it VERY much!
It was helpful and calming in itself, and I will explore the content on your site and also the virtual EMDR site you mentioned.
Thank you. I am sincerely grateful..
Thank you for this video & the links.
You are welcome!
Are there specific Self-Administered EMDR videos on UA-cam that you'd recommend? I'm seeing a lot of options.. Thank you!
I read Dr. Aaron Becks, ‘Feeling Good’, thirty years ago. It’’s only been recently that CBT has become mainstream. Meanwhile, life has cont’d. to unravel. Please cover real overwhelm and how to begin removing the layers, while addressing the real needs. Thank you! ..hopeful that help has finally materialized.✨🧡
Self EMDR has absolutely transformed my life over the past few years.
I have a very repetitive mind. I don't know why, but EMDR gets me out of that loop. Even helps with vocal tics.
I don't understand it and honestly thought EMDR was pseudoscience BS when I first heard about it. I can't believe how effective it is.
Wow. Thanks for sharing! There is a lot of good research behind EMDR. INteresting re helping with the vocal tics - that is great! Wishing you the best.
How do you do this yourself. I can’t seem to find any info 😢
@@SydneyMorganBeauty Have you done emdr before?
This was really helpful barbara.
I'm so pleased to hear that. Wishing you health and healing.
Awesome video! Just what I was looking for. Thank you.
So glad it was helpful!
This was explained really well! 👍
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing this was very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
I watched an EMDR video where an instructor was training a new therapist in the technique as I was watching it I ended up answering the questions she was asking and quite suddenly I experienced massive relief. It was incredible.
What is that video? I'd like to try it out
which video?
@@jujubadetrigo I think it was this one ua-cam.com/video/L6UvKhLYf7w/v-deo.html
@@frappedelimon4351 ua-cam.com/video/L6UvKhLYf7w/v-deo.html
yep same question please :)
Thanks for the balanced view
You are welcome!
The strangest thing that happened to me is that while doing EMDR is that I stepped into my mom’s perspective, meaning I was seeing life as my mom, and i kept saying “it’s not fair.” My traumas were caused by my not and father.
Because they were evil parents, we call them 0 parents, meaning you should have zero contact with them before even dreaming to do emdr... Or it won t work
Thank you
You're welcome!
This is a brilliant video
Let me know - have you tried self-administered EMDR?
I did it once with a situation I was still upset with my about when I was a kid. I was just sitting at my desk with no help or videos. As I kept going , my mind seemed to process the story and come to a different conclusion than before. My mom was doing her best at the time and I could finally see that clearly. I no longer have any emotional response in regards to that childhood memory.
I've tried just two minutes ago. I did so primarily because the emdr therapists around me seem to be closed and I have suffered from DP/DR for 8 years and just want to get rid of it. I am not feeling any immediate effects but hoping to "feel" something in the morning
Self? Yes! Administered? Not really...
One time, from an upsetting event that was a lot like my upbringing (except that I handled it well, because I was an adult, I'd been warned this person was that way at times, and I've had a lot of therapy), a twitch manifested in my right temple.
Eventually, after weeks of regular therapy I was already in, it moved to my eyebrow. I could affect it somewhat (a little like biofeedback), by relaxing a certain part of my brain/thinking/perspective, but not all day, every day, of course.
Then, one morning, and I knew exactly what was happening,
IT MOVED FROM MY EYELID TO MY ACTUAL EYE (right eye only)
JUST AS IN EMDR,
AND I KNEW THE TWITCH WOULD BE GONE FOREVER
because of the stuff happening in my brain simultaneously.
The week after that, I unravelled a bit in ways that I hadn't for YEARS but which used to be associated with attack by a critical parent, and had to ask my therapist for a 2h session on the weekend. It was the first time I was open to EMDR, but I actually ASKED FOR IT because my body had. (Sorry I wasn't open before: I'd heard from a dozen or so certified EMDR practitioners in my IFS Level 1 training that EMDR is being found to be safer in combination with IFS, so I got myself an IFS therapist with EMDR ability.) It got the rest of me over the hump! I'm FREEEEEEEE!!!!!
I feel FANTASTIC. At peace in my body, not all over the place identifying as my thoughts and ideas, not afraid to take it slow anymore, not hypervigillant anymore...
So...
your Q...
I guess I did do EMD(R) myself, but I can't say I *administered* it.
It was involuntary.
I know what trauma it treated:
I was owning power I had given away as a child, and taking back the first-hand perspective of empowered party.
This had been a looooooong time coming.
I am now far more open to doing EMD myself when strong emotions arise: I think my biggest trauma has been unearthed.
I'm glad I had an expert on standby when it hit the fan.
I can see how self-administering could be the ONLY way some people get benefit, but luckily, my therapist was willing to drop all instructional language and do it in a way that supported my needs, accommodating my particular trauma. Instructions make me obstinate!! (I, myself, specialize in helping obstinate scientists for that very reason -- I get it!!!)
Thanks for the sincere desire to make wellness accessible to all,
with which you made this helpful, informative, stimulating video.
For those of us who have never heard of EMDR, maybe you should start by telling us what the acronym EMDR stands for and what it is.
Are you aware of Bessels work in the body keeps the score? He cites studies and does a good breakdown on its comparison with cbt. For me, it was liberating to learn that the positive effects didn't rely on the therapy relationship or actual verbal disclosure.
EMDR helped me with fear of sleeping. I have schizophrenia and dreams remind me of psychosis i got scared and got up. I did self-administered EMDR and was able to sleep. I moved my fingers right-left, then i moved my fingers in the form of infinity symbol, them i moved my fingers in the form of the ring
Thank you so much! ❤
You're welcome 😊
Thanks for all your videos. I have anxiety and panic attacks driving. So I'm trying to rewire my brain and find ways to change my negative thinking.
Same here🥲
12:12 I’ve done a substantial amount of therapy in my life. I’ve done a lot of somatic therapy, heart and body oriented therapy and narrative therapy. My question about EMDR, I have been through a tremendous amount of trauma, however, I have very little access to the actual life events.” Meaning, I can’t always remember the particulars about those traumatic events. Is EMDR something that would still benefit me ethough I cannot recall the actual events?
The emotions I experienced when I’m triggered are enormous and paralyzing, but, trying to explain the actual moment in time, that simply may not be possible for me.
Brilliant
thank you!
Hello! Thank you!
You are welcome!
Thank you for this video I have never tried emdr although I’ve had a lot of therapy including trauma therapy. However I wanted to try self administered emdr for some recent smaller “traumas” that have got stuck in my brain.
How did I not even know that this is a thing? Thank you!
Perhaps it can be helpful for someone you know one day!!
Thank you. 💕
You are so welcome!
I think more training is needed. I have seen counselors just dive into it. That didn’t work for me. Why is anxiety so hard to understand? Like some people don’t get it. You can’t jump into it, you must prepare first.
1. Thoughts on somatic therapy?
2. Can it be done remotely?
3. When talk therapy limits or is failing what else do your recommend ?
I think incorporating a focus on somatic experience is quite important. Some people find Somatic Experiencing very helpful (I am not trained in that). EMDR therapy does incorporate the somatic element quite a bit. When talk therapy fails, I usually recommend EMDR, meditation, twelve step groups if that applies, - there are many healing modalities.
@@BarbaraHeffernan Thanks will check! How about short term (6-12 mos) of medication?
Thank you, I enjoyed this video :)
with how i’m feeling now, i don’t feel like i can ever experience 🕹. i’m traumatized. my brain is highjacked, as bessel van der kolk says. the fight or flight is out of control. the fear and pain of the past and now and future, unbearable. i’m sick of suffering. i feel so paralyzed.
I wanted to start because I keep having night terrors, and it will be another two weeks before I get to see my EMDR therapist.
I don't get this safe place bit. I am reasonably safe most of the time. But it's not associated with a feeling so much as the lack of threat. I can put myself in mind 'unsafe' situations: Arguing with my step son, going to a class unprepared. Getting a tax audit letter from the IRS.
Great advice thank you 🙏!
You're so welcome!
I think I'd be interested but without the religious component
You are my angel 😇😇😇❤❤❤😇😇🎉😊
Awesome video!
Thanks! And thanks for letting me know 😃
I've done lots of emdr with a therapist and it did nothing to stop my severe anxiety
I would rather purge and discharge the underlying cause of the trauma/PTSD vs. desensitize myself to it. The generating cause and charge on the event is still there, underneath it all, even though the disabling effects have been reduced. Can desensitization be that specific and focused or does it become an overlay that gives us less sensitivity to all things, 'good' and 'bad'? Our sensitivity contributes to the problem where trauma is concerned but it is also our highest gift and guidance system in life.
Hi, thanks for the great advice. How do we do the actual physical self administration of the EMDR ourselves? In terms of using our hands or a moving object, etc.
I can't get a EMDR therapist. My HMO insurance approves two therapists and neither of them do EMDR. I could probably train my therapists in the method and bring a machine to the office. I have to learn the method first and buy a machine. What is nice is the vibration device isn't very expensive.
'Bring to mind a place that's safe'...well, no, I can't so that's that.
Right!?!! I know!
Sometimes the relationship with the person facilitating is the first safe "place" ever... and then that can cause a power differential, as in:
it hardly feels voluntary to do what they suggest, because all the really deep biological programming kicks in, making one want to please one's "secure attachment figure."
...and how safe does that feel?
...But there are practitioners who specialize enough in preserving and developing a personality/character trait you're proud to have (not just an issue they could be construed as wanting to last), and promise to help you KEEP.
And there are trustworthy, collaborative facilitators.
Those who specialize in not manipulating or advising, but *supporting* people like oneself, make it easier to truly welcome and weather healing ***from a place of collboration.***
I probably read way too much into your remark, Aardvark, but I respond from my own experience: having been chronically gaslit as a child, and also not having a "visual"ization-capable type of brain, it felt VERY risky to trust facilitators with a degree in not-me.
I hope you find a way that allows the 'safe place' to not have to be a *place,* but an experience you can easily tap, again and again, whether through someone trustworthy's voice, rapport, and support, or through some other sense.
I'm sorry you didn't get a response here for 2 years. And that the safe place has felt off-limits to you. I know that really, really sucks.
thank you so much!! Do you take clients yourself, or do you have a list of recommended practitioners?
thank you for your video
You're so welcome!
This answered most of my questions & was helpful, I’m still wondering though, what if your trauma event is more like many events from childhood, so many events they don’t necessarily have their own memory… hmmm
Yes, continual almost "atmospheric" traumas can still be worked with in EMDR. Maybe a little harder on one's own. I would usually have a client picture a "typical" experience - it wouldn't have to be specific - one of those "this happened all the time" and process. Hope that is helpful!
Thankyou for making this. Can you or anyone else help me with the following issue?
When you say you wouldn't do EMDR if someone's emotions are too dysregulated and would instead focus on resources and cognitive behavioural tools? This is where I think I'm having trouble with this and other therapists: those resources and tools are things I'm perfectly aware of and know how to practice, but which no longer work. They used to work for problems I had with anxiety and ADHD-related issues, but they no longer work after life served up several large dollops of trauma on top of that. Everything - literally everything - that has been suggested to me is stuff I've already tried, and have continually attempted to use. It worked before I developed PTSD, it does not work now.
So because of that, I seem to be being prevented from progressing to any other kind of treatment that would actually help me process my trauma, presumably because the risk of that with someone who is as emotionally dysregulated as I am is deemed too great. All these lectures talk about the need to "Get you stable" first. But after three years of therapy, various medications, and meditating myself into a frustrated mush while simultaneously having flashbacks, nightmares, exhaustion, and burn-out, all while trying to hold down a job so I can pay for therapy, I think this is about as stable as I'm likely to get. I admit that's not very, but it's as good as I can manage.
I’ve done it on myself 4 times; boy it’s hard but I can regulate myself.
Awesome that you can regulate yourself! I am going to post a video on Tuesday about 3 snags that come up in processing which might be helpful. Wishing you the best!
I have done several EMDR sessions with a therapist some years ago. I have done a ton of therapy and processing of stuff but I have some new "trauma' with a current situation and I want to address the current stressors as well as peel back the layers of my original stuff. Fortunately I don't have any problems with severe trauma.. it is just a lot of smaller complex PTSD stuff and bad emotional dysregulation stuff. Specificallyl around $$ anxiety and things. I have tried to find an EMDR person but with the pandemic ti has been challenging... also interested in brainspotting
So clear and easy-to-follow summary, thanks a lot!! When you mention the simple EMD youtube videos with a moving dot… I’m wondering, does it matter if the dot and the ping sound are moving to the same direction (eg. moving dot is in the right side of the screen and I hear the sound in my right ear), or in the opposite direction (eg. when the dot is in the right side, the audio ping can be heard in the left ear). So does it make any difference? :)