EMDR: the weirdest therapy I've ever had

After experiencing EMDR therapy, I knew I had to do a video about my experiences, because it's a very weird, very effective sort of therapy. EMDR is typically used to treat PTSD and trauma but is increasingly being used for other mental health issues.

[HillbillyBassets]

I am a retired Clinical Social Worker who was trained in EMDR about 30 years ago by the woman who discovered the process, (Francine Shapiro). She told the story of walking in a park and noticing disturbing thoughts coming up and then subsiding. She began to pay attention and realized her eyes were scanning back and forth. She went on to develop the process and tested it on traumatized vets from the Vietnam war. It proved highly successful. When I was trained there was no light bar, we used our hand and fingers much as Sam did in the video. Students brought in small traumas from their life, nothing major or serious. I identified three incidents. All were resolved and a few days later I could not even recall what one of the three was.
Later I was in therapy for a childhood trauma and my therapist used EMDR on me. I also experienced the dislocation after the session and usually the following day. I learned not to make big plans for the day after the session. I also noticed spontaneous changes in behaviors after the sessions. I would find myself acting and reacting to situation in a completely new way without conscious effort. Each time it was a spontaneous and correct action for the situation.
Thank you for presenting this to your subscribers and to people with ASD. It may be one of the weirdest therapies out there but it is very effective.
Since you have an international audience I will note that all of this took place about 1990 in Denver, Colorado USA.

[catherinejames]

I had EMDR treatment and it did change my life. I had CPTSD and as I got older the impact of that was making it so difficult to socialise as well as terrible body pain. I am also autistic, but the CPTSD just became too hard and I really wished to die. This EMDR treatment literally saved me. I’m much happier as it desensitised me, the flashbacks don’t happen now, I feel at peace now, and I feel emotionally safer. I did really go through hell though as everything had to be opened up, all my past childhood had to be confronted so I felt as if I was walking around with an open wound which was scary. I’m glad it’s over, but it was worth it to live in peace now.

[lafeministe]

Wow, I had a GERD baby. I’ve said early parenthood has given me ptsd. People think I’m joking, but this was really validating. Thank you.

[jennymum]

I do my own eye exercises at home that I learned off YT. Highly effective. No need for the memories, just be aware of how your body feels. It’s changed my life

[ashleycline]

I’ve done EMDR off and on since 2015. It changed my life! Helped me overcome loads of unresolved trauma and experiences over time that I didn’t realize were impacting my daily life years later. Also helped me overcome my active alcoholism (sober 7 years this September 💕). I had more frequent sessions in those earlier days of treatment, but even recently I had a session with my current therapist simply to process through some stress and anxiety I’ve felt because of my job that was triggering previous negative cognitions I thought I’d effectively worked through. I like that there’s no wrong way to be in those sessions, even if I hit a wall and feel a nothingness, there’s still information in that feeling. Really appreciate this video today :) thank you!

[trackatlas]

I totally thought EMDR sounded corny and pointless. Like ten seconds in, I was shaking and crying uncontrollably. This therapy is REAL.

[klassikbrasil]

I've had one EMDR session so far. What it felt like was that memories that for me felt extremely real (they felt like I was there with all the feelings and emotions - think of the pensieve in Harry Potter) they started to feel less present, more like other general memories, less sensorial or emotional. That was my one and only experience so far.
And I have to thank @YoSamdySam for it, as because of another video of hers I've heard of EMDR, looked it up and insist on it with my therapist.
PS: remember each brain is different, so it might or not work for other people

[xwatersoulx]

This is actually so interesting. My husband and I almost died in a car accident, and during my recovery from it one thing that REALLY helped me was watching lots of ASMR optometrist videos or physical exam videos with bilateral exercises for the eyes. They also helped me a lot in physiotherapy. Listening to your story, I wonder if I was accidentally seeking something like this therapy.

[AurorasWindow]

I’m doing online EMDR! I’ve had one session so far to work on childhood trauma (oof). My therapist uses a website that has a ball that you follow with your eyes. It was very interesting to me how my memories are connected and how my childhood trauma memories are connected to my son (after his birth is when the trauma came out). I also experience a few days of very vivid memories/emotions/reactivity. I was supposed to do EMDR a week later but I asked my therapist to wait because I felt like my brain was very “sore” if that makes sense.
We’ve also used EMDR to “install” tools in my brain. For example, I have a box installed where I store unpleasant things, like sounds, etc. I can’t explain it, but I feel like there is an actual physical box in a corner in my brain! And it’s so helpful! I can go to crowded places and put people voices in the box so that I can enjoy and not being overwhelmed by stimuli! It’s amazing!

[arasharfa]

i had an extremely successful experience with ketamine-assisted hypnosis that saved my life. I think EMDR and hypnosis has some overlap. I think anything that kind of helps the body act on something else other than the trauma when you think of it helps it not go into fight or flight, and therefore let those memories through without blocking the system.

[verilyxx]

I can't tell you how much this video and all these comments have helped. I'm 35, in and out of therapy since I was a teen. I've talked and talked and talked and the only relief is having someone to talk to. We always reach a point in therapy where they don't know how to help me and I hate to admit it but I steadily lost hope over time. Ive sort of accepted my life has been a series of traumas and now there's a pile of them and that's just who I am, this anxious and frequently depressed person who can't manage any kind of relationship. Honestly I could cry right now...

[jennenny]

This is quite literally the MOST relatable thing I have ever seen on YouTube! Our first baby had that exact same "colic"/reflux issue from 5 weeks to 5 months of age, and I absolutely have diagnosed PTSD from it! Baby #3 is now 7 months and even though baby #2 & 3 were much happier, every time a baby cries I can feel my adrenaline spike and have that sense of dread and lack of control. Baby #1 is now a healthy 6 year old(!), and while I thankfully left the full-blown panic attacks complete with sensory flashbacks behind several years ago, I am still affected (both emotionally, and I suspect also with slight hearing damage). I have never heard of anyone else acknowledging this as a trauma (except my own therapist), but my husband and I know that to be a FACT, whether anyone else fully understands and takes it seriously or not. I know people with non-colicky babies often can't understand, but it truly is a form of psychological torture to listen to your baby scream in pain for hours on end and the there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It would violate the Geneva Conventions to intentionally put someone through that. So I really, deeply appreciate you taking time to share this story and very glad you've found something that can help. ❤️

[GenesisChi]

I am autistic and had EMDR to cope with my support animal's rather graphic death. Took 3 or 4 sessions to go from off the scale levels of distress to about a 3, I might want a top up at some point but he flashbacks and screaming grief even after years were finally dealt with and in the great scheme of things so much more gently than other therapies.
Highly recommend

[miadifferent]

So happy EMDR worked for you! I once saw a video on a therapist who did trauma therapy to a baby after a traumatic medical incident. There the mother told the baby the positivity sandwich story. I can‘t remember, if the therapist did EMDR, but she kind of worked with tensions in the baby‘s body. It was quite fascinating and it‘s so great to have trauma therapy for so tiny humans.

[linden]

I think describing it from going from distressing to sad is about right, it describes my experience at least. It sort of puts it aside into a story in the past, rather than being present and gripped in the body.

I find with sessions I'm totally zoned out after and need to just sit and stare into space for a while. With mine as well as the desensitisation there was quite a big emphasis on the reprocessing - so as well as the visualisation of the worst memories it was also thinking about what my inner story was about myself and the world in association with the memory (usually quite negative), and then thinking about what narrative might be better. I do it myself now - but I did a lot of learning to feel comfortable and safe doing that, with the main thing being having really good tools to regulate if emotions get flooded (or shut down) and being safe and supported for if things get stirred up. I find eye movements uncomfortable so I use bilateral sounds alongside tapping.

The other thing I've been trying and finding interesting is Trauma Release Exercises. They seem to work well for me as my tendency in stress response is to freeze and hold a lot of tension in my body. It has less supporting evidence than EMDR I think, but for myself at least it feels potentially beneficial and sort of resets and relaxes everything. It may be even weirder than EMDR!

[ZenMaster]

Thank you. It takes courage to be vulnerable and share your experiences for the benefit of others. You do great work. Keep it up 👍

[otterwench]

I'll be starting EMDR for cptsd next month. I have constant double vision so I am relieved to know many types of bilateral Stim work. I was diagnosed as autistic
last year, age 59.

[rawtism]

I used to work with someone who raved about this, and it just sounded fake (and he was into some weird stuff), but I read about it and it got my interest so this was really good to hear from your perspective (this guy was also one of the first to say to my face he thought I was autistic)

[natalieedelstein]

Yeah, EMDR fundamentally could not work because of my presentation of autism. They require you to pick an untrue negative belief that you have acquired because of your trauma that feels true but it is not (which is why the way they present it doesn't involve the word 'untrue') but I didn't have any because I am too technical about how I see everything, even emotions. My therapist ended up needing to go to the flash technique of EMDR. Unfortunately, I had to cut therapy with her due to insurance in the worse before better phase and we spent 3 years and brought in a lot of consultants for standard EMDR but it was simply not possible due to the fundamental lack of a core belief about my trauma that was unhelpful or untrue and the challenges with bilateral stimulation and autism. I am currently undergoing prolonged exposure therapy. I have some concerns about it but I have a feeling it might either make my symptoms WAY worse or WAY better. Even hearing it described made me tear up. The flash technique of EMDR did work better on the trauma than standard EMDR but I got sleep paralysis from it at first. I'm still working on trauma. Hoping for improvement soon.

[whitneymason]

I've heard of EMDR therapy but have never tried it. Thanks for sharing your family's experiences. I'm definitely intrigued! 🤔