Question:
No problem Scott I hate asking people question and getting the round-a-round crap. A straight answer to a straight question is what I like to live by. Vic
Response:
EMDR is something that works for some and not others. I gave it a shot and it put me back to square one. Not a very pleasent experience. I was diagnosed withPTSD four years ago and am taking meds for it. My shrink asked to think about the EMDR treatment and even gave me material on it. Holy smokes, the first session sent me back to hell. I re-lived everything and I was a mess for weeks to come. If you are really thinking about it (that is EMDR). Speak to others who have tryed it and get a general idea. Good luck Vic
Response:
Alright Scott I will give it a shot and if you have any futher question I will try to answer them. The EMDR treatment was something like this: The windows in the small office were draw shut so it made it kind a dark. Sitting in a large chair and infront of me was this 2′ by 4" black box on a tripod. In the center was a row that extended from one end to the other of small lights. It started by turning on this light-box that would flicker one at the time giving it an appearance of travel. Like the stupid robots in battle star gallactica. Do you remember? They had a red eye that bounced back and fourth. Well, it was the same thing with this box-light. He started asking me question to find a pleasant place( a memory) and to think on it. It could be any childhood memory where you had fun. Meanwhile I am sitting and whatching this traveling light forcing my eyes to move back and forth keeping my head still. My freaking incident that put me were I am today flooded my head with at first, images then shit happend. I don’t understand how it worked by I found my self physically back to where it all started. The sounds, smells, and people. I saw them all over again. He kept telling me that I was not in that terrible place that I was in his office. He must of said this a few times. Because in the mist of experience. I came out of it emtionally out of control. Dude, if you are serious. Don’t let whoever is going to do this take control. At the slightest sign of feeling unconfterable stop!!! For weeks I was a pile of shit. Nightmares, flashback, anger, rage, depression, suicidal, reclusive, and lost. It all came back to me and EMDR is not for me. They can keep their little EMDR crap. NOPE, never again will I try that. If you need more clarification or you have certain question let me know. Vic
Response:
Scott, > Can you tell me how it works…like technically ?? I know that > your experience was not good…if you can just explain the > process in general terms….don’t if it will be triggering for you. > I’ve read about it but still don’t understand how it works.
First, let me get my gut reaction about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) on the table. This is WEIRD and BIZARRE to adequately explain and to my cynical eye borders darn near sorcery! Yet, I am at a place with the doc that I have developed an excellent rapport with him. He is very respectful of me, has spent a long time assessing my PTSD to confirm and reconfirm it and *ALWAYS* spends time explaining what he wants to try in terms of treatment. He provides me with full information as to the "technical" side of the treatment as well as it’s hope for outcome. He ALWAYS allows me to chose whether or not I want to try it and whether or not I want to stop while doing it. I am blessed to have someone who I trust to assist me in my treatment. Next, let me suggest you visit the EMDR site www.emdr.com. They have a good description of the approach as well as a good list of research that has been completed on the technique. Keep in mind that they will of course have put up research that supports them…. Because of my respect for copyright, I will not cut & paste from the site but instead will paraphrase as well as echoing how my EMDR doc has explained it to me. Hopefully this will be useful. Last, and perhaps most importantly, let me throw in a disclaimer that I have just started the therapy and am NOT a professional. The following is simply my understanding and explanation, imperfect as I know it is. Additionally, as a patient of this, I don’t think I have a particularly objective point of view. I’m sure you’re familiar with the stage of sleep known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Researchers have long believed that during REM, the brain is "processing" troubling events or issues. While they aren’t clear on just what the "purpose" of the eye movements are, they are usually accompanied by high levels of brain activity. The therapy attempts to "mimic" the eye movement in the belief that this may also "kick start" the "processing" I mentioned before. My doc’s explanation reminded me (REMEMBER MY DISCLAIMER?) of the famous story of Pavlov’s dog. When food was presented, the dog salivated. If a bell was rung when the food was presented, the dog soon began to associate the bell with the food. Eventually, the dog salivated whenever the bell was rung whether or not food was actually present. If I’m not far off the mark, EMDR is similar in that the deliberate eye movement of the patient "encourages" his/her mind to "reprocess" the troubling event(s) in a similar way to REM sleep. At the time of the event(s) we were far to involved in it (them) to be able to emotionally deal with them successfully. Now, in a safer, more controlled environment, we can be lead through that. As far as the actual technique is concerned, *MY* sessions go as follows: 1. Decide on an event to deal with For my first session, we dealt with a relatively "benign" event. That is to say, we didn’t jump in to any of the events of my childhood (for the many of you who don’t know me from the group, my doc describes my childhood as "Concentration camp horror". I don’t see it as that bad but then I can’t remember a thing between about grade one and five and very little between then and grade eight so I guess I’m not such a reliable witness huh?). 2. "Grade" the current discomfort level related to the event I am asked to assign a value between 1 to 10 based on my level of discomfort **BEFORE** the EMDR. No discussion, "therapy" etc, just a subjective assessment of how it makes me feel. 3. "Grade" an outcome discomfort level I am asked to assign a value to what I think of as a successful outcome. For example, I might say I want to be able to think about the event without dissociating. That might be a 6 out of 10 on a comfort level. (**MY** level remember?). In essence, I am defining a goal. 3. Choose a "safe place" as a mental image. I picture a spot where I can "retreat" to if things get too much for me to "stay" with. Generally speaking, I dissociate pretty quick. When I do so, I become absolutely "numb", no feelings whatsoever. In that state of course, I would be unable to do any work with the issue(s). I’m in control of the session and at any time I feel the need to stop, I can say that and I can "go" to the safe place. 4. Eye Movement "technique" Some doctors use an EMDR "machine" similiar to that described by Vic, my doctor just uses his finger. He holds it about two feet in front of my eyes and asks me to follow it with my eyes only. That is to say, I keep my head still. He then moves his finger back and forth a foot or so (enough to get my eyes moving from left to right all the way) for about 30 to 60 seconds. Then, it’s good old "Freudian" free association time. If something’s on the tip of my tongue, I spit it out and we talk about each little snippet for a few moments. He then does the finger thing again and we take another snippet. In talking about each snippet, we try to assess what it meant "back then" and what it means "now". This is the reprocessing point. 5. "Evaluate" the session Together, my doc and I discuss any significant issues that arose from the EMDR and try to focus what the "new" learning means. Let me give you an example…. We spoke of an event at work where someone unpredictably erupted into a major blow up. Screaming, cussing, threatening. The police eventually had to be called. In short, it was everything that normally sends me into a total state of fear and nausea. I flashback to my father attacking me or someone in the family and on more than one occasion have come close to wetting my pants. I have always felt that I was a coward because I couldn’t deal with that kind of thing. For several years since that event at work, I have berated myself for not being "man enough" to handle it better. I "should" have done this or I "should" have done that or the other. I was ashamed because I felt I was a coward when people were counting on me and needed me to help them. I felt ashamed because I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, weigh over three hundred pounds and I nearly started crying hysterically. I thought I failed. I hadn’t "fixed" the problem and that’s what I was "supposed" to do. Through the EMDR, I came to understand (I have not fully accepted it yet, mind you) that I **CAN’T** fix everything. I’m not that powerful and don’t have that much influence no matter HOW BIG I MIGHT BE. (BE A MAN, BOY!! …shudder) There are some circumstances and events that are COMPLETELY unpredictable and uncontrollable. The event at work was one of those. AACK! Just getting that out on paper (does this constitute paper?!) has me winded and a more than a bit stressed. I’ll see if I can’t get back tothis later. In the meantime however, I hope this has been somewhat useful to you Scott. Gary Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
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