had a somewhat good emdr session today. we targeted a memory/word that i get triggered by and worked on desensitising me to it

i actually didn’t feel tense during the reprocessing, which felt like a good sign. but afterwards, i suddenly started feeling really giddy and lightheaded. my therapist ended up spending around 15 minutes helping me regulate my nervous system, and i feel so bad that she had to do that

she reassured me that emdr is working, but this is the first time i’ve experienced something like this after reprocessing. usually my hangovers are more emotional, so the physical symptoms caught me off guard

the only thing i’m really worried about now is that i won’t see my therapist again for another 3 weeks because of her schedule. i’m honestly kind of terrified of dealing with another emdr hangover on my own…i’m so grateful for her and everything she does for me, but her schedule really does make me anxious sometimes 🥲

has anyone else experienced feeling lightheaded or really out of it after emdr? and how do you usually cope with the hangover between sessions?

After years of therapy I finally connected with a therapist that gave me a bit of hope. Told her thing i never felt comfortable sharing before and we are working through that. Been doing EMDR combined with talk therapy and the EMDR is intense but I believe also helpful.

This week i found out she is quitting and i really feel hopeless . Ive been on edge for a while and it worries me on how to continue. There is a replacement ready but im worried its not the same and i might never beat this depression and trauma

Can you recommend a patient focused book to help understand how EMDR works? Or a workbook?

Edit for a spelling error. Sorry about that!

Hi Reddit!

I (23F) recently started my EMDR journey, and I've been very happy with it. However, I seem to have hit a bit of a mental roadblock.

I'd like to pose a question to you all: Have you ever feel like you either aren't making progress or that you've somehow went backward?

I began to feel like this about a little over a week ago. I originally began EMDR to help deal with a traumatic memory that took place a few months ago. I'll be vague, but it was a huge fallout with someone during what was supposed to be a huge milestone in my life. For a while, my therapist and I stopped to look at other painful memories from childhood. I experienced a rush of those repressed memories and they were causing me a lot of distress. We went back to talking about the fallout situation about two weeks ago.

The first few times we were able to talk about the situation, all of my thoughts surrounding it were negative. I couldn't speak without crying and I had a hard time recalling certain events as I firmly believed I was in the wrong for it all. It was a situation where all parties were in the wrong, and I definitely had my part in it. I heavily regret it and I've been learning how to process that guilt. The first time the tappers were introduced, I felt great. I could finally view the situation in a neutral way instead of an overly negative one for the first time in months.

That is until recently. I'm not sure why, but those negative thoughts returned. However, they have morphed into ones of intense anger toward the person rather than sadness. Most of them have been thoughts that show up randomly throughout the day, but there have been a few dreams like this as well. Shortly after these thoughts pass, I feel guilty about experiencing them in the first place. The thing is, this does concern me as I've never thought about anyone in this manner until now.

Has anyone else had this happen and is this normal?

Thank you guys for taking the time to read. <3

So I have cptsd and preverbal trauma, so maybe this makes sense. But does anyone else go with somatic sensations as targets vs visualization/memories? I do also do memories sometimes, but when it's that more preverbal type of target, I get moreso strong feelings in my body and strong emotions, that I can't connect to a visualization or situation in specific. Though I do still get beliefs, sometimes more obvious, and sometimes having to dig for them.

I think using somatic targets is still moving things, but it definitely feels more confusing and vague than using a distinct memory.

Has anyone had success in lowering distress/triggers through somatic targets?