Has anyone tried EMDR therapy for PTSD related to sexual trauma?

When I say tool kit I mostly mean like proper coping mechanisms and ways to handle the stress and retraumatization you are doing to yourself. EMDR can be really really wonderful and healing if you know how to handle what you will soon face. I'm not trying to scare you away from getting the help you need, absolutely not, I am just saying what my experience has been!!

Well actually that's really helpful to know because I dont have a proper tool kit to deal with trauma. When it comes up I just try to not feel it. So thank you.

I did a little bit of EMDR before I realized the extent of my trauma. It didn't go well for me. I left that therapist and went to a more trauma-informed one who said it was not a good idea to do EMDR without the proper "tool kit" for handling it. You will essentially be reliving traumatic things and if you don't have the tool kit to handle such things then you are not ready. I have been seeing this therapist for trauma related therapy for over a year and I'm still not at that point. I also have DID (dissociative identity disorder) which can be made worse with EMDR if not done properly, so my opinion on it might not be the best to go from.

Okay thank you everyone. I think I'm gonna try it.

I do it with my therapist. It’s not easy, and you need to be really nice to yourself after. My therapist knows when to stop, when it’s getting too heavy. Don’t let your therapist push you *too* hard.

I was recommended to do EMDR due to a traumatic event. I would say Go for it! It’s there to help you and if it gets too much for you, you can always stop And retry when your feeling more stable ❤️

I might do this as well it was also recommend to me. I am doing TMS treatment right now though so we put a pin in it. Great to see so much good feedback.

I can definitely understand that. I was really worried as well. After an EMDR session, my therapist would ask if I wanted to “close the door” on it or leave it open. So if it was really hard to handle you could do that. I would definitely talk it out because it’s so helpful and I know several people that really felt better but your concerns are definitely valid.

I'm also worried because when you look it up it says that it can make symptoms worse between sessions at first, and I live alone and I'm already in a bad place. Also the thought of choosing to actively put yourself back into a flashback just sounds literally awful. Idk. I guess I'm just scared.

EMDR is difficult during the actual session, but I found that it’s the only thing that worked for me to heal.

EMDR can be very stressful while it's happening, it involves remembering things we might have repressed. I've come out of appointments somewhat exhausted, but my therapist is great about making sure we come back to the present and try to leave the heavy stuff in the office. Start with going over small things and work up to the big stuff once you're used to the process, it's definitely really helpful and worth it

I’ve done it once for trauma surrounding my mom passing away, it helped me a lot

My sister does it and absolutely loves it. She recommended it to me because she said it’s the type of therapy that has helped her the most. She does it for trauma but tbh i don’t know the specifics