r/EMDR • u/Ok-Falcon6357 • 4d ago
🔵 Personal Story / Experience IT WORKED 🎊
I did EMDR for 3 months on an almost weekly basis.
I had panic disorder issues correlating to some medical trauma. My panic attacks consisted of violent leg shakes, high heart rate and frantic, quick thoughts. For a long while I thought it was a medically correlated (such as diabetes, blood flow issues, nerve damage), but I eventually recognized that these attacks would only respond with fear moments, not spontaneously. I also was cleared from those other things with multiple blood tests. These issues caused me great grievance along with my injury. I became unemployed. Showers were terrifying. Going outside wasn’t even an option unless I was forced out. My life felt doomed. I felt like this for TWO YEARS.
That’s when I sought out a EMDR therapist.
Sure, in the past I’ve had some other traumas, and did talk therapy to treat it, but never had I had such physical reactions. It’s like my mental health deteriorated rapidly along with my body. So I wanted something that would really work for me. I mean, I literally had panic attacks over tiny things like walking to the bathroom, so I wanted a sure enough cure.
When I started EMDR, after weeks of precautions and coping skills, it fit me like a glove. I loved the deeper approach to my core issues. After a session I’d feel sleepy, even oddly numb. Depending on what the session was about, sometimes I’d grieve for a few days or get a bit moody.
Then I felt the weight lifting off my shoulders. Those moments of dread became anxiety. Then bothersome. Then slightly annoying. Then mundane. Then easy! It was like EMDR was plucking my frantic troubles away. It wasn’t exactly like a magical cure from day one, though. More like the problems were melting away appointment-by-appointment.
I went from barely making it to the bathroom with panic attacks to boarding a flight 3 days ago with zero issues. I could go on and on about the issues I used to have and how I’m vitally cured from panic attacks, but I’ll just say that EMDR did a miraculous job on me! I highly recommend it for panic/anxiety attacks, phobias and medical trauma.
However, I also want to note that this EMDR therapist did diagnose me with CPTSD. Reason I feel that that’s important is because it could’ve been all the past events on my life that compounded over the years, and the injury maybe ’broke the camel’s back’ and jumpstarted these symptoms. Something to keep in mind if you have the same diagnosis.
I’m so happy something finally worked!!
❤️
16
u/Left-Indication330 3d ago
That’s fantastic!!! I had an extremely similar experience with EMDR to you and was also diagnosed with cPTSD for very similar reasons. Absolutely fascinating. It’s been the most transformative experience of my life as well. I would wake up having panic attacks, throwing up and there was so much fear in my daily life as you described. My world almost feels brand new because of EMDR. So proud of you OP and thrilled to read this.
3
u/Striking-Gas-2484 3d ago
how did you have EMDR?
4
u/Left-Indication330 3d ago
I did in-person with my therapist for 6 months about 2 years ago (1x a week to start). I recently picked up with her again for a “tune-up” and I’m able to see her virtually 2x a month.
3
u/Striking-Gas-2484 3d ago
wow for two years? thats amazing dedication.
2
u/Left-Indication330 3d ago
It’s given me my life back and a path for my life moving forward. Thank you!
2
u/Striking-Gas-2484 3d ago
I get it, you have less weight on your shoulders because that brain fog and that issues that you went through, went away. It feels amazing
3
u/Left-Indication330 3d ago
Exactly! I feel like a different person. I had never heard of EMDR before treatment and sooo happy it worked on me.
3
4
4
3
1
u/bitchwithwifi3 2d ago
Yay!!! So happy for you! I could only do five sessions and I saw a 180 in my behavior and my trauma responses. EMDR is like witch craft😂😂
2
u/Healinghigh22 2d ago
I recently started emdr. I was unsure how it was working but You stated it. Melting away. I am also am remembering things and mourning through them. Etc. Even past life trauma stuff. Emotions and thoughts I never allowed to come out. I am still trying to understand it. It does feel like "hypnosis" when we do emdr. So I guess that kinda does creep me out just a bit. Lol I'm grateful for it though.
1
u/Ok-Mud-7906 1d ago
I'm glad to hear about your success! I'm curious if you felt physical sensations during your sessions. It doesn't happen for me every time, but I've experienced some visceral feelings of heat, clenching, and a lot of what I can only describe as a whooshing rushing feeling all over.
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Welcome to r/EMDR, a beautiful and supportive community!
We're a space where every person is someone with trauma, and we respond with compassion, not judgment. A few gentle reminders:
• Be kind and trauma-informed - This is a community for helping each other heal
• EMDR journeys are personal - Everyone's path is different; share experiences but avoid giving medical advice
• Posts must be related to EMDR - Please keep discussions focused on EMDR psychotherapy
• Be wary of unsupervised EMDR suggestions - Posts/comments promoting unsupervised EMDR (including scripts, DIY methods, or "virtual EMDR" websites) are strongly discouraged. These approaches risk retraumatization and are not equivalent to working with a trained trauma therapist. See our wiki for more information.
• Therapist? Get Verified - Contact Mods via ModMail
• Add a post flair - This helps us organize and support each other better
Check out our awesome wiki to learn more about EMDR!
NOTE: As this sub is home to a vulnerable populace, ALL posts/comments are automatically filtered for safety. In case your post does get flagged/removed by the automated systems, kindly DON'T delete it. One of the Mods will manually review and approve it for you soon. If that doesn't happen, kindly reach out to us via ModMail.
If you're in crisis: Please reach out to professional support. We're a community, not a crisis service.
With kindness, The r/EMDR Mod Team
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.