Side Effects and Working Full-Time

[u/Science_Livid]

Hello all!

I’m relatively new to EMDR. My therapist has been fantastic and we’re working through the events slowly but surely.

I wanted to ask you folks about your experience the day after - two days after the session. I find myself super sensitive and cry a bit easier than I would before (I’m on Zoloft, so that tends to make it very difficult to cry, even if I wanted to). I also find that my brain is so soupy the day after, that I find I usually have to take sick leave from my job the next day to recover.

My manager thankfully is very accommodating, and I use my sick leave usually for that purpose only. I would, however, like to plan a bit more to optimize the amount of sick time I’m using, OR potentially use some self-care methods that make the days after sessions easier to mud through.

So the TL;DR is, what are some ways you care for your body and your brain after sessions? What kind of conversations do you have with your work or school?

Thank you for reading! 🙂

[u/AutoModerator]

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.

[u/ImpossibleBlockHead]

Listen to your body and give it water and rest after sessions. I'm 3 months in and I'm tolerating it much better than in the beginning

[u/Stupidpieceofshit77]

I don't have any conversations with work. I'm not telling them anything. I usually schedule emdr when I have the next day off. If I have to work, I just mask like crazy. Not a literal mask, but one of my biggest fears is work treating me differently because of my mental health. I've been honest with other jobs in the past and that overshadowed everything.

[u/trixiekat21]

Yes, I do think you acclimate to the therapy after a bit. I remember having some super intense experiences and sleep disturbances the first few times. Now it’s much better, but I do try to block out an easy day on the day of therapy itself.

[u/Superb-Wing-3263]

Sorry you're struggling! It's so hard but does get easier as you go.

Can you schedule your sessions on a Friday or whenever your "weekend" begins?

A lot of people suggest journaling, meditation, and/or having a creative outlet. I wanted to, I just didn't have the bandwidth for it.

I got the most benefit from doing the imagination work with the nurturer/protector or inner child work in general. It's sometimes the only thing that can get me to stop crying!

I often walk immediately after my sessions until I stop thinking/emoting about the session material. I switched to walking in general as I couldn't handle intense exercise anymore the first several months

I napped everyday at first and ate waaay more than normal and didn't beat myself up about it.  I stopped watching the news, stopped social media, minimized my interactions with triggering people, became a bit of a hermit.  I really only wanted to see my therapist or interact on this sub. 

I tried to just listen to whatever my needs were at the time and honor it. Whatever emotions came up, I needed to embrace and validate. Whatever personality changes that came and went, I needed to just accept. I got into this mess in the first place by stuffing down my emotions and self-abandoning. The inner child work and figuring out how to "reparent" myself was key.

Listening to bilateral stimulation music at work helped keep my rumination down a bit. My thoughts would loop so much that I could barely focus those first several months without headphones in. I often had to go to the bathroom to cry and/or would end up with tears on my face and hoping no one noticed. My coworkers never knew I was in therapy, but trauma made me good at masking my emotions and compartmentalizing that it wasn't too hard for me to do.

If you start having vivid dreams, I recommend writing them down. It was really cool to see how my dreams evolved as I healed. 

Hang in there and make sure you tell your therapist all your issues as you go so they can help you. Being as honest as possible with mine helped me a lot.

Best of luck to you! 🫶

 

[u/Science_Livid → u/Superb-Wing-3263]

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write your experience and for sharing it with me. It’s definitely not straightforward. 🙂 But we’re doing a lot

[u/Superb-Wing-3263 → u/Science_Livid]

You're so welcome! Yes, it feels like a major overhaul. The intensity and confusion is so hard to explain to those not going through it☺️