Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) - has anyone tried this?

renmon · ‎29-05-2015

I was reading a book that discussed this therapy and the author was very positive about it. I hadn't heard of it before but it sparked my interest. I have treatment resistant depression and anxiety and am finding life really hard. I've completed
MBSR programs the last two years, meditate regularly, don't drink much, swim twice a week and walk my dogs, study part time, catch up with friends every week etc etc. I'm a single parent with no respite options and unfortunately don't have the sort of friends or family that either understand the gravity of my condition or can provide much support. It's not much of a life but I'm making the best of what I can. I'm a single parent so I have to keep plowing on for my children even if I don't feel like it. I know it's easy to think something might be the Holy Grail for treatment and I am realistic but EMDR seemed like it might the thing for me. Would love to hear from anyone who has tried it and found it helpful/unhelpful. Thanks comrades

Doolhof · ‎29-05-2015

Hi Renmon and thanks for your post.

I have heard of EMDR but I have not tried it at all. There certainly is no harm in trying something that may held you and be beneficial.

It certainly sounds to me like you do quite a lot to try to help yourself, well done to you! It must be difficult being a single parent, having everything to do yourself.

Is it at all possible for you to ask one of your friends or your family if they can look after your children for a couple of hours so you can have a bit of time to yourself?

Or is it possible to organise outings with other friends who have children, so there are more hands and eyes all working together to look after the children?

If you don't mind me asking, roughly what age are your children and what time do they go to bed? Is it possible for you to set one evening aside each week where you do something special for yourself once the children are asleep?

I've not heard of treatment resistant depression before, would you like to explain that further?

Try the EMDR and you might be able to give us all some feedback on it.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

renmon · ‎01-06-2015

Thanks for your reply Mrs Dools. My situation is a bit complicated. I don't have family to help where I live and while I do have a great network of friends they are either unable to help much or not willing to unless it's a drastic emergency. Stigma doesn't help either. My kids have a really good and fairly regimented routine which is essential to keep us functioning as a family. They're 5 and 7. They're asleep on weeknights by 8pm and weekends a little later. We miss out on most of the services on offer for mental health as we don't fit the crisis criteria, ie not at risk of homelessness or have drug/alcohol issues. It is incredibly frustrating. We also live in a regional area so services are limited. Without much money and lack of babysitting I'm limited in what I can do for respite. We catch up with people for lunch or during the day when possible, and otherwise I try to do the things that make me happy like read or exercise etc. Being treatment resistant means drug treatment doesn't work for me. There may be some medications that would work but I'm unable to trial them while I care for the kids, as the side effects often mean I can't drive or function very well. My condition is complex for all the reasons above and a few more I haven't mentioned. I have an incredible medical team that are always working away at another possibility to ease the impact of my illness but so far we haven't found the magic ingredient. We live in hope though.

Doolhof · ‎02-06-2015

Hi Renmon,

Thanks for getting back to me. After reading your post, I think you do amazingly well and am pleased to know you have a wonderful medical team helping you.

I don't have children, (not by choice) and I have not been single for a long time, so can't relate to those issues, but I do certainly know about depression and the effects it can have.

After having some "unusual" reactions to medication I do understand what you have written regarding not being able to have the opportunity to try something else due to the children.

Some medication does have awful side effects when you are needing to come off them in order to try something else. Hopefully you will be able to find various ways of coping okay without the medication.

Have you tried the EMDR therapy? Is it something your medical team can help you with?

We too live in a rural community and do find it a little difficult to find the support required for mental health issues. My Dr. is very supportive though.

My family try to help out and are concerned for me, but usually from a distance. I have a girlfriend who tries to understand and is there for me.

Since joining this forum, I have been very encouraged, empowered and feel like I can better cope with my depression through all the sharing and advice that happens here.

The stigma of mental health doesn't help either, it is not always easy to tell people you know that you suffer from it. You never know how they are going to react.

I recently told a group of people I am in contact with that I have depression and half of them admitted they have suffered from it as well so a great discussion happened. That is not always the case though!

I too find routine important in my own life. I am sure it helps with the children.

Thanks again for sharing your story. I hope you are able to benefit greatly from being part of the community here. Hopefully you and the children will have a good week.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

Kensly · ‎02-06-2015

EMDR changed my life. First, personally as a client. I was so impressed with the results I got trained to do it. Today I am an EMDR trainer and I've written books about it. Every day I see people's lives change. Find someone who uses it and not just go trained in it. Anxiety and depression usually respond well to EMDR. I think it's worth a try!

renmon · ‎02-06-2015

Wow. Thanks Kensly for responding. My illness is based on trauma and I read it's a very effective therapy for that. Are you able to suggest any reading for me? There is only one therapist in my area as I live in a regional town so if he's not much chop then I can't access the therapy. Are you able to give me more details about how the therapy works? I'm so glad to hear from you!