Again a very helpful article, Joscelyn (and Doc). It continues to amaze me how the “simple” act of tapping combined with a therapist’s guidance can do so much good. I know my mother used a form of tapping to reduce her anxiety after recovering from a stroke and it did do her good. But this was not in a therapeutic setting so I don’t think it was EDMR? Anyhoot, very enlightening and I hope some of these techniques will be helpful in dealing with my own issues. 😊
So, my therapist actually had me practice slower tapping before we ramped up to EMDR. I don't know how much research there is on it, but she said that wrapping your arms around yourself and slowly tapping each side is actually a comforting technique that's observed in other primates to relieve anxiety and calm oneself. And so she had me practice that first as a place we can go to if I get activated and we need to ground me again. So, yep, that's a thing too!
This hit spot on and I am still crying. Maybe because our pasts seem similar regarding the parental neglect. In my case my mother being an alcoholic and my father a co-dependent teacher ignoring the situation and me. Thank you very much for writing this. It helped me lot!
Oof, yep, one of the reasons I made sure to warn before jumping in. It's worth confronting, but it's hard. And neglect is such a harder trauma to see because it's the absence of something rather than the presence of abuse or the like. Glad it helped and know you're not alone!
When I was in undergrad, my therapist thought EMDR would help me. (This was about 20 years ago.) He brought in an EMDR specialist, who got very annoyed with me when I explained I can't visualize anything. (I'm aphantasic, but that condition wasn't "known" back then.) She insisted that I just wasn't trying hard enough to make EMDR work, and that I was lying about not being able to visualize, so I wrote it off as a therapy that wasn't for people like me.
Reading this article prompted me to go to my current therapist, who is also EMDR trained, and who said "Oh, no, visualization isn't required at all!" So we're going to try an EMDR session at my next therapy appointment.
I wouldn't have know that was possible if I hadn't read this article. Thank you for enlightening me!
💜
Thanks always for sharing
A friend from class has had very positive experiences with Edmr
It’s available through the public health system in the Netherlands
💕🫂🏳️⚧️
Again a very helpful article, Joscelyn (and Doc). It continues to amaze me how the “simple” act of tapping combined with a therapist’s guidance can do so much good. I know my mother used a form of tapping to reduce her anxiety after recovering from a stroke and it did do her good. But this was not in a therapeutic setting so I don’t think it was EDMR? Anyhoot, very enlightening and I hope some of these techniques will be helpful in dealing with my own issues. 😊
So, my therapist actually had me practice slower tapping before we ramped up to EMDR. I don't know how much research there is on it, but she said that wrapping your arms around yourself and slowly tapping each side is actually a comforting technique that's observed in other primates to relieve anxiety and calm oneself. And so she had me practice that first as a place we can go to if I get activated and we need to ground me again. So, yep, that's a thing too!
That's fascinating to hear. I'll share this with my mother! 😸
Sounds like the Butterfly Hug! That's the name of that technique I think. I use it too!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
This hit spot on and I am still crying. Maybe because our pasts seem similar regarding the parental neglect. In my case my mother being an alcoholic and my father a co-dependent teacher ignoring the situation and me. Thank you very much for writing this. It helped me lot!
Oof, yep, one of the reasons I made sure to warn before jumping in. It's worth confronting, but it's hard. And neglect is such a harder trauma to see because it's the absence of something rather than the presence of abuse or the like. Glad it helped and know you're not alone!
When I was in undergrad, my therapist thought EMDR would help me. (This was about 20 years ago.) He brought in an EMDR specialist, who got very annoyed with me when I explained I can't visualize anything. (I'm aphantasic, but that condition wasn't "known" back then.) She insisted that I just wasn't trying hard enough to make EMDR work, and that I was lying about not being able to visualize, so I wrote it off as a therapy that wasn't for people like me.
Reading this article prompted me to go to my current therapist, who is also EMDR trained, and who said "Oh, no, visualization isn't required at all!" So we're going to try an EMDR session at my next therapy appointment.
I wouldn't have know that was possible if I hadn't read this article. Thank you for enlightening me!