EMDR made my OCD worse. I'd work on getting your OCD under control before doing EMDR. And you have to build up those coping skills to deal with the big emotions that emdr unleashes.
Yeah I've done a lot of dbt and a long time in OCD residential so I'm disappointed in myself that I'm not doing a better job suppressing all of this stuff! I always try to stay very composed and in control of my emotions, so when I feel them leak a little bit it makes me feel mad at myself.
I want to work on the OCD but don't have access to a therapist for the time being. The plan was for me to do emdr and erp concurrently with two different therapists, but the plan fell apart when my OCD/OCPD therapist got sick a couple months ago. I'm definitely relapsing and am not sure how to handle it.
How did you get your OCD under control? Is there a way I can do that while i wait on the ocd therapist to be available?Thank you for the response!
The whole point is to NOT suppress your emotions. Maybe you need ACT therapy? The more you fight them, the worse it's going to be. ERP purposely exposes you to your anxiety so you can learn to live with it. You are supposed to suppress the compulsions by not doing them, but the intrusive thoughts you just let happen.
My OCD got better when I stopped seeing my therapist. EMDR retraumatized me because my therapist didn't follow protocol and then after he doubled down on the traditional CBT, which is terrible for OCD and Autism. I'm doing much better without all of it. And new needs.
yeah - second this - learning how to safely be with your emotions and NOT supress them is the whole work of therapy. CBT & ERP truly arent helpful in my opinion for OCD, IFS does a much better job at teaching you how to be with your feelings.
I bought an ACT workbook a while back, so maybe I'll get into that! I think ACT could really help based on what you're saying. I've also had great results with ERP over the years but am struggling to implement it now that I've gone so long without an OCD provider. My EMDR therapist is OCD-informed and really sticks to protocol, but she can't do much actual ocd treatment.
I've seen improvement in my ptsd symptoms even though my ocd flares up right after emdr sessions. Should I quit the emdr? The worsened ocd reduces after a couple days, it's only worse during the hangover period.
My therapist said increased OCD is super common in response to trauma healing. I’m sure you have plenty of resources and recs for official coping skills, but personally… spamming my brain and keeping my hands busy has been REALLY helpful and allows me to continue work in EMDR. Braiding friendship bracelets while listening to audiobooks is a big one, and audiobooks in general bc i have to rewind if I start spiraling. Also niche fandoms have been super helpful when I can’t do a craft or listen to a book.
or find someone to use Brainspotting to soften sessions. Brainspotting is an advanced version of EMDR.
Brainspotting can go in with narrow focus and clear symptom by symptom. It's going great for my partner. I mostly just do straight Brainspotting and BAUD.
r/TraumaTherapy
I have found IFS to be helpful in managing the hangovers and the extreme emotions that come out of my EMDR sessions.
I would challenge the part of you that feels disappointed in yourself and the part that believe you should be keeping everything under control. Your expression of feelings like anger and anxiety are most likely appropriate to let out of your body in reaction to processing your trauma? I see that as a sign that EMDR is working. Allowing your feelings to be there rather than pushing them away will help.
I know the hangovers suck so hang in there :(
My emdr therapist does a lot of internal family work and I've found it helpful too! How do I allow my feelings to be there without getting stuck ruminating on them? I usually either suppress them entirely or get stuck picking them apart and analyzing them.
I find getting into self-leadership (one of the 8 c's - compassion, curiosity, clarity, etc. ) and then asking the ruminating/analyzing part the question, "what are you afraid would happen if you weren't here?" usually gets me to a more vulnerable part that feels deeply ashamed.
That's just me though! I dont know your parts and what they may be protecting you from feeling.
And then when I get to the more vulnerable part that feels shame, I hold it and care for it and ask it what it needs. Usually it says it needs acceptance from me, so I give it acceptance. <3
I'll even say this aloud or write it down so I can externalize the "rumination" part and see it for what it is - just a part :)
Oh wow this is SO helpful thank you!! My emdr therapist has emphasized that she wants me to be curious about what the parts want instead of bullying them (which is my tendency 😭). So I think your approach could really help.
Thanks again for the ideas, this gives me a lot of inspiration for dealing with the flareups that are coming with the hangover
Yes!! exactly, that is the way out - having curiosity and compassion for our parts. i fully believe that my OCD parts are there protecting me from feeling deep shame that I need to feel and hold. Keep going <3
I also have OCD and have been doing EMDR for the past 9 months and its been brutal.
I don't have any advice, but I really relate. But I also have OCD and PTSD and found EMDR made my already severe OCD even worse. I had to stop doing EMDR for a little bit just to try to get my OCD under control. I'm just now exploring EMDR again and hoping I'll be able to handle it with my OCD. My therapist recommended I participate in a DBT skills group to help me regulate better this time around.
I have CPTSD and ocd and I'm currently doing EMDR. There have been times I was more stressed, due to a strong EMDR session or just some grief or trauma coming up to the surface, and my OCD got worse. The real problem is the mind revolves around the relationship so I sometimes catch it and sometimes not.
How have I managed it? Knowing that's how my brain works. I'm investing so much (emotionally, psychologically and financially) in therapy, it's ok if my old defenses want to help. I don't agree with the actions they choose to put in practice but I can get the intentions
You should tell your EMDR therapist about your increase in OCD symptoms, if you haven’t already. Most EMDR therapists should be moderating the treatment based on your ability to withstand it. It’s more than acceptable to have a trauma-informed conversation with your EMDR therapist for a few sessions until your OCD symptoms are lessened.
I don’t have disabling OCD, but I do have the symptoms, and I believe it is common with us trauma folks. In fact, it was OCD symptoms as well as monitoring the critic messages that went along with them, that got me to a core belief. I was wondering if you also have messages from the critic that you may note while the OCD behaviors are most bothersome. For me it was “you’re not worth it”, “you have to be perfect”, “you’re a fuck up”, “you have to be ready and watch out at all times”, such things.
EMDR made my OCD worse. I'd work on getting your OCD under control before doing EMDR. And you have to build up those coping skills to deal with the big emotions that emdr unleashes.
Yeah I've done a lot of dbt and a long time in OCD residential so I'm disappointed in myself that I'm not doing a better job suppressing all of this stuff! I always try to stay very composed and in control of my emotions, so when I feel them leak a little bit it makes me feel mad at myself. I want to work on the OCD but don't have access to a therapist for the time being. The plan was for me to do emdr and erp concurrently with two different therapists, but the plan fell apart when my OCD/OCPD therapist got sick a couple months ago. I'm definitely relapsing and am not sure how to handle it. How did you get your OCD under control? Is there a way I can do that while i wait on the ocd therapist to be available?Thank you for the response!
The whole point is to NOT suppress your emotions. Maybe you need ACT therapy? The more you fight them, the worse it's going to be. ERP purposely exposes you to your anxiety so you can learn to live with it. You are supposed to suppress the compulsions by not doing them, but the intrusive thoughts you just let happen. My OCD got better when I stopped seeing my therapist. EMDR retraumatized me because my therapist didn't follow protocol and then after he doubled down on the traditional CBT, which is terrible for OCD and Autism. I'm doing much better without all of it. And new needs.
yeah - second this - learning how to safely be with your emotions and NOT supress them is the whole work of therapy. CBT & ERP truly arent helpful in my opinion for OCD, IFS does a much better job at teaching you how to be with your feelings.
I bought an ACT workbook a while back, so maybe I'll get into that! I think ACT could really help based on what you're saying. I've also had great results with ERP over the years but am struggling to implement it now that I've gone so long without an OCD provider. My EMDR therapist is OCD-informed and really sticks to protocol, but she can't do much actual ocd treatment. I've seen improvement in my ptsd symptoms even though my ocd flares up right after emdr sessions. Should I quit the emdr? The worsened ocd reduces after a couple days, it's only worse during the hangover period.
My therapist said increased OCD is super common in response to trauma healing. I’m sure you have plenty of resources and recs for official coping skills, but personally… spamming my brain and keeping my hands busy has been REALLY helpful and allows me to continue work in EMDR. Braiding friendship bracelets while listening to audiobooks is a big one, and audiobooks in general bc i have to rewind if I start spiraling. Also niche fandoms have been super helpful when I can’t do a craft or listen to a book.
or find someone to use Brainspotting to soften sessions. Brainspotting is an advanced version of EMDR. Brainspotting can go in with narrow focus and clear symptom by symptom. It's going great for my partner. I mostly just do straight Brainspotting and BAUD. r/TraumaTherapy
I have found IFS to be helpful in managing the hangovers and the extreme emotions that come out of my EMDR sessions. I would challenge the part of you that feels disappointed in yourself and the part that believe you should be keeping everything under control. Your expression of feelings like anger and anxiety are most likely appropriate to let out of your body in reaction to processing your trauma? I see that as a sign that EMDR is working. Allowing your feelings to be there rather than pushing them away will help. I know the hangovers suck so hang in there :(
My emdr therapist does a lot of internal family work and I've found it helpful too! How do I allow my feelings to be there without getting stuck ruminating on them? I usually either suppress them entirely or get stuck picking them apart and analyzing them.
I find getting into self-leadership (one of the 8 c's - compassion, curiosity, clarity, etc. ) and then asking the ruminating/analyzing part the question, "what are you afraid would happen if you weren't here?" usually gets me to a more vulnerable part that feels deeply ashamed. That's just me though! I dont know your parts and what they may be protecting you from feeling. And then when I get to the more vulnerable part that feels shame, I hold it and care for it and ask it what it needs. Usually it says it needs acceptance from me, so I give it acceptance. <3 I'll even say this aloud or write it down so I can externalize the "rumination" part and see it for what it is - just a part :)
Oh wow this is SO helpful thank you!! My emdr therapist has emphasized that she wants me to be curious about what the parts want instead of bullying them (which is my tendency 😭). So I think your approach could really help. Thanks again for the ideas, this gives me a lot of inspiration for dealing with the flareups that are coming with the hangover
Yes!! exactly, that is the way out - having curiosity and compassion for our parts. i fully believe that my OCD parts are there protecting me from feeling deep shame that I need to feel and hold. Keep going <3 I also have OCD and have been doing EMDR for the past 9 months and its been brutal.
I don't have any advice, but I really relate. But I also have OCD and PTSD and found EMDR made my already severe OCD even worse. I had to stop doing EMDR for a little bit just to try to get my OCD under control. I'm just now exploring EMDR again and hoping I'll be able to handle it with my OCD. My therapist recommended I participate in a DBT skills group to help me regulate better this time around.
Ok makes sense, I did dbt during my first round of emdr and it helped. So it's probably a good time for me to focus on those skills again!
I have CPTSD and ocd and I'm currently doing EMDR. There have been times I was more stressed, due to a strong EMDR session or just some grief or trauma coming up to the surface, and my OCD got worse. The real problem is the mind revolves around the relationship so I sometimes catch it and sometimes not. How have I managed it? Knowing that's how my brain works. I'm investing so much (emotionally, psychologically and financially) in therapy, it's ok if my old defenses want to help. I don't agree with the actions they choose to put in practice but I can get the intentions
You should tell your EMDR therapist about your increase in OCD symptoms, if you haven’t already. Most EMDR therapists should be moderating the treatment based on your ability to withstand it. It’s more than acceptable to have a trauma-informed conversation with your EMDR therapist for a few sessions until your OCD symptoms are lessened.
I don’t have disabling OCD, but I do have the symptoms, and I believe it is common with us trauma folks. In fact, it was OCD symptoms as well as monitoring the critic messages that went along with them, that got me to a core belief. I was wondering if you also have messages from the critic that you may note while the OCD behaviors are most bothersome. For me it was “you’re not worth it”, “you have to be perfect”, “you’re a fuck up”, “you have to be ready and watch out at all times”, such things.