PTSD- Therapy Question

[qlove1215]

Hi All!

I'm experiencing a PTSD relapse and going back to therapy.  I've never tried EMDR or Hypnotherapy but they look interesting to me.  Anyone with experience- positive or negative in either approach?  

I'm new to my area but see that the therapist my psychiatrist paired me with offers both and I'm sure he'll advise me on the best approach.  He's booked until April so I'm just trying to satiate my curiosity in the meantime.

Thanks!!
Katie

[lulu]

Hey - I posted a thread on hypnotherapy a wee while back asking kind of the same....will quickly cut and paste for you:

I used to get it as part of my weekly therapy. It was to help me deal with low self esteem, anxiety and negative thoughts.

Basically I would go into a really deep state of relaxation and while there, the therapist would get me to think about a really positive time in my life, when something had happened to make me feel brave and strong and proud. I had to focus on those feelings, thoughts, colours, sounds etc while they put positive thoughts into my subconscious.

The point is that when you are in a highly anxious state, feeling crappy or being hard on yourself, you are meant to be able to recall this positive memory from your subconscious, instead of dwelling on the negative.

When it was over, I would feel pretty calm and positive for a few days but as soon as a negative thought popped in my mind I would find it impossible to get that positive memory the therapist had "planted" in my mind back up to the surface.

In the end, I kind of decided I needed to practice more and it was lazy of me to just "expect" to be able to wish away the negatives without putting the work in.

I would say - go for it, be open minded and be ready to practice and work hard. Good luck and let me know what happens for you x

[snarkysparklefart]

I have no experience with EMDR and had never heard of it until your post- just did a quick search on it and it sounds very interesting. I also suffer from PTSD and I may ask my therapist & psych about this type of therapy.

Good luck to you with the new doctor! I'd love to know what you decide to go with and how it goes for you.

[icequeen]

I don't have any experience, but just wanted to offer hugs and good luck with your appointment. Let us know how it goes!

[stargazerlily]

I've done EMDR, CBT, and traditional therapy for my PTSD. EMDR worked pretty well but left me feeling very fragile for a few hours after each session. Then a few years ago I discovered RRT. It is short-term and intense - I only did one session (7 hours) and boom, no more PTSD. It's still crazy to me but it worked amazingly well, I highly recommend it!!!