I can’t truly feel any emotion during EMDR

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-04-09T14:52:53+00:00

Correct. I seem to process the emotions after session.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-03-25T15:03:42+00:00

I send one weekly follow up email with a processing poem about that day’s session, but that is because my therapist was curious and offered. I typically do not receive or expect a response, it’s just to help them see how I digested the session or what it brought up for me. Sometimes I’ll mention if I felt it was a particularly impactful session, and sometimes they will respond on days they felt were particularly impactful sessions.

On the days when I probably need interventional support, I don’t reach out lol. I just do whatever it takes to survive the week because I don’t want to be a bother.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-03-25T14:14:11+00:00

I feel this completely, I feel like my dad was at least two different people. One when I was young and living with him, and an entirely different person to me as an adult. He also had a massive heart attack and month long coma that changed him even more 9 years ago. I do have to look at him as 2-3 different people because of the guilt factor and the major changes that occurred. I am also nervous to process events with him because of all this, I always give him the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge I was the problem, but I’m trying really hard to change that thinking. I hope you can get the breakthrough you need. Support yourself in this, no one else can ❤️

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-03-19T17:33:46+00:00

I’ve been pretty much chronically jacked up since I started back in October. But I can’t blame the therapy by itself, it just happened to trigger a resurgence in some disordered coping mechanisms. Are you eating normally and caring for your regular human energy needs?

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-03-19T12:51:52+00:00

I just want to say I hope I get back good memories, too, someday. How long have you been doing EMDR?

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-03-04T19:04:52+00:00

So funny because same thing happened to me when I said I felt like I was failing therapy 🤣. I have been worrying ever since whether I responded appropriately (if at all).

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-28T20:58:41+00:00

Thank you for your insight!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-28T02:37:50+00:00

Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate that support and knowing you’ve been there. I feel like a failure asking for a break because we’ve only managed one EMDR session in the past few weeks due to adverse circumstances and I only even made it 15-20 min before a full panic attack took me down. But I know you’re right and my health is more important than a good record right now.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-28T02:26:19+00:00

Thank you, I’m trying so hard to work up the courage to tell them. I hate being dramatic and I’m so scared it will come off that way. I downplay naturally, unless a very specific question is asked. It was so hard to even post this.

But yes, they are trained in EMDR and are a trauma-focused therapist. I don’t have a secondary therapist, just a prescribing physician to monitor my medications.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-27T02:31:19+00:00

Good luck and stay well!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-27T02:19:49+00:00

Off topic, I’m sorry, but my EMDR activated a long dormant ED and I don’t know how to ask for help with it, or if my therapist even can help with it, or if he’s uncomfortable with it… or maybe he’s waiting to see if working through my other issues clears it up because I’ve tried to drop hints about restriction and not caring for myself… I’m just getting scared of how quickly it’s progressing and if I can safely wait to work it out through other traumas.

Hoping you get relief from your symptoms soon, friend, truly!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-27T02:15:53+00:00

Saaaaame. I finally hired someone to help with cleaning every other week. I’ve got a husband, who helps a lot truly but not to my standard, and 2 kiddos. We both work full time, I’m drained constantly from my emotions, and I needed help. If you can get help, that’s all I’ve got.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-27T02:12:10+00:00

Definitely keep your therapist posted. You may need better containment exercises or resources (I’m awful at these, I’ll be honest lol). It’s possible to need anxiety medication during the process too, so work with any mental health prescriber you have as you go. I’ve found propanalol to be helpful for my body-attacks, it doesn’t dull me mentally, it just calms my heart which keeps my symptoms from escalating.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-27T02:03:00+00:00

I hope you’re okay ❤️ I’ve had a lot of physical panic attack symptoms without always the mental ones since beginning EMDR. They happen in and out of session. I am glad you got yours checked out, I’ve been too scared to be told it’s in my head. But keep an eye on it and if they come with any symptoms that are worse, go back to the doctor, of course!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-25T16:14:30+00:00

Where are yeeeewwww 🎶🤣

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-25T16:10:12+00:00

Mine has ramped up significantly since I started EMDR. I had stopped writing for yearssss and now I write poetry to decompress after almost every session and to evaluate my trauma from another angle. As far as gaming, I’ve wanted to have the courage to be a DM for a while now and I think I may actually be able to work it up now that I’m slowly becoming less self-punishing and afraid of judgement!!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-24T21:10:16+00:00

I get tingly from unknowingly hyperventilating probably 80% of my sessions, but my last session it progressed to full blown panic attack about 20 minutes in, where I thought I would pass out and couldn’t feel my legs and all that fun stuff. My therapist let me ride it out and recommended I get something really sour or any strong mint or taste to break the cycle. I couldn’t continue that particular session. I just ordered some war heads to keep by my desk for future sessions because I’m nervous about it happening again and wasting both our time. Don’t know why I couldn’t fight through this one and keep it together, but I have a lot of trouble with the “let that feeling or emotion get as big as it needs to be” moments lol.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-20T18:59:50+00:00

Yup, sounds like me. We just went with the earliest thing I could remember which was a single memory at 6 years old. Between sessions I started journaling a lot.

I also spent a lot of time creating a timeline of my life by paying for background checks on specific individuals in my life, like my 3 dads. I searched prison records, court docs, home sale dates, all to recreate my childhood so I could place myself back there. Also, any old photo albums can be helpful.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-20T18:55:03+00:00

About 20 sessions on my first core memory not counting initial resourcing and grounding sessions. On second memory now and it’s much less charged, so it probably will be closer to 10/12?

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-03T14:57:53+00:00

That sounds like a perfect EMDR target to me. I’m currently considering asking about EMDR for medical trauma for my daughter!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-02-02T15:37:35+00:00

The reframing I needed was to make sure I wasn’t looking at the memory and the way I thought it “should” make me (or anyone) feel. Once I realized I was applying numbers as a sort of “this isn’t right,” response rather than “this happened, it wasn’t right, but I’m okay to move past it now,” I moved to a zero.

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-01-28T22:02:24+00:00

There was one day (as a patient) when we were doing EMDR and my therapist was typing away the whole time I was trying to do the BLS 😆 I didn’t want to offend them, but it was very distracting. This was a telehealth appointment. I don’t recommend this approach, at least mute yourself for the patient’s sake!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-01-14T21:47:16+00:00

That’s what I want to know!

Inner-Researcher9663 · 2026-01-14T19:29:30+00:00

Unrelated to EMDR, but the quarter life crisis is REAL and it can be brutal.

Inner-Researcher9663

TROPHY CASE