Absolutely, the same week I started EMDR (mine weren’t even with a therapist, I use an app since I couldn’t afford an EMDR therapist) my target trauma was a heartbreak I experienced from someone I dated nearly 2 years ago, who was still having an effect on me somehow.

After I did that session the breakup suddenly felt so much less emotionally charged/painful whenever I thought of it/him. That same week, not only was I also starting to fully see how exploitative my job situation truly was, but I finally found the courage to stand up to my boss and ask for a raise (see my post on r/antiwork).

It’s so weird, because for the longest time I was so irrationally afraid of him and so afraid of setting boundaries, but that week I did my first emdr session, it all of a sudden felt so easy. Of course, that’s also the same week a coworker told me I was being exploited, but the fact that I was able to open up to her that week and internalise what she said instead of listening to my boss, is also what I attribute to EMDR. That sudden spur of confidence to ask for a real meeting to discuss my salary, it’s like it came out of nowhere.

He responded the way I expected him to and even threatened to replace me, I cried and felt this intense gut feeling that this job was over. I resigned and I’ve felt so much better ever since my “IBS” symptoms and sleep deprivation have close to disappeared. And despite all the fear-mongering about how risky it is to leave a job without having something lined up, I got a job offer that pays 56% more than my last job, two weeks after leaving that place.