To: K-list
Recieved: 2001/12/10 15:34
Subject: Re: [K-list] EMDR explained
From: emilybATnospamsympatico.ca
On 2001/12/10 15:34, emilybATnospamsympatico.ca posted thus to the K-list:
Hi Nina :)
> Here's a question:
>
I'll try my best to answer it! :)
> Where are you pulling these three 'strengths' from? Seems that you
> are thinking of them, ascribing this quality of 'positive' to them
> (who is ascribing this quality?), and then trying to wedge them in to
> the scenario. Presto chango, a new set of filters. Have you really
> wiped out the knot? Or is the knot being bypassed?
Ok, I guess I shouldn't have given the example of installing/reinforcing
positive feelings/strengths in the same post as using EMDR to clear traumas
and negative thoughts.
My therapist was telling me that recent discoveries in EMDR (they are
experimenting all the time with this relatively new technique) had shown
that alternating taps could be used to install/reinforce positive
emotions/thoughts.
She had asked me to think of 3 qualities that I had which I had used in the
past to get through difficult times.
I came up with inquisitiveness because all my life I've enjoyed doing
research on any subject and this research had helped me to understand many
behaviors that I had or had helped me to overcome problems I had.
For example, I had always felt weird that I had been so sexually active as a
young child. I discovered through research that children who have been
molested show an early and strong interest in sex. Knowing this, I was able
to understand and forgive my behavior and didn't feel I was a freak anymore.
Another example: I was always feeling so tired and woozy. Doing more
research, I discovered that I was hypoglycemic and that eating that
delicious pasta for lunch provoked a huge insulin response, which in return
left me with too little sugar in my blood, hence the fatigue and dizziness.
Thus my inquisitiveness had helped me overcome some of my problems. So I had
a vision of myself sitting at my computer, doing research and felt a
positive feeling somewhere in my chest area. This I reinforced by the
tapping.
So yes, I had determined that this was one of my strengths which had helped
me in the past to overcome difficulties. But I didn't wedge it into any
scenario of trauma or negative thought. It was an exercise to instill a
sense of strength in myself. It was not an exercise to remove a trauma or
negative thought. I wasn't removing a knot as you called it. I was not
installing a filter either. The pain from past traumas and negative thoughts
are reprocessed by thinking about the negative thought or reliving the
trauma.
I see it more as an exercise to realize that we do all have strengths and
inner resources which we are perhaps not always conscious of having.
What I found most interesting about this technique is that she told me to
imagine a white light, a string of energy around the areas on my body where
I had felt all three strengths. This didn't sound like traditional therapy
to me. This was more like a meditation exercise. Maybe psychology and
spirituality are coming closer. :)
>
> Who told you that these 'strengths', these qualities that helped
> you 'get through something', are the way you need to be in order to
> get past a trauma?
She didn't tell me that these strengths would help me get past a trauma. It
was not intended that way. It was done to realize that when I faced future
problems in my life, that I had inner resources to deal with them. These
strengths/qualities were not intended to remove a past trauma.
>
> What if I decide that bull-headedness, aggression, and violence are 3
> strengths that help me get through problems. Certainly, looking at
> some of my family's traits, this would not be a foregone conclusion.
Then that is up to you if you find that these behaviors are the ones that
you want to use to face the challenges in your life. We each make our own
choices. What we sometimes forget is that we do have choices.
>
> Aaaaaah, the complexities of digging in... I like this experiment,
> though. Perhaps I will try the left-right tapping while not thinking.
While not thinking? Ok, try it and tell me what happens. :)
But if you want the results of EMDR, you should be concentrating on a
negative emotion that you want to clear away.
>
> Though this may sound light-hearted, the questions are serious, and I
> also agree that EMDR does do something.
There is another technique called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) which is
one of many meridian based therapies. You concentrate on a negative thought
while tapping 7 to 10 times on certain acupuncture points on your body. I
have done this also but prefer the 'in your face' approach of EMDR for big
problems. But I find it does work also and similar to EMDR, you'll find that
when you clear away one negative thought, another similar but different one
pops up to be removed. They compare problems to groves of trees. You remove
one tree, but another one is right there with it. It can take a while to
clear all the trees in one grove.
I can explain this technique also but it's a bit harder to learn without a
drawing to show you the exact points. I'll post it in separately.
>
> My brother-in-law has taken EMDR courses and was demonstrating the
> method at the dinner table one time. As he was sitting opposite me, I
> had a good connection with his left-right hand movements. Ah, the
> many ways of achieving 'headache'.
After doing eye exercises in hatha yoga, you rub your hands together really
quickly to get them warm, then you put your hands over your eyes. You do
this 3 times. That should help you avoid sore eyes or perhaps a headache. ;)
I tried my best to answer your questions but if you still have some, please
feel free to ask.
Namaste
Cherish yourself
Emily :)
http://www.kundalini-gateway.org
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