Side effects for EMDR treatment are rare, but something to consider to take it all in. Short-term side effects that you may experience can include physical ones like dizziness, nausea, and headaches. You may also feel fatigued, experience sleep difficulties, and have more dream activity than normal.
In the aftermath of certain traumas, you may feel a decreased sense of safety. Having been a victim of violence or abuse can rob you of your feelings of security. Not feeling safe and secure can lead to disruption of social activity and acting within social norms, even with those you have previously been acquainted with. These types of trauma can trigger feelings of loneliness.
Anxiety and false memories can eventually start to fuel each other. Experiencing anxiety can lead to more frequent memory issues. When you can’t remember certain details, you may find yourself feeling more anxious. Therapy techniques are available to help address feelings of anxiety as well as navigating memory processing. Healthy coping strategies can be established to combat whatever is triggering you and your anxiety.
The art of people-pleasing is one factor that can contribute to the onset of depression or fuel your symptoms to become worse over time. While this behavior may seem like it’s for the greater good of others around you, you may actually be hurting yourself in the long run—and possibly the short term.
No matter how well you can repress your memories, they will find a way to work themselves out and interfere in some fashion. Over time, they can increase your likelihood of developing various illnesses and struggles. You may have to come face-to-face with those memories that you’ve repressed, but healing is on the other side.
Social anxiety is very painful to live with, leaving many people isolated and alone. If you have ever wondered if you are shy or have social anxiety, and aren’t sure what to do about it, you are not alone. Shyness and social anxiety are often mixed up with each other. Shyness is a milder form of social anxiety which can definitely be uncomfortable, but is not disabling.
Orthorexia is a condition in which someone obsesses over eating healthy foods. They tend to avoid any foods they consider to be harmful, including “junk food” or anything that could possibly be called unhealthy. Except, perfectionism isn’t about expecting the best. It’s about, quite literally, expecting perfection.
EMDR can help you, even if memories are not fully present. Almost everyone will experience some form of trauma in their lifetime. You’ve survived it, so why remember it? The problem is, no matter how hard your brain tries to forget it, you may still end up with this uneasy feeling that you can’t quite put a finger on.
Memory loss may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But if you or a loved one suffer from the condition, the impact to what and how you remember significant parts of your life, learn new things, and reason with others is a daily concern. Why is memory affected by PTSD?
