Harry I’m so glad EMDR is working for you. I use TRE (Trauma/Tension Release Exercises) which was created by David Berceli. It’s a somatic practice of letting your body shake. It is free, simple to do and easy to learn on your own following YouTube videos. There are are facilitators who also teach the practice if you need help getting your body to shake. I’d be lost without it and also credit some of my recovery to TRE. If nothing else, it helps you cope with all the ups and downs of long COVID.
Thanks for all your great articles videos and support over the years.
Take care
Karen
Here a video interview and demo with David Berceli explaining it all.
Great post - so glad EMDR has worked for you. I learned a few years ago that the ‘wired but tired’ feeling so many of us had needed to be metabolized physically. I began rolling out my yoga mat and gently rocking my legs, hips, arms. Now that I have more capacity, I can shake this stuff out while standing, like the gazelle (I think that was the animal you mentioned, but all predated animals do this I think). I have also just completed level one EFT training (tapping), which has similar aspects to EMDR. Good stuff!
It's honestly been remarkable for me, and genuinely shocked me at how physical its been - I never would have imagined it could have that effect. I will check out EFT! Hope you're doing well, it's always great to hear from you
Harry this resonates with me so much. Traditional therapy has never worked for me and rumination in addition to intense exercise is how I typically handle stress. I’m finding the somatic and neuro techniques are the most difficult to complete however most likely the way out. I started working with a somatic therapist because of your experience and 2 sessions have been more helpful and eye opening than dozens of traditional therapy sessions (not knocking it as I respect it but it hasn’t worked for me). I’m able to recognize how out of touch with my body I am and how uncomfortable I am in social situations (worsened by long covid). She also discussed how my lifelong ocd is a compensatory strategy used by my nervous system to find safety and her techniques have really helped dim my tendencies down. I appreciate all your vulnerability my friend! Keep writing/speaking whether it’s long covid related or otherwise; you’re very eloquent. Cheers!
Hi Jennifer, I couldn't agree more - it's always felt so physical, so typical analytical therapy didn't resonate, especially with OCD! Very glad to hear you've had some improvements, and thank you so much for the kind words
I think I have read that bottling up stress is possibly one cause or factor leading to auto-immune diseases and for me it makes sense! My body is always under so much stress it’s no wonder I feel sh*te 🤔
The “tension” behind the eyes is such an accurate description. I always call it pressure or fullness but it really does feel more like a clenching that can’t be relaxed. Thank you for opening my eyes to that! (Couldn’t resist the pun)
That is my most recent symptom, developed last year after a stomach bug. I’m emetophobic (talk about control issues, lol) but managed to let my body do what it had to do. I wonder if from a trauma perspective it was too far a leap at the time.
I choked on a nickel when I was 2 and have no way of accessing those memories but still get triggered. I’ve always been curious to look into EMDR, thank you for sharing!
Really happy that it’s made such a significant difference for you 🙏 I’ll echo that tapping has been so helpful, and interestingly hits the same points as acupuncture!
Harry I’m so glad EMDR is working for you. I use TRE (Trauma/Tension Release Exercises) which was created by David Berceli. It’s a somatic practice of letting your body shake. It is free, simple to do and easy to learn on your own following YouTube videos. There are are facilitators who also teach the practice if you need help getting your body to shake. I’d be lost without it and also credit some of my recovery to TRE. If nothing else, it helps you cope with all the ups and downs of long COVID.
Thanks for all your great articles videos and support over the years.
Take care
Karen
Here a video interview and demo with David Berceli explaining it all.
https://youtu.be/YPYUbqEmhMw?si=VdKWScV-w8GPCDXw
And another good demo video
https://youtu.be/26zoFKZzbQc?si=BE9pPrqlikRQLQLk
Thank you for the kind words Karen, and so glad to hear you've had benefit from TRE - I'll be sure to check it out!
Great post - so glad EMDR has worked for you. I learned a few years ago that the ‘wired but tired’ feeling so many of us had needed to be metabolized physically. I began rolling out my yoga mat and gently rocking my legs, hips, arms. Now that I have more capacity, I can shake this stuff out while standing, like the gazelle (I think that was the animal you mentioned, but all predated animals do this I think). I have also just completed level one EFT training (tapping), which has similar aspects to EMDR. Good stuff!
It's honestly been remarkable for me, and genuinely shocked me at how physical its been - I never would have imagined it could have that effect. I will check out EFT! Hope you're doing well, it's always great to hear from you
Congrats, this is wonderful news.
At the same time, it's unnerving that it seems we could need EMDR without even realising 😳
Although I imagine you had conscious traumas you could recall during EMDR? I'm not conscious of any such traumatic memories.
Harry this resonates with me so much. Traditional therapy has never worked for me and rumination in addition to intense exercise is how I typically handle stress. I’m finding the somatic and neuro techniques are the most difficult to complete however most likely the way out. I started working with a somatic therapist because of your experience and 2 sessions have been more helpful and eye opening than dozens of traditional therapy sessions (not knocking it as I respect it but it hasn’t worked for me). I’m able to recognize how out of touch with my body I am and how uncomfortable I am in social situations (worsened by long covid). She also discussed how my lifelong ocd is a compensatory strategy used by my nervous system to find safety and her techniques have really helped dim my tendencies down. I appreciate all your vulnerability my friend! Keep writing/speaking whether it’s long covid related or otherwise; you’re very eloquent. Cheers!
Hi Jennifer, I couldn't agree more - it's always felt so physical, so typical analytical therapy didn't resonate, especially with OCD! Very glad to hear you've had some improvements, and thank you so much for the kind words
I think I have read that bottling up stress is possibly one cause or factor leading to auto-immune diseases and for me it makes sense! My body is always under so much stress it’s no wonder I feel sh*te 🤔
That stress has to go somewhere right!
The “tension” behind the eyes is such an accurate description. I always call it pressure or fullness but it really does feel more like a clenching that can’t be relaxed. Thank you for opening my eyes to that! (Couldn’t resist the pun)
That is my most recent symptom, developed last year after a stomach bug. I’m emetophobic (talk about control issues, lol) but managed to let my body do what it had to do. I wonder if from a trauma perspective it was too far a leap at the time.
I choked on a nickel when I was 2 and have no way of accessing those memories but still get triggered. I’ve always been curious to look into EMDR, thank you for sharing!
Really happy that it’s made such a significant difference for you 🙏 I’ll echo that tapping has been so helpful, and interestingly hits the same points as acupuncture!