Caring for Yourself Before and After EMDR Sessions
If you’re feeling anything like I felt before my first EMDR session, you might have some anxieties about how to ensure your own emotional and physical wellbeing around your sessions. You’re not wrong for wanting to be prepared. Having this sense of safety and preparedness around your session can help regulate your nervous system, which in turn can benefit your overall experience. EMDR itself can be mystifying, but managing your self-care, preparation, and after care doesn’t have to be.
I also feel the need to stress this next piece: You do not have to be 100% to show up and benefit from EMDR. The ideas listed below are only tools to help you feel safer, alleviate anxieties, and potentially reduce EMDR session recovery time. In most cases, you won’t need to do any of these things and you will still see benefits from EMDR therapy.
How to Prepare for EMDR Therapy Sessions
Firstly, your therapist is going to complete assessments to gauge whether you are suitable for EMDR treatment. This piece is fully off your plate. You shouldn’t have to worry about whether you’re ready for EMDR or not because you have a professional for that! However, if you have questions about whether you’re ready, why you’re ready or not, and what supports you can build up to be more prepared as an individual, this is great to bring up with your therapist. The first step to any concerns about EMDR is to talk to your own therapist about it so that you can have further conversations as treatment progresses.
Aside from individual suitability, there are ways to best benefit yourself going into EMDR treatments. For one, if you’re able to schedule some time before treatment to ground yourself and prepare your nervous system for the session, this can help you stay in a window of tolerance both during and after the session. Grounding yourself can look many different ways depending on what works best for you. If you need to limit social interaction the day before treatment, do so. If you need to take half an hour between getting off work and driving to your therapy appointment, do this. Whatever you need to feel more regulated and calm going into your session, make a priority so that you’re starting from a place of comfort rather than dysregulation.
Another way to benefit yourself before EMDR is to take care of your body. Drink water, get enough sleep, and get some movement in regularly so that you have a good starting point. EMDR can have some effects on your body in the days after treatment, so having a strong baseline can benefit you in recovery from EMDR.
Keep up communication with your therapist. If you’re feeling under the weather, have had a particularly emotionally taxing week, or otherwise aren’t feeling up to EMDR, check-in about this! Your therapist is likely willing and able to adapt to your needs and this self advocacy can go a long way in making sure that you both are on the same page about continued treatment, establishing trust, and building skills to advocate for yourself elsewhere.
EMDR Aftercare: How to Recover After Your Session
After EMDR, the number one piece of advice I would give anyone is to try to relax and recuperate as much as possible. A lot of work is done in an EMDR session and your brain can feel mushy; this is so normal. Give yourself space and grace to allow your brain to come back to firm. Oftentimes, it’s important to prepare to relax as well so that you have the structure to ease into.
Firstly, per EMDRIA (the people who are responsible for EMDR), it is not recommended to consume alcohol or any other altering substances after treatment. This is due to the potential to disrupt information storage in the REM cycle. If this is your idea of relaxing, no judgment, but try to find an alternative after an EMDR session.
If you live with someone, and it feels safe to do so, let them know you’re doing an EMDR session so that they know you might be a little softer the day of the appointment. This can help in many ways, but having this support and understanding alone is massive. Maybe the support shows up in them giving you more space. Maybe they’re able to make your meal for the evening. Or maybe they just know that you might be a little off so that you can ease up on your own expectations for interaction. Setting these expectations and opening up communication can ease your transition following an EMDR session.
What to Do if EMDR Side Effects Feel Overwhelming
Most importantly, communicate with your therapist! If you have symptoms that feel untenable after treatment, let them know. You can always work with them to identify potential solutions or build up skills to make aftercare more achievable. For example, if you’re finding it impossible to go to work after EMDR, you and your therapist can work together to identify a better time of day or week for future EMDR sessions. If you find that it’s more difficult to put thoughts down after EMDR, your therapist can help you build up skills to regulate and refocus after EMDR sessions. It is always important to work with your counselor to ensure future success and avoid feeling turned off of EMDR.
EMDR is an incredible reprocessing tool and there is so much potential benefit to this modality. Applying advocacy, self care, and attunement outside of EMDR sessions allows you to reap these benefits from a more centered place, but again, it’s not necessary for EMDR treatment necessarily. Take what you can and leave what doesn’t work for you and I wish you all the success in your sessions.
How We Can Help
If EMDR feels like your next step for trauma reprocessing, we have therapists who offer EMDR therapy for those who are ready to begin healing. Schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation today to learn more and find the right fit for you.
Author Biography
Chryssiana McGilvrey is an EMDR therapist with Catalyss Counseling who works with neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ adults experiencing anxiety, trauma, burnout, and years of masking. Chryssiana is very passionate about counseling and holding space for others in moments of vulnerability. Follow Catalyss Counseling on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
