Can EMDR work if there are no memories?

@shmerdloff Could you please explain how this quote pertains to this discussion? I'm confused.

In the book (and film which departed somewhat from the book) Sophie was a Holocaust survivor, Nathan had a serious mental illness ( probably co-occurring substance use disorder and bipolar disorder although Styron wrote that the diagnosis was paranoid schizophrenia) and the narrator of the story is "Stingo" who is an aspiring writer. Stingo is the one who finds the double suicide of Sophie and Nathan and comes to understand that the suffering for some people is unendurable.

I cried throughout and especially at the end of the book. Although I knew the ending of the film I was sobbing so much I couldn't leave the theatre.

Sophie's Choice is a tragic story however Stingo who eventually returns home to the South has matured from the naive writer to a person who has suffered and come to understand the suffering of others.

@naturegirl5
Perfect synopsis. Thank you.
It's the closing lines from the movie.

... and the many others who were but a few of the butchered, and betrayed, and martyred children of the earth...
I am reading in these Mayo Connections of people suffering all through life into old age (if not killed) the painful consequences of (parental) tortures. So I liken liken this, in a broader sense than the movie, to an acknowledgement and validation of the suffering of so many of us at the hands of people who were supposed to care for us, and happened not to be officers in a camp, but our "loved" ones.
Hope this helps, and yes, I too cried through the movie.

@shmerdloff Oh, thank you for the explanation. This does help. Yes, it's a very tragic story and one I could not imagine coming up with myself. But then, I'm not a fiction writer and neither I or my family have any lived experiences like those in Sophie's Choice. I have such limited knowledge of my ancestors who lived in Europe and so I wonder about them.

@compassiondharmalake I’ve read many articles on the subject of memory and few of them agree with the other.

If not the breaking of the femur at 11mo, then certainly by the 3rd degree burn to my foot and leg (also caused by my mother). Age 3.

I applaud your courage and resilience!!! I am a recovering person of 8 years and have had therapy and inpatient rehab since the age of 14. When I got sober, this time, I started going to a therapist to try EMDR. I have many of the "criteria" in the DSM-V-TR for several disorders, but I think a lot of us do. I have been seeing him for almost 5 years now. When we started, I was really emotionally dysregulated, so we did not start EMDR. He suggested a DBT group, but at that time I declined. I am a graduate student in Social Work and I am reading about myself in all the classes. Trauma comes in many forms, as you know. I am still taking everything a day at a time and I find that staying in the moment, mindfulness and grounding help me. Also, I am utilizing some CBT skills. I am starting to catch some of the thoughts that come to my mind that are usually not true. I am starting to become aware when I am triggered and my body starts going into the fight or flight mode. I make myself breath and try to recognize that I am actually safe, even though my body and parts of my unconscious decide to show themselves. I developed so many survival skills, over the years and they did help me at the time, however now they are not helping me, so I am trying to recognize when one shows up (like anger or fear) that I can say to myself, "I recognize you and you are part of me, but I am ok." It is a long road, but worth it, at least to me. I am now 55 years old and I wasted so much time with alcohol and drugs. I want the rest of my life to be helpful to myself and others. I appreciate your openness and strength. You may not realize it, but what you posted has probably helped someone else. Peace.

Hi. I'm new to this group and first time adding to conversations. But I have done EMDR and it has blown my mind. If you tried it with a therapist who got frustrated with you, then that was THE WRONG THERAPIST. I hate that for you because I understand how much effort, emotion, time, money, etc. goes into each and every type of appointment. But I urge you to continue trying to find a GOOD EMDR therapist. Another thing I have been trying this year is hypnotherapy. It may sound a little out there, but I have learned more about what true hypnotherapy can do and am so interested. I have worked with a therapist I trust (my EMDR therapist) and we've tried about four times with not being able to put me fully under yet (not reaching my subconscious). But MAN am I so interested and eager to reach my subconscious. If you're not interested in that or don't have someone you can trust (because that is an extremely important part of being able to have your conscious mind let go enough to allow your subconscious to come forward), I get it. But at least give EMDR another chance - shoot - a lot more chances until you can find someone who can truly support you with this.
The way my therapist explained EMDR to me was that we have the memories - but when our mind doesn't know what to do with them or is trying to protect us, it doesn't "file" them in the appropriate places. Think of how someone in the military seems fine, then hears fireworks and suddenly feels like they're back in battle. That's because the mind has that memory, but when certain things (sounds, smells, voices) trigger it, it just comes forward as 1000% real no matter what you may logically think or know otherwise. So EMDR helps to find those memories, thoughts, emotions and then you can address what they really were and where they really need to be filed. Once they're filed in the right place, they're not free to jump forward as reality any time they get triggered.
I hope that helps. Bottom line is I encourage you to find another EMDR therapist and keep trying. Be kind and gentle to yourself. I won't lie - it's hard. It's bringing that crap front and center again - but with the purpose to expose it, reveal it, acknowledge it, and then file it away so you can move on.
Best of luck to you.

@rsmith801 welcome to the group and well that was a lot to put out and i for one welcome hypnosis and subconscious digging into without getting to the point of a seizure getting the way, heck I'm just now able to keep them kind of at bay only. EMDR might be the trick, once at a time i could put things in a basket and leave them there no worries. that all changed with a brain tumor removal that was cancer and lung cancer followed by brain bleed then radiation, a a couple seizures and here i am cancer free and about to step out of my comfort zone big time since march of 24. then i read your stuff and want to try it. subconscious- what a world, it can hid crap from you and never let you know about it till someone else steps up and says you have a problem with this. Thank you for showing up today and posting it will give me much to consider over the next week and when i get back maybe i can add more to this storyline. blessing to you my friend. Prayers also for your future. Thank you

Can EMDR Work If There Are No Memories? welcome again. made me think about that subconscious part again i know that i lost a lot of short term memories but now you have to wonder if indeed one can you loose them and be able to bring back something if done in the correct order. wellim just glad that you are able to post. have a blessed evening. Thankyou