Lori Hebel

I think that we must store visual memories because most people immediately recognize images that they have seen before. I would immediately recognize a picture of my husband, even though I can't bring his image into my mind voluntarily. I would also recognize him in a lineup of bearded men with glasses who were all about the same age, height and build. That has to mean that the image is stored somehow although I can't produce it in my mind.

I found EMDR to be very annoying. Some of that was probably because I have aphantasia and could not keep what I was meant to be processing in my brain while also doing the bilateral stuff. The other part was that I have doubts that the bilateral stuff actually does anything other than be a distraction for people who have very vivid images while desensitizing them to thinking about the trauma. If you have PTSD, you might consider Prolonged Exposure (PE) or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). PE relies heavily on telling the story and hearing your story. By hearing it over and over and also talking about it with a therapist you get to the point where you are no longer as triggered by simply thinking about the trauma. As it is designed there is a not a lot of visualizing. CPT involves quiet a bit of writing and finding "stuck points" or beliefs that were created or reinforced by the trauma that are unhelpful in the present. There isn't any visualization really unless you bring it into the story. Both are evidence based for trauma and have actually more research behind them than EMDR. They are very effective if done correctly. I don't know the research on doing them on yourself, but knowing the treatments, I'd be more likely to try CPT than EMDR or PE as a "self-treatment." Both PE and EMDR involve desensitization or habituation as a way of reducing trauma symptoms. However, there is a risk with both of re-traumatization if you get the emotion too high. CPT is more about cognitive restructuring.