Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy
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- Create Date：2021-07-23 09:54:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Francine Shapiro
- ISBN：1609619951
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Summary
Whether we’ve experienced small setbacks or major traumas， we are all influenced by our memories and by experiences we may not remember or fully understand。 Getting Past Your Past offers practical techniques that demystify the human condition and empower readers looking to take charge of their lives。 Shapiro， the creator of EMDR （eye movement desensitization and reprocessing）， explains the brain science in layman’s terms and provides simple exercises that readers can do at home to understand their automatic responses and achieve real change。
Reviews
Andy Ní Bhriain
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It's never too late to have good childhood？Essential reading for all I believe， to understand how any level of trauma from childhood or adulthood can affect your every day behaviours and what can be done to unravel/ process them。 It's never too late to have good childhood？Essential reading for all I believe， to understand how any level of trauma from childhood or adulthood can affect your every day behaviours and what can be done to unravel/ process them。 。。。more
Karen
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An informative and practical professional book。 I still don’t “get” EMDR so would probably need to go through training on that technique to connect the dots。
Mister
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Not a DIY book， otherwise useful information
Deanna
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My takeaways:* For some， symptoms go away once the situation changes。 But for many these feelings occur often， or for no apparent reason。 These are generally signs that there are underlying， unprocessed memories causing them。 These memories can be identified and treated。 So it's useful to remember that whatever the persistent negative emotion， belief or behavior that has been bothering you， it's not the cause of suffering， it's the symptom。 The likely cause， is the memory that's pushing it。 Our My takeaways:* For some， symptoms go away once the situation changes。 But for many these feelings occur often， or for no apparent reason。 These are generally signs that there are underlying， unprocessed memories causing them。 These memories can be identified and treated。 So it's useful to remember that whatever the persistent negative emotion， belief or behavior that has been bothering you， it's not the cause of suffering， it's the symptom。 The likely cause， is the memory that's pushing it。 Our memories are the basis of both negative symptoms， and of mental health。 The key difference is the way the memories are stored in the brain。* If there is a symptom， the message is， that there is usually some experience that caused or is contributing to it。 Something happened， whether we conscientiously remember it or not。* Just because the symptoms are long lasting or severe， it doesn't necessarily mean there was a major trauma。 Even seemingly minor events （from an adult perspective） can be the cause。 The bottom line is that， from the vantage point of the child， it felt traumatic at the time， and the memory was locked into the brain。 These experiences may have happened long ago， and we may not recognize how much they actually affected us， but the negative emotions， behaviors， beliefs and sensations that cause chronic problems， generally can be tracked back to these unprocessed memories。 In that way， the past stays present。* It's important to remember that all of these things occurred before we had any choices or power。 As children， we didn't ask for what happened to us。* Individual memories can get stored in a way that leaves the negative emotions， physical sensations and beliefs unchanged， regardless of whatever else happens in a persons life。* EMDR basically helps us 'digest' the experience， and are then able to have a better sense of what to do。 That's the brains information processing system taking a disturbing experience， and allowing learning to take place。 This can also occur during REM sleep。* Unprocessed memories are frozen in time and can become the foundation for emotional， and sometimes physical problems。 Even though you may not have had a major trauma in your life， research has shown that other kinds of life experiences can cause the same types of problems。 And， since the memory connections happen automatically， below conscious level， you may have no idea what's really running your show。* Unprocessed memories are generally the basis of negative responses， attitudes and behaviors。 Processed memories， on the other hand， are the basis of adaptive， positive responses， attitudes and behaviors。* Personality traits are based on a group of memory networks that cause us to behave or feel in a certain way。The question is， are we being guided appropriately by our memories， or are they pushing us to do things we shouldn't do and preventing us from doing things we should？ Eat it， or not？ Take drugs， or a deep breath？ Stand up for myself， or shrink away？* It doesn't matter who you are， our physiologically stored memories are the basis of our current perceptions of the present。* If it has a negative impact in childhood， it can be the cause of negative problems in adulthood。* There are studies showing that once medications， such as antidepressants are stopped， symptoms may return。 A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found EMDR superior to Prozac for trauma symptoms and depression。 After 8 weeks， both treatments were discontinued， and people in the group that had taken antidepressants began relapsing， while people in the EMDR group continued to get better。 While antidepressants helped change the brain state， it reverted back once the medication was stopped。 EMDR therapy eliminated the cause of the depression。 What we ultimately want is a change in the climate， not just a change in the weather。* How long have the problems lasted？ If they are not disappearing after a period of time， they need attention。* Whether the reasons stem from humiliations in school or problems at home， the bottom line is that whenever we're in certain situations， we feel a physical response of fear or anxiety that colors how we view the world， and what we're capable of doing。 Fears can become worse overtime because each experience becomes encoded in our brain， and the memory network associated with the problem increases。* Trauma can cause many physical disturbances， and once it takes root it doesn't usually clear up on it's own。* We all have experiences in our childhood that can make us vulnerable to different kinds of problems。 All it takes is some accumulation of later experiences to tip us over。 Processing takes what is useful， and releases the rest。* Once trauma takes root， it generally needs professional assistance to overcome。 There is so much more to life than simply managing the pain。* Many of the symptoms of ADHD are exactly the same as the ones a child can have after a disturbing or traumatic experience。 EMDR can be used to process the memories of failures and childhood teasing and humiliations that often go along with ADHD。* Get good intervention early - the sooner， the better， so there's not so much baggage stacked up on top。* How miserable do we need to be before we do something about it？ If we recognize the problem is inside us， then we understand that we take ourselves where ever we go。 That's the 1st step to doing something about it。* The bottom line is， that these early bedrock experiences from childhood can be the basis of what's holding you back in the present。 However， with help， they can be transformed into a new found source of help。* You are never too young， or too old， to start taking control of your life。 。。。more
Julie
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This is a wonderful book for anyone who has an interest in getting past traumas or painful emotional experiences through EMDR therapy。 EMDR therapy works with fears or phobias as well。 Think of emotions getting stuck like a big piece of emotional steak， which becomes undigestible。 Then when that emotion is triggered， people then commonly will have an over-reaction。 It could be a reaction of fear， or anger， or anxiety。 EMDR therapy can help digest and remove that emotional pain to the point you b This is a wonderful book for anyone who has an interest in getting past traumas or painful emotional experiences through EMDR therapy。 EMDR therapy works with fears or phobias as well。 Think of emotions getting stuck like a big piece of emotional steak， which becomes undigestible。 Then when that emotion is triggered， people then commonly will have an over-reaction。 It could be a reaction of fear， or anger， or anxiety。 EMDR therapy can help digest and remove that emotional pain to the point you begin to experience positive behavior changes。 As a therapist myself， I marvel at the speed in which EMDR therapy helps people heal。 Clients often say， “I feel more grown up”， “I feel like I can see the truth more clearly”， “ My emotions have really calmed down”， “ I am able to speak up for myself now”。 This book is written for clients。 The book makes it easy to understand how you truly can get past your past。 。。。more
Sally Kenney
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Really important framing of EMDR， why and how it works with lots of examples， including sex offenders。
Chris
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Lots of case study writing to illuminate how emdr works。 How useful this is for self help i am unsure。 I suspect it is quite inaccessible without a therapist which makes the book more of an advert to engage with an emdr therapist。
Shanni
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Getting Past Your Past is a great introduction to EMDR， especially for people beginning EMDR therapy who may not know what to anticipate。 Additionally， the book offers light exercises for those who may want to address minor blockers in their past， but does advise that those with trauma do so with the support of a therapist。
Paul
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Extremely detailed and gives me an enormous amount to think about， as well as tools I could use on my own and substantive commentary on what I should take to therapy。The thing is that it's just too insanely optimistic about how much EMDR can be useful for。 I reserve the right to come back here and Also， probably not a great pick for an audiobook。 Way too much in the way of exercises to try on your own sometime OTHER than driving a company truck through rural Missouri to go log soil。 Extremely detailed and gives me an enormous amount to think about， as well as tools I could use on my own and substantive commentary on what I should take to therapy。The thing is that it's just too insanely optimistic about how much EMDR can be useful for。 I reserve the right to come back here and Also， probably not a great pick for an audiobook。 Way too much in the way of exercises to try on your own sometime OTHER than driving a company truck through rural Missouri to go log soil。 。。。more
Tony Zhang
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I had high expectation to this book before reading。 However unfortunately I was disappointed after reading it over。 Other than some useful "self-care" techniques， though not EMDR itself but still useful， most of the book is full of stories like "after unprocessed memories are processed by EMDR， the symptoms are gone"。 It gets very repetitive with all similar stories of similar kind。 Throughout the book， I've been trying to understand how EMDR works， what each of eight stages of EMDR entails etc。 I had high expectation to this book before reading。 However unfortunately I was disappointed after reading it over。 Other than some useful "self-care" techniques， though not EMDR itself but still useful， most of the book is full of stories like "after unprocessed memories are processed by EMDR， the symptoms are gone"。 It gets very repetitive with all similar stories of similar kind。 Throughout the book， I've been trying to understand how EMDR works， what each of eight stages of EMDR entails etc。， but found nothing I wanted。 I'll have to look for other books\articles to understand EMDR mechanisms。 。。。more
Tim Rose
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Great book on EMDR by the founder。 Really enjoyed her perspective and care。
Christina
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Fascinating read。
Kayleigh Reading with A Therapist
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Getting Past Your Past by Francine Shapiro， PhD。 Eye movement desensitization reprocessing （EMDR） therapy is an intense therapeutic approach。 I have had the pleasure to be trained in this type of therapy and believe in its success。 Francine Shapiro （May she Rest In Peace） developed this approach one day on a walk。 This is her book going into detail how she developed such a strange and unique therapy and how to implement it。 It’s amazing to think we can induce our brains natural memory storage an Getting Past Your Past by Francine Shapiro， PhD。 Eye movement desensitization reprocessing （EMDR） therapy is an intense therapeutic approach。 I have had the pleasure to be trained in this type of therapy and believe in its success。 Francine Shapiro （May she Rest In Peace） developed this approach one day on a walk。 This is her book going into detail how she developed such a strange and unique therapy and how to implement it。 It’s amazing to think we can induce our brains natural memory storage and processing system while awake by using bilateral stimulation， which is what our brain does every night in REM when we sleep。 This book is made for everyday people， not just therapist。 It speaks about the process of what it is like to go into therapy and go through EMDR， it is highly recommended to do the steps and activities in the book with a therapists。 But one can still read this to get an idea of what doing the process may look like， as many people are scared or skeptical of EMDR。 Getting trained in EMDR is very expensive so if you on the edge of whether or not you want to do it， read this book。Doing EMDR therapy can be scary because the science behind why it works is still not 100%。 Read this book if your contemplating the。 。。。more
Anindita
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 MUST buy！the author has a lot of reflective exercises and techniques that can be used！SOO many examples covered and some very helpful insights into relationships
Amanda Lugo
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Beautiful testament to healingI am so enthused to continue EMDR training after reading this book。 It reminds you of the courage and strength within all of us to heal from traumatic events。
Susana
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Interesante poder conocer de cerca el comportamiento humano。 Empiezas a entenderte mejor y con ánimo de pedir ayuda
Zehra
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It's a very well written book in order to understand what is EMDR therapy since it's written by Francine Shapiro who originated and developed the method itself。 It reduces an academic subject to an understandable language and enhances it with so many examples。 These are the examples that you can relate to your daily life and benefit from it。 The only thing that bothered me is that given examples are overly optimistic and actually far from the truth。 Especially if you have just started the therap It's a very well written book in order to understand what is EMDR therapy since it's written by Francine Shapiro who originated and developed the method itself。 It reduces an academic subject to an understandable language and enhances it with so many examples。 These are the examples that you can relate to your daily life and benefit from it。 The only thing that bothered me is that given examples are overly optimistic and actually far from the truth。 Especially if you have just started the therapy or are thinking of starting， it creates the perception that everything will be perfect within two-three sessions。 You'll be the best version of yourself quickly without pain and even a little effort which is a huge lie :） I believe， it's done intentionally in order to market a new concept of therapy。 It's still true that it helps much more than regular cognitive therapies。 Higly recommended to read especially for those who are thinking about staring a therapy or tried before but couldn't help to solve any problems yet。 。。。more
Marika
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There is this quote about EMRD， that pretty much summarizes my suspicions: “What is effective in EMDR is not new， and what is new is not effective。” However， for someone with a lack of background in psychology， the "not new， but effective" part was perfectly summarized in this book and offered new perspectives even on connections that were already discovered and processed。 There is this quote about EMRD， that pretty much summarizes my suspicions: “What is effective in EMDR is not new， and what is new is not effective。” However， for someone with a lack of background in psychology， the "not new， but effective" part was perfectly summarized in this book and offered new perspectives even on connections that were already discovered and processed。 。。。more
Heidi
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Excellent and easy read。 Although originally read for myself， I learned so much more about how to be an even better parent， to protect and maintain a safe environment for my child。
John Roberson
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Easy read， and explains so much about our mental health and processing emotions and feelings。
Beth
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Good book for those using EMDR。 Francine Shapiro goes into technique for EMDR with great explanation。 Only for EMDR therapists。
Meg Kimball
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This book is horrible。 I only read a little before bailing。 The author's tendency to justify abusive actions was triggering to me， and I hoped and prayed that I was imagining things， but another reviewer here said the same thing。 For example， a little boy's mom grabbed him and started spanking him because he was near the top of the stairs and wanted to chase a ball down。 The author bends over backward to tell us that this wasn't abusive， and that the boy didn't grow up in a violent environment， This book is horrible。 I only read a little before bailing。 The author's tendency to justify abusive actions was triggering to me， and I hoped and prayed that I was imagining things， but another reviewer here said the same thing。 For example， a little boy's mom grabbed him and started spanking him because he was near the top of the stairs and wanted to chase a ball down。 The author bends over backward to tell us that this wasn't abusive， and that the boy didn't grow up in a violent environment， so it's all okay。 So。。。 if we spank our kids fiercely but are otherwise nonviolent， that's fine。。。？ Really？ For those of us who were physically abused， can I just say that such recurring rationalizations are upsetting？ "She just kept spanking him， but， oh！ She was a loving and gentle mother。" And then there was the time when a little girl was in the car when her dad died in a car wreck。 （The girl survived。） She called up her mom at her therapist's behest and asked if she really was in the car that day。 Her mom said， "Yes， you were。 I'm sorry。 It seemed as if you never wanted to discuss it。 I figured you'd gotten over it already。" [Facepalm。] Epic parental fail。 Are you kidding me？ The mom couldn't have gotten her kid some therapy or talked to the school guidance counselor， or something？ The author immediately and instantly glosses over that， too， saying that the parent meant well， so no big deal。 But in this day of psychological awareness， that's ludicrous。 This keeps happening throughout the book。 The author says there's no good in blaming people for being imperfect。 Um。 So many thoughts。 So many feels。 So much disappointment。 Can I spank the author？ I'm normally nonviolent， so it'll be okay。 The other major disappointment is that the book's title says， "Take control of your life with self-help techniques from EMDR therapy" and I quote， but all throughout the book， the author says， "Oh， too bad; you need a therapist to do this stuff。" I'm sorry， but that's a flagrant case of false advertisement。 You can't be more dishonest than that。 It reminds me of a book I saw at the bookstore once years ago。 It claimed to hold within its pages the secrets of life， all the answers， everything you've ever wanted to know and then some。 Flipping through it， I discovered that it was a blank book。 Hey， at least that was amusing。 There's no excuse for this book's misleading title， though。 So I was hoping for self-help tips， but what I got were case studies （complete with the "let's not blame anyone" attitude）， and the case studies all depressed me and made me feel bad for the other people in question。 That didn't help me at all。 Epic fail。 。。。more
Patricia Murphy
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I read this as an assignment since I am about to start EMDR therapy to treat my PTSD。 I am looking forward to some relief。 I was already able to implement some of these techniques to address triggers。
A。 Mills
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 as as weWas wed Wed
Serkan Baybuğa
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Çok mantıklı ve güzel bir kitap
Christye Lynn
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It’s a super long advertisement for EMDR。 It’s very boring。 The entire book could be summed up within a few pages。
Amanda Cox
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Invaluable！
Rachael Drenckpohl
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Good stuff。 You have to work for it。
Jana
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I think I would have liked this book regardless， but having experienced what this type of therapy can do in my own life just sealed the deal。 Highly recommended。
TinaGav
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