Can EMDR Make You Feel Restless?

Can EMDR Make You Feel Restless?

Short Answer: Some people may feel a little restless during or after Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), although many people do not experience this. Restlessness might feel like wanting to move around, having trouble sitting still, or feeling slightly keyed up after focusing on a stressful memory or emotion. When it happens, it is often temporary and does not mean anything went wrong during the session.

Key Takeaways

• Some people may notice temporary restlessness during or after EMDR, while many do not.
• Restlessness can feel like wanting to move, shift positions, get up, or do something after the session.
• Focusing on a stressful memory or feeling can sometimes be accompanied by physical or mental restlessness.
• Restlessness does not necessarily mean that the EMDR session was unusually intense.
• You do not need to stay perfectly still during EMDR.
• If you are using self-guided EMDR, you can pause, move around, or adjust the pacing when you want to.
• Feeling calm afterward is also completely normal; there is no single way you are supposed to feel after EMDR.

What Does Restlessness After EMDR Feel Like?

“Restless” can describe several different experiences.

You might notice:

• Wanting to get up and move around
• Shifting positions more than usual
• Feeling slightly fidgety
• Having difficulty settling immediately after the session
• Feeling mentally alert or keyed up
• Wanting to do something rather than sit quietly
• Feeling as though you need a few minutes to switch gears

For some people, restlessness is mainly physical. You may simply feel like stretching your legs or moving around.

For others, it may feel more mental. Your thoughts may still be active after the session, making it harder to immediately turn your attention to something else.

These experiences are not something everyone has after EMDR. Many people finish a session without feeling restless at all.

Why Might You Feel Restless During EMDR?

EMDR involves focusing on a particular memory, thought, image, emotion, belief, or physical sensation while using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating sounds, or tapping.

If the subject you are focusing on feels stressful or uncomfortable, you may notice physical reactions along with your thoughts and emotions.

For some people, physical restlessness may also come up while working with fear reactions or triggers connected to phobias.

For example, you might shift in your seat, move your legs, tighten and relax your hands, or feel like changing position.

These reactions can also happen outside of EMDR. People often move around more when they are concentrating, uncomfortable, impatient, nervous, or thinking about something stressful.

During EMDR, you may simply become more aware of those reactions because you are paying close attention to what is happening as you work with the target.

Can EMDR Make You Feel Restless After the Session?

It can happen.

After spending time concentrating on a particular target, you may not immediately feel ready to sit quietly or switch into another activity.

You might feel like standing up, walking around, stretching, or doing something else for a few minutes.

That does not necessarily mean the session was unusually intense.

Sometimes it may simply take a little time to transition from the focused attention of an EMDR session back into the rest of your day.

The feeling may fade fairly quickly once you start moving around or shift your attention to something else.

Other people may experience the opposite and feel relaxed, quiet, or tired afterward.

Neither response is required.

Is Restlessness the Same as Anxiety?

Not necessarily.

Restlessness can occur with anxiety, but feeling restless does not automatically mean you are anxious.

You may simply feel physically active or have trouble sitting still without experiencing worry or fear.

For example, you might finish a session feeling mentally fine but notice that you want to stand up and move around.

Someone else might feel emotionally calm while still feeling slightly fidgety.

It can be helpful to describe what you are actually experiencing rather than assuming that restlessness always represents a particular emotion.

If you feel restless but not anxious, there is no need to label the feeling as anxiety.

Can Restlessness Happen Without Strong Emotions?

Yes.

You do not need to feel highly emotional during an EMDR session in order to notice physical restlessness.

Sometimes your body may feel active even while your emotional response feels relatively mild.

You might notice yourself shifting position or moving your legs while thinking about a memory without feeling particularly upset.

Likewise, you might feel emotionally affected by a target while remaining physically still.

There is no fixed relationship between how much emotion you feel and how much you move.

People respond differently, and your own response can change from one session to another.

Some people may also use EMDR to work on difficult beliefs or emotional reactions connected to self-esteem.

Does Restlessness Mean the Session Was Too Intense?

Not by itself.

It can be tempting to interpret any noticeable reaction during or after EMDR as evidence that the session was especially intense.

Restlessness alone does not tell you that.

You may simply have been concentrating for a while, sitting in the same position, or focusing on something that made you want to move.

A mild urge to stretch, walk around, or change position does not automatically mean you did too much.

You can respond to what you notice without assigning a larger meaning to it.

If you want to move, move. If you want to pause, pause. If you feel comfortable continuing, you can continue.

Do You Have to Sit Still During EMDR?

No.

EMDR does not require you to keep your entire body perfectly still.

If you are following a visual target with your eyes, you may naturally keep your head relatively steady so that you can follow the movement comfortably, but the rest of your body does not need to remain frozen in place.

You can adjust your posture, uncross your legs, relax your shoulders, move your hands, or shift in your chair.

If sitting in one position is making you restless, changing position may be all you need.

With self-guided EMDR, you have even more direct control over these choices because you can pause the session whenever you want.

Can Bilateral Stimulation Feel Energizing?

People can respond differently to bilateral stimulation.

Some people may feel calm while following eye movements, listening to alternating sounds, or using tapping. Others may feel more alert or notice that they want to move.

There is no required response.

It is better not to assume that bilateral stimulation is supposed to make you relaxed, tired, energized, or restless.

The purpose of bilateral stimulation in EMDR is not simply to produce a particular physical feeling.

If you happen to feel more alert or active afterward, you can notice that without treating it as evidence that something unusual occurred.

Can Restlessness Change During the Session?

Yes.

Restlessness does not necessarily stay at the same level throughout an EMDR session.

You may notice that you feel fidgety for a few minutes and then settle.

Or you may feel comfortable during most of the session and become restless toward the end.

Sometimes changing your position is enough to make the feeling less noticeable.

At other times, your attention may simply shift as you continue working with the target.

You do not need to track every movement or constantly evaluate whether you feel restless.

If the feeling becomes noticeable, you can acknowledge it and decide whether you want to do anything differently.

What Can You Do If You Feel Restless During EMDR?

Usually, there is no need to do anything complicated.

If you feel restless, you can make a simple adjustment.

You might:

• Shift your sitting position
• Stretch briefly
• Move your legs or hands
• Stand up for a moment
• Pause the bilateral stimulation
• Take a short break

You can then decide whether you want to continue.

The goal is not to force yourself to remain still when moving around would make you more comfortable.

This can be particularly straightforward with self-guided EMDR because you control when the session pauses and resumes.

What Can You Do If You Feel Restless After EMDR?

If you finish an EMDR session and feel like moving around, you can simply give yourself a little transition time.

You might stand up, walk around for a few minutes, stretch, or move on to another ordinary activity.

There is no requirement to sit quietly after EMDR.

Likewise, you do not need a complicated post-session routine just because you feel slightly restless.

Often, simply changing activities may be enough for the feeling to pass.

If you already know that you sometimes feel restless after a session, you can take that into account when deciding when to do EMDR. For example, you may prefer not to schedule something that requires immediate concentration directly afterward.

Does Restlessness Mean EMDR Is Working?

No.

Restlessness is not a measure of whether an EMDR session is effective.

Feeling restless does not mean the session worked particularly well, and feeling completely calm does not mean it was ineffective.

The same applies to other reactions people sometimes notice during or after EMDR.

You do not need to cry, yawn, feel tired, experience muscle tension, feel restless, or have any other specific reaction for a session to be meaningful.

Your response may also differ depending on what you are working on.

It is more useful to pay attention to how your relationship to the target changes than to judge the session by whether a particular physical reaction occurred.

What If You Feel Calm or Tired Instead?

That is also possible.

People do not all respond to EMDR in the same way.

One person may feel slightly restless afterward. Another may feel calm. Someone else may feel tired, while another person may notice almost no difference from how they felt before the session.

Your own response may also vary.

You might feel restless after one session and relaxed after another.

There is no “correct” post-EMDR feeling that tells you whether you did the session properly.

Should You Change Your Next Self-Guided EMDR Session?

Not necessarily.

If you experienced mild restlessness and it passed fairly quickly, you may decide that you do not need to change anything.

If you repeatedly notice that you become restless during longer sessions, however, you might experiment with the pacing.

You could take a break earlier, change position more often, or choose a shorter session.

You can also pay attention to whether the restlessness seems connected to a particular target or simply to sitting still for a while.

These adjustments do not need to be treated as solutions to a problem. They are simply ways of learning what makes self-guided EMDR comfortable and workable for you.

Restlessness During a Virtual EMDR Session

Virtual EMDR is a specific self-guided online EMDR program. Because you control the session yourself, you can adjust your pacing if you begin to feel restless.

You can pause the bilateral stimulation, change your position, move around briefly, or take a break before continuing.

You can also adjust available bilateral stimulation settings based on what feels comfortable.

There is no expectation that you remain perfectly still throughout a Virtual EMDR session.

The ability to pause and adjust the session allows you to respond to what you are actually experiencing rather than feeling that you need to continue in exactly the same way.

Conclusion

Some people may feel a little restless during or after EMDR, although many people do not.

Restlessness might feel like wanting to move around, shift positions, stretch, or take a few minutes before settling into another activity. It can occur while focusing on something stressful, from sitting and concentrating for a while, or without an obvious reason.

Feeling restless does not mean something went wrong, and it does not tell you whether the session was effective.

If you are using self-guided EMDR, you do not need to force yourself to sit perfectly still. You can change position, move around, pause, or take a break whenever you want.

As with many experiences during and after EMDR, the most useful approach is simply to notice how you respond and adjust the session in a way that works comfortably for you.