Can EMDR Cause Headaches?

Can EMDR Cause Headaches?

Short Answer: Most people do not experience headaches during or after an EMDR session. However, a small number of people notice a mild headache, usually during or shortly after a session.

Researchers have not established a specific reason why this happens, but it may be related to concentration, muscle tension, eye strain, or simply spending time focusing during a session. When a headache does occur, it is usually mild and temporary.

If you've noticed a headache after an EMDR session, you may be wondering whether the two are connected. Although headaches are not the typical EMDR experience, they can occasionally happen.

Some people describe them as a mild dull ache, a feeling of tightness, or gentle pressure, while many people never experience a headache at all.

Key Takeaways

• Most people do not experience headaches during EMDR.
• A small number of people notice a mild headache during or after a session.
• Researchers have not established a specific reason why this happens.
• It may be related to concentration during the session, along with muscle tension or eye strain.
• When headaches do occur, they are usually mild and temporary.

Why Do Some People Get Headaches During EMDR?

EMDR involves focused attention together with bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds, while focusing on a memory, thought, feeling, or body sensation.

Occasionally, someone may notice a mild headache during or after a session, but the reason is not always clear.

Researchers have not established a specific explanation for headaches in connection with EMDR. Ordinary factors such as muscle tension, visual concentration, screen time, tiredness, hydration, or simply focusing for an extended period may also play a role.

Because several factors can overlap, it may not be possible to tell whether a headache was related to the session itself or happened for another reason.

Many people do not experience headaches during EMDR, and when mild headaches are noticed, they are generally temporary.

Can Eye Movements Contribute to a Headache?

Eye movements are one form of bilateral stimulation used in EMDR, but researchers have not established that they are a specific cause of headaches.

If a headache happens during or after a session, factors such as visual concentration, screen use, muscle tension, tiredness, or other ordinary causes may also be relevant.

That does not establish that the eye movements caused a headache. A headache that appears during or after a session may have several ordinary explanations, and the timing alone does not identify the cause.

Visual focus may simply be one factor to consider alongside concentration, muscle tension, hydration, sleep, and other parts of the day.

If visual tracking feels uncomfortable, the useful point is not to interpret the discomfort as a sign about the EMDR process. It is simply information about how that particular form of stimulation feels to you.

Other forms of bilateral stimulation, such as alternating sounds or tapping, are also used in EMDR.

Could Muscle Tension Play a Role?

People sometimes hold tension in the jaw, neck, shoulders, or forehead while concentrating without realizing it. That can happen during many everyday activities, including reading, working at a computer, driving, or focusing on a difficult task.

The same thing may happen during an EMDR session. If you notice that your shoulders have lifted, your jaw feels tight, or you are sitting in one position for a long time, relaxing your posture may simply make the session more comfortable.

This does not mean EMDR is creating muscle tension. It only means that ordinary physical tension can occur while someone is concentrating, and that tension may be one possible contributor when a mild headache appears.

Does a Headache Mean Something Went Wrong?

A mild headache during or after a session does not mean anything has gone wrong. It's simply one of several physical responses that a small number of people notice.

A headache also isn't a sign of how well a session went. Some people have a highly effective session with no headache at all, while others notice a mild headache during a session that otherwise felt calm and manageable.

The two aren't connected in a reliable way.

Can a Headache Happen After EMDR Rather Than During It?

Yes, a headache may be noticed after a session rather than while the session is happening. The fact that it appears later does not necessarily show that EMDR caused it.

Headaches can develop for many ordinary reasons over the course of a day. Sleep, meals, hydration, stress, screen use, posture, and general fatigue can all vary from one day to another.

If a headache appears after EMDR, the session may be one part of the context, but the timing alone cannot identify a single cause.

It can therefore be more useful to notice the overall pattern than to assign meaning to one isolated headache. A single mild headache after a session does not tell you whether future sessions will feel the same way.

What If You Already Have a Headache Before Starting EMDR?

Starting a session with a headache does not automatically mean anything about EMDR. You may simply be having an ordinary headache that began for unrelated reasons.

Because EMDR involves focused attention, you may prefer to begin when you feel able to concentrate comfortably.

If the headache is distracting enough that it is difficult to stay focused, choosing another time may be more practical than trying to push through the session.

The important distinction is that this is about comfort and concentration, not about treating the headache as a special EMDR reaction.

You can make the same kind of practical decision you would make before another activity that requires sustained attention.

Can Headaches Vary from One EMDR Session to Another?

Yes. Your experience can differ from one session to another, just as the circumstances surrounding each session can be different.

You might notice a mild headache after one session and none after the next. You might also complete many sessions without ever experiencing one.

There are several reasons one session may feel different from another. You may begin one session feeling well rested and another after a long day.

Your level of concentration, posture, muscle tension, hydration, and general energy level may also vary. The material you are focusing on and the length or timing of the session can be different as well.

Because these factors can change, having a headache after one session does not mean you should expect a headache after future sessions.

Likewise, completing several sessions without a headache does not mean that something unusual has happened if you notice a mild one another time.

This variability is another reason not to use headaches as a marker of progress. A session without a headache is not missing something, and a session with a headache is not automatically more intense or more productive.

If you notice a repeated pattern, you can simply be aware of the circumstances around it. For example, you might notice whether you were already tired, tense, or uncomfortable before beginning.

This can help you recognize that how you feel around an EMDR session can vary for many ordinary reasons.

What Can Help If You Get a Headache

A few simple things can help if you notice a headache during or after a session:

• Take a short break before continuing, if you're mid-session.
• Drink water, since mild dehydration can contribute to headaches.
• Relax your jaw, shoulders, and neck, since tension there is a common contributor.
• Rest in a quiet, dimly lit space for a bit if the headache lingers.
• Consider a shorter session next time if headaches happen consistently.

None of this needs to be complicated. Small adjustments like these are often enough to ease a mild headache on their own.

Does the Type of Bilateral Stimulation Matter?

EMDR can use different forms of bilateral stimulation, including eye movements, alternating sounds, or tapping. These can feel different from one another because they ask for different kinds of attention.

If prolonged visual tracking feels uncomfortable, that does not mean something is wrong with the session. It may simply mean that the visual format is less comfortable for you at that moment.

Likewise, another person may prefer visual stimulation and find sounds or tapping less appealing.

There is no need to treat one type of stimulation as medically better for headaches unless there is specific evidence for that claim.

The practical question is simply whether the format you are using allows you to stay comfortable and focused.

What If Headaches Seem to Happen After More Than One Session?

If you notice a similar mild headache after more than one session, you may find it useful to look at the surrounding circumstances rather than assuming the pattern has one explanation.

For example, consider whether the sessions happened at a similar time of day, whether you were tired, or whether you noticed tension in your neck or shoulders.

The point is not to monitor every small physical change. It is simply to see whether there is an obvious practical factor that repeats.

You may also notice that the pattern changes on its own. One or two sessions may feel different from later sessions, and a headache that happened before does not have to happen again.

Should You Use Headaches to Judge an EMDR Session?

No particular physical reaction is required for an EMDR session to be useful. A headache does not prove that the session was intense, that more processing occurred, or that the session was more effective.

The reverse is also true. Finishing a session without a headache does not mean that nothing happened.

Physical reactions are only one part of a person's experience, and they do not provide a reliable score for the session.

This is why it is better not to look for headaches, tiredness, yawning, or any other physical response as evidence that EMDR is working.

Your experience can vary from session to session without needing to follow a particular pattern.

Can the Time of Day Affect Whether You Notice a Headache?

The time of day may be one ordinary factor in whether you notice a headache during or after a session. How rested, tired, or tense you feel can vary throughout the day, so one session may feel different from another.

That does not mean there is a best time of day for EMDR or that headaches are expected at certain times.

If you notice a pattern, you can simply treat the timing as practical information rather than evidence that EMDR is causing the headache.

Can You Tell Whether a Headache Was Caused by EMDR?

Usually, the timing of a headache alone cannot tell you what caused it. A headache that begins during a session may feel clearly connected to what you were doing, but several ordinary factors can overlap at the same time.

For example, you may have been holding tension in your neck or jaw, sleeping less than usual, delaying a meal, feeling tired, or simply reaching a point in the day when you sometimes develop a headache.

These ordinary factors can overlap with the timing of an EMDR session, making it difficult to identify one cause based only on when the headache appeared.

The same is true when a headache starts shortly after a session. A close time connection may make EMDR seem like the obvious explanation, but it does not establish that the session itself caused the headache.

In many cases, the most accurate approach is simply to notice what happened without giving the headache a specific meaning.

Conclusion

Most people never experience headaches during EMDR. For the small number of people who do notice one, it is usually mild, temporary, and may simply be related to concentration, muscle tension, or eye strain rather than the EMDR process itself.

A headache does not mean anything has gone wrong or indicate whether the session was effective.

Whether you notice a headache or not, people respond to EMDR in different ways, and there is no single "correct" reaction.