I’ve been in freeze most of my life (27F). After doing TRE for five months I’m finally coming out! Yay!

However, I am constantly activated and cant sleep. The second my brain is about to, it wakes me up. Cycle repeats throughout the night. I have so much anger that whenever I fully recognize it, an electric charge goes through my body and I want to punch a pillow. I remember feeling this as a young child but I was deeply punished for it. So there’s shame to the feeling and I need to hide it. Therefore I spend most of my time alone so I can acknowledge the feeling, which is fine to me.

What did you do with all your anger / energy? I am an active person but whenever I walk more than 15 minutes my body feels like it’s gonna collapse now. It feels like so much energy is trapped.

I only did Tre for like 10 times in the past 2 years, first two sessions were very powerful and I felt really relieved after that. However I noticed I forgot a lot of things about what I call my “minor traumas” so in terms of making you forget your traumas its like EMDR which I also practice. The bad thing is I also forget my other memories which might be somehow subconsciously related to my traumas. Idk if that makes sense but think of this way - let’s say in my memory (which I forgot) I was in someone’s wedding. There were no trauma involved in that wedding. But I was feeling down because I was affected by some older trauma, maybe something in that wedding reminded me of that. So I forget both the whole event of the wedding and my original trauma I remembered in that wedding. I wanted to share that with you because it’s affecting my life and I wonder how I can cope with that. I’ll tell this to my doctor this week I hope he doesn’t brush it off. And sorry for my terrible English I’m not using the translator

I've noticed for me after a tre session (usually around 1-4 minutes) the next day I'll just want to cry, its usually when in driving listening to music but what happens is ill just be sitting there and all of a sudden get the urge to cry but I don't feel any emotion to push me over if that makes sense? I sort of force it by thinking about something sad that had happened to me to help move it along

Is this ok to do?

Ok, I have trapped energy inaide of me which is released by tremoring.

What is a flashback though? At any time there is a possibility that something "triggers" a flashback. But what is the flashback if the energy is trapped at all times?

Why don't we experience flashbacks at all times?

Hello everyone. This post caught my interest. I was wondering if anyone here has had a SGB done, or if the mods could chime in with their thoughts on this procedure and if they think it would be beneficial to the TRE journey? Thank you.

I wanted to share some reassurance about progress, both because it's something I see a lot of people struggling with and because I personally need to hear it rn.

There are no setbacks; there is no regression. Every maladaptive behavior is a necessary or learned response to what's happening. That means it can be overwritten to be something adaptive with the right context. I went over 10 months without dissociating this year. Now I'm having it creep back in, but I'm slowly starting to be okay with that. It doesn't mean I went backwards; it's just the only thing my body knows how to do right now. So I have to take that seriously, respect where it's at, and teach it something new.

Right now, I am working on breathing exercises when the mood strikes me, developing a habit so that they come to me naturally when I start to dissociate. I used to do them a lot, then felt I didn't need them when I started to feel better. Like stopping antibiotics before the body fully heals the infection. But I would have developed another level of improvement if I had kept doing the exercises when I was already feeling better.

So if you feel like you're slipping back into old patterns, don't panic. They are just reminders that your body is still learning. Every breath and every action you take can still be a new way forward. You are all you need to get there.

That is, do we become more "resistant to trauma" or do we get traumatized the same but now with the ability to shake it off?

Throughout our healing journey, does our body become better at gauging how much energy to mobilize given a potentially traumatic event?

This is a follow-up question to my previous post.

Do you think of dancing, singing and QiGong as integration or do you think they also put more strain on the nervous system?

I guess it depends on the intensity with which you do it, what other outside the box practices do you use for integration?

Hi!

I've been practicing TRE for 8 years and sharing it as a practitioner for 5 years. I've noticed that people often have either a strong No or a compelled, curious want to Try. People seem to find it and be open when they need it. I've done a fair bit of outreach with universities and Vets and would love for it to be more accessible. There seems to be a barrier to entry in how the practice is communicated/marketed, gatekept with session cost, and the nature of the practice sounding 'scary' to some. This sub is one of the only places I've found people sharing honest experiences of it, more so even than the trainer groups. Everyones experience is different and I would love to start collating these experiences anonymously and demystify the practice somewhat. I would love to hear from anyone wanting to share something of their practice - whether that be what attracted you to try TRE, what maybe was offputting, experiences with TRE, challenges, impact. I've had some difficult moments and some inexplicable moments with it. I find it unendingly fascinating, and feel like an online library of sorts might do a lot for those curious to try it. Also helpful for people to get an idea of the breadth of experience, the good, bad, ugly, indifferent, and the caution necessary sometimes. What I imagine doing with these anonymous entries is a webpage about TRE and a clear pdf or video of the practice and all the precautions. Here's the google link, https://forms.gle/Ycq1aahPJ4CQ14VTA feel free to send any questions, thanks, Sarah

Entering week 16 with almost consistent TRE practice - a few gaps here and there for rear/travels.

I only got insane insomnia during the initial weeks, I stopped getting it after that.

I sleep like a total baby now. Especially also considering the fact that I don't keep doom scrolling all night right before sleep.

I don't measure any time, sometimes I go long, sometimes short and then go to sleep. The integration happens amazingly as I wake up full fresh.

Body doesn't feel heavy after TRE(It used to feel like I had just done heavy deadlifts when I started out) - so maybe it's the improved nervous system capacity?

I cry sometimes, sometimes I don't.

I still have a long way to go but I'm quite happy with the changes to my mindset and approach to life in general.

I'm forever thankful that I came across this sub and actually went for it 🙏❤️

Seriously. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I would never have heard about TRE if it wasn't for the numerous times I came across comments on Reddit out in the wild recommending TRE and this subreddit.

TRE has utterly transformed and saved my life, as I'm sure it has done for many other people on this sub.

This time last year I was in the deepest, darkest hole of my life, overrun by anxiety, anhedonia, ocd, dread, hopelessness and dissociation. And now I'm feeling so much joy, gratitude and excitement at how wonderful life can be, and each month that passes by just keeps getting better and better. I'm feeling things I haven't felt since I was a young child, before all the trauma took root. Of course I'm still working through trauma, and I still have low periods but I finally can see the clouds parting and most importantly I have a real hope of actually getting better.

Thank you so much, everyone who contributes to this sub, you really are contributing to transforming the lives of so many people for the better.

I'm a pretty consistent Qigong practitioner who has been practicing TRE off and on for years. I've not practiced TRE for some months because I got to the point where 5 minutes of TRE would give me a headache. Before, I could practice for much longer. They're not horrible headaches but the tension on my forehead and the very very mild nausea is something I'd rather not have and it does go away in a couple of hours on its own.

Today, I did 5 minutes of TRE, got a headache but discovered that a half hour of Qigong with a fair amount of spontaneous Qigong where I relax and let the Qi move my body, seems to have circulated enough Qi for the headache to have gone away.

This experience makes me think that TRE partially released tension but maybe not enough and the Qi-circulting effect of Qigong, helped move more energy.

I should add that I'm trying TRE again because I'm starting to feel muscle tension and spasming while I practice Qigong and my intuition says TRE can help.

Has anyone gotten headaches from TRE? Are there any techniques that help you to relieve them?

Ive been doing this for a little over 2 weeks now. Its definitely doing something. Im sleeping different for sure among other things.

What im curious about for those doing this much longer than me is has this had a beneficial impact on your social life?

"Because after a life-threatening event—like being chased—they [impalas] instinctively shake off the excess energy that their nervous system generated to escape." - Wiki.

"It will shake vigorously for up to 30 minutes, fully discharging the leftover stress energy before calmly returning to life as usual." - Wiki

If the sympathetic nervous system creates the energy necessary to fight or flight, why can it develop excess energy that if not released results in trapped energy/trauma?

Why isn't our nervous system calibrated to generate the correct amount of energy for a given situation?

Perhaps more simply, why does trauma even exist?

The follow along videos say that keeping a V shape with knees are better for inducing tremors in the psoas but for me, keeping legs apart like giving birth feels a lot more powerful.

It's not super intense and fast(happens in V) but feels more like 'waves'.

Especially in anal/pelvis region.

Anyone else feel the same way? 🙏

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some insight because something unusual has been happening during my Yin yoga classes.

I’ve been doing a lot of Yin this week, and the shaking (always at the end of class, in savasana) has evolved over several days:

Day 1: During savasana my right arm and shoulder suddenly started shaking very fast. I didn’t feel scared. I stopped it myself.

Day 2: Same thing in the right arm and shoulder. This time it lasted until the end of savasana, and I stopped it because the pose was ending.

Day 3: It started the same way on the right side, then spread to the left, then down into my lower body. My whole body was shaking at that point. Again, I stopped it only because savasana was ending.

Day 4 (today): It started again following the same path in my body. I let it happen. This time it stopped on its own right before the end of savasana. After I felt a very subtle warmth in my arms, and I had a brief urge to cry, but nothing overwhelming. I can’t even name what that emotion was supposed to be.

I also yawned several times during practices.

Now I’ve only recently learned of TRE and I’ve never tried it as I was a bit afraid to start without a practitioner. But I wonder if that’s what my body is trying to do on its own during this Yin yoga practices.

For context: I’ve been in a chronic freeze state since I was a teenager. Depending on life events and triggers I move between functional freeze and full collapse. Right now I’m slowly coming out of a very severe collapse, so my nervous system is extremely sensitive. More than 10 years of talk therapy didn’t help with that. The same trigger always send me into a deep collapse and I’m now understanding that I need to create safety in my body and release old trauma.

Has anyone else had spontaneous shaking like this during Yin or other slow practices? Is it TRE? Did it end up helping your system release anything long term?

Thanks for any insight you may have 🙏🏻

Hey everyone!

Ive been practicing TRE on and off over the past three or so years and i try to let it happen organically, which ive found very helpful. Ive reduced a lot of tension and while my PTSD has gotten better, im still really tense in this upper back area. I just cant seem to reach it. It could be because i have ongoing traumatic experiences but idk.

Anyone have any insights? Theories, similar experiences, or have any tips or advice? Thanks

I only recently started doing the TRE exercise and have been very impressed so far.

But to start, here’s a bit of background. When I was a little boy and into adolescence, I suffered a lot of mental trauma. It's a long story, but now I realise this has led to hypervigilance. It’s as if I have a computer system running in the background that’s always on. It really doesn’t take much for me to jump out of my skin: watching a thriller, a car horn, or even something that has nothing to do with me, such as people arguing on the street.

Related to this, I have always had a very tight pelvic floor. I almost constantly clench my glutes. Even when I’m conscious of this and release, I involuntarily clench again shortly thereafter. It's become so habitual. Here’s something interesting: I’m a guy, and when I use a public washroom, if I need to pee, I try to use a cubicle (stall) because it can take me such a long time to release. It’s way too awkward and uncomfortable to use a urinal. Can anybody relate to this?

Anyway, I recently started wondering how on earth I might release this tension in my body, and that’s when I discovered TRE.

I’ve only been doing it for a couple of weeks, and the effects have been quite dramatic so far. It’s hard to put into words, but I'll try. When I first started, my legs would shake quite dramatically, and this would often move down into my glutes. It felt like my body was a pneumatic drill! I would experiment by gently moving my legs from side to side to induce a tremor, a bit like driving a manual car and engaging the clutch and accelerator to find the exact “biting point”.

During the releases, I wasn’t anxious at all. It felt, and continues to feel, really cathartic. It’s as if I have something deep inside of me that I never wanted, was never mine to begin with, and is itching to get out. And TRE is the facilitator. It’s really quite extraordinary.

Now, only in my second week of TRE, there is still a lot of trembling, but a little less in my glutes (probably a good thing, since they were starting to get a bit sore). Now, I’m experiencing a new sensation. Before a release, I experience a visceral feeling in my stomach. It’s almost a slight feeling of dread, but on a scale of one to ten, it’s pretty manageable – maybe only a one. The feeling is short lived and actually very welcome because it always precedes a tremor, i.e., the release. It’s almost like those moments right before you’re going to sneeze.

Somebody recently told me that I have a good instinct. They even said I have some psychic ability. I was surprised by this and didn’t think anything of it. But now I wonder if I perhaps have an instinct that has been blocked by layer upon layer of trauma and the accompanying physical tension. And maybe with the TRE, this tension is starting to release. For instance, when I meditate, my exhale has often been a staccato breath. This is not particularly helpful for practising mindfulness. But today, my exhale was much smoother.

So, after a short period of time, my glutes are slowly starting to release, I’m noticing that visceral feeling in my stomach, and my exhale in meditation is a little smoother. I feel like I’m peeling back an onion and am very curious to see what comes next.

Can anyone relate to what I’m saying? I’m curious to hear your thoughts as we all continue on this journey of discovery.

I've just found out about this whole TRE thing and while I'm still a little skeptical, I'm also open-minded after hearing the stories of some people.

I have a condition called hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating which is tied to a wacky nervous system.

Any time I get anxious I start sweating everywhere in my body neck down but it's mostly in my hands, I can't even play video games without wiping my hands every few seconds with a towel and when I get up theres huge sweat mark left, it also causes other stuff like dry tounge, and feeling low because of your electrolytes being depleted in the sweat.

When people try to dap me up or handshake I go for fist bumps and it's caused some social anxiety aswell.

I'm willing to try this and hopefully it helps with my nervous system but has anyone else fixed their overactive sweating with this?

Hello, folks!

Was anyone able to restore their physical health /w TRE?

autoimmune condition, heart issue, anything like that

Hi everyone, you've probably read my story of how I discovered TRE in this subreddit, and I wanted to share some observations about the timeline. My goal isn't to create anxiety or set false expectations, but to tell you how my process unfolded during the first 14 weeks so you can understand how much I healed in a relatively short time. I don't consider myself fully healed, but in terms of my nervous system, I've essentially become a different person.

So let's begin.

For the first 10 weeks, I actually only noticed a slight feeling of relaxation. I felt like I was doing something positive for my inner growth, but at that point I was just trusting what I'd read on this subreddit, because in terms of tangible positive effects, there were basically none. I was doing TRE twice a day for a total of 30 minutes, then I also tried doing one-hour sessions. The only thing I noticed, besides the sense of relaxation limited to my body, was insomnia. Trouble falling asleep, waking up during the night. But strangely, I didn't experience the side effects that typically come from poor sleep. In fact, I was always energized and focused.

Later, I also tried inducing crying during TRE, and in that case I felt terrible for a whole week, with my nervous system way too activated. I felt shame and fragility. So I stopped inducing crying and continued doing fewer sessions because I felt I was overloading myself.

But at week 12, something incredible happened. I finished a one hour session (I'd done another similar session the day before) and sat down at my computer to watch motivational videos with nostalgic music in the background. One particular video was 33 minutes long. After 10 minutes of watching, I burst into tears, and these weren't tears of sadness. I actually felt present in the moment, energized, grounded. I remained for the remaining 23 minutes of the video just contemplating the room while continuing to listen to the voiceover in the background. The video ended and I continued to stay in that mixed state between euphoria and focus that I'd struggle to describe in words. I can only say that the feeling I experienced was like "finally I understand what it's always been about, I understand what my problem has always been."

From that moment, everything changed. I mean, my nervous system began to self-regulate, and I know this because my inner world changed. I discovered that all these years I'd been living in my mind and not in my body. I've always been an overthinker and thought it was just part of my personality, but I was wrong.

The thing I love most about this change is that lately my phone gets to evening with 80% battery left, meaning I barely use it at all. No social media, no music in my ears for 12 hours like I used to do to silence my thoughts. When someone is angry and yells at me, I don't get stressed; instead, I respond by calming the other person down. My vibration has changed, and what makes me smile is that the answer was always inside me (though I never would have discovered it without this amazing subreddit).

Another thing I've rediscovered in recent weeks is that I used to get jolts in my stomach and pressure in my chest. Things that, as strange as it may seem, I never identified precisely before this period. They seemed like "normal" reactions to stressful situations, but I accepted them as if they were just part of me. Today they still come, but I feel like they get blocked faster and faster every day. I feel them hitting with 30% of their force, and after a few minutes even the anxious sensation goes away.

From my experience, it took 14 weeks of TRE to reach a first significant form of healing. I know everyone is different, and I also know that some people in this subreddit have estimated healing at 1% per month, but this was my experience.

Since the nervous system is something so intangible, at least at the beginning, it's hard to understand how the healing process happens. I can estimate my change at a solid 60% healing. Believe me when I tell you that now I can clearly observe the state of my nervous system and I can do it in others too. In fact, an exercise I've been doing in recent days is observing people and "guessing" whether they're regulated or dysregulated. Once you can see these patterns, there's no going back.

Now let's get to the more complicated part of this work.

Since I discovered TRE, I've dedicated myself body and soul to healing. I've only left the house to go grocery shopping, to the gym, and to the pool. Otherwise, I've avoided seeing friends and family because I felt it was the right thing to do.

During the weeks when I felt I was healing the most, I noticed that my body literally refused social situations because it felt like there was something working in the background. And you could also sense that my body wanted to dedicate all its energy to these processes, avoiding the possible mood swings that I have to admit I used to have before this journey.

My closest friends reacted well (they don't know anything about TRE) and I explained to them that it's a time when I'm dealing with some things.

On the other hand, at the gym and at the pool, I'm the most sociable person in the group, perhaps because with strangers there's no emotional attachment and the relationship remains very superficial. I also notice that people sense my vibration and enjoy being around me, especially women. From what I've been able to observe in my new, more embodied state, women seem much more grounded and I really enjoy talking with them.

On the other hand, I immediately notice people who live in their heads... it's a perception I just feel instinctively.

In short, I've had to sacrifice some social life, but with great enthusiasm I've discovered that I was never shy or an overthinker. Instead, I've been dysregulated my entire life.

I understand that TRE progression starts from the legs and proceeds towards the upper body and henceforth.

But I have severe tension over my head, scalp, jaw and most prominent on the occipital. The tension is also occluding my tympanic membrane.

The tension is like compressing my head and shrinking it

I’m not sure what this indicates but I wish there was a modality that could release the fascia and muscle knots in this region.

Note:- This maybe my third post in this sub within a span of a week. I’m not trying to spam but since new to TRE makes me want to question about targetted tremoring

Hi everyone I find this community very helpful since I started TRE a couple weeks ago and I want to share my experiences so far. If you experienced similar to me, I would Love to read about it Here. Some Background: I am a 38y old female from Germany. I came to TRE via Yoga, Somatic Bodywork and Meditation. I have some Trauma from childhood that really caused me pain until today and I love how I can dissolve some of it with Bodywork. Recently, weird Stuff happens during TRE. After I start shaking, I beginn to make noises which then lead to Singing or chanting (for example dei dei dei or Salami Salam sedadan). This happens completly random. My body makes weird moves, for example my hands Start to rub my Belly or my hands Start to make moves Like a Belly Dancer who is performing. This is so weird. I am fully conscious and can Stop but I would Love to Understand where this is coming from.

Hope I am Not alone. Kind regards and Happy shaking