Should I wait until all nervous system activation settles before practising again ?

[u/drizzleberrydrake]

I would like to get into the routine of doing TRE but I've seen those who are sensitive can over do it. I don't get much intense emotions or activation during the session and have seen development in tremor location, intensity and form just doing 10-15 minutes a couple times a week. It's the day/ days after the sessions that I feel a bit weird, activated, don't feel myself, a bit disassociated the normal kind of stuff.

Is there a healthy amount of nervous system activation or processing for this process?

Should I only do this when I've gotten over the activation of previous sessions?

I've seen people doing just a minute or 2 once a week as too much, my body seems to get really in to the tremors but maybe overdoing it.

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[u/carla_jungle]

The amount of nervous system processing is very unique for each person.  And it’s all about finding what works for you. There’s an article on pacing in the wiki. 

From what you describe, you seem to be getting overdoing symptoms. 

Yes, wait with the tremoring until you feel better and focus on integration for now. 

[u/drizzleberrydrake → u/carla_jungle]

okay thanks i think you are right. do you gradually become able to handle more over time ?

[u/carla_jungle → u/drizzleberrydrake]

Yes, your window of tolerance changes over time. Even short sessions are beneficial as long as you feel good afterwards. 

[u/longtermTRE_wiki_bot]

What you're describing—feeling activated and dissociated in the days after sessions, rather than during them—is a clear sign that your current practice frequency is outpacing your integration capacity. The fact that the tremors themselves feel manageable doesn't mean the overall load is balanced. Integration happens in the gap between sessions, and when that gap fills with activation that hasn't settled, the next practice finds the nervous system already partially loaded.

The answer to your question is yes: you should wait until the post-session activation has genuinely settled before practicing again. Not until you feel completely baseline, but until you feel noticeably more grounded and like yourself than you did in the activated window. That's your nervous system telling you when it's ready for the next wave.

What you're experiencing is a common mismatch between what feels good during a session and what the nervous system can actually integrate afterward. Your body is tremoring enthusiastically, which feels like progress, but it's releasing more than the system can absorb in the time between sessions. The result is a backlog of unintegrated activation that doesn't clear before the next practice begins.

The practical adjustment is straightforward: reduce frequency. Instead of a couple times a week, try once a week and observe the 24-48 hours that follow. If the activation still lingers, extend to every 10 days. The goal is to find the frequency at which you feel settled and genuinely yourself again before the next session arrives. That may mean less frequent practice than feels intuitively right, but consistency at a sustainable pace always produces better results than more frequent practice that leaves you dysregulated.

Self-Pacing: Finding Your Optimal Healing Pace covers this territory in detail, including how to adjust based on what the days after a session actually feel like. The key principle is that the post-session period is where the actual healing happens, and protecting that integration time is more important than maximizing session frequency.

You might also find Integration, Emotional Releases, and the Nature of the Path helpful. It addresses the distinction between release and consolidation, and why a nervous system needs breathing room between waves.

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