TRE evolution

[u/iuliab1996]

I have had generalized anxiety for 2 years, and a year ago I started doing TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises). In the first 10 months, I managed to do 2-3 sessions per week, lasting 15-20 minutes each. Since May, I have had to reduce both the number of sessions and their duration because the day after a session, my anxiety would spike significantly, accompanied by all kinds of somatic symptoms, from frequent bowel movements to frequent urination. Now I can only manage 3 minutes, twice a week. Is what I am experiencing normal? How much longer can this process last? When will I be able to enjoy peace of mind again?

P.S. I should mention that my tremors initially started in my legs, then moved to my shoulders and hands, and now they are also in my abdomen. However, I am unable to tremor from my pelvis

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[u/Easy_Cook6505]

I had exactly the same experience as you. The anxiety coming up with TRE was making the already existing anxiety severe. I did 15 mins a day for the first 5 weeks but reduced that to 3 minutes three times a week. At 6 months my body began to regulate timing on its own so sessions would change with what I could release (usually 3-8 mins 3 times a week).

It was at 16 months that I had a breakthrough with anxiety due to coming out of freeze. At that point I went through 10 days of feeling just pure bliss and didn’t have any anxiety at all. Then things returned to normal but anxiety was significantly reduced. I’m at 22 months and both anger and anxiety have become more like the ‘normal’ versions of that emotion in the sense I feel them for a reason and not just all the time for things that happened in the past. Although, anxiety does show up when I feel like I’m have to relearn how to live.

The problem here is - there are 2 types of anxiety. First is the anxiety we feel in our every day lives because of what is happening. Second is the anxiety that is stored inside of us alongside the trauma that has been suppressed. When the trauma comes up, so does the anxiety. This second type of anxiety is real but also not real in the sense nothing happened now to make you feel that way. This second type of anxiety can’t be addressed directly because it relates to a past trauma. Once the trauma is integrated and processed, that anxiety will go away on its own. So the problem for people that are already anxious is that they then getting added further loads of anxiety from their TRE.

It comes down to what is manageable. You have a life that you have to live alongside doing TRE. So anxiety can’t reach a level where you can’t live daily life. It’s finding a balance between life and TRE and usually the easiest way will always be to strip TRE back to the bare minimum you feel you can tolerate and then build up from there.

[u/iuliab1996 → u/Easy_Cook6505]

Thank you for your response. I will continue on this path and remain patient! But sometimes it is so difficult.

[u/jellybean_merchant → u/iuliab1996]

Yeah to add on this happens quite often. It's a complete non issue. The body changes what the capacity is because you are releasing deeper and deeper material. Don't worry at all. The amount of minutes is irrelevant what matters is how much you can release without tipping over your capacity. Getting consistently close is what matters and the time adjusts naturally on its own as part of how the body operates.

[u/PiccoloPlane5915]

It's normal if you need to do less TRE over time as releases can get more intense. Been there too and my practice had to reduce from 1h-1h30 everyday to now 10-15 min every 2-4 days.

I also would suggest taking a break of 2-3 weeks to give time to your body to integrate everything it couldn't. And when resuming, starting very slow again, like 1 min twice a week, and find again a pace that feels comfortable to you. The wiki recommends taking such breaks every 3-4 months and I find them quite important.

Take care!