I Did TRE For 3 Years. Here's What Happened (Trauma Release Exercises | Shaking)

Key wellness strategies & self-care/productivity takeaways (from the video)

• Use TRE/Tension Release Exercises carefully—go slow and titrate

  • The presenter emphasizes that TRE can be “very powerful,” even though the movements look gentle.
  • Especially with chronic illness, start with a tiny fraction of the recommended amount and build up gradually over weeks.

• Reframe “I was injured by TRE” as possible nervous-system overwhelm

  • Their early experience felt like a sports injury after sessions with a practitioner who pushed too much, too fast.
  • Proposed mechanism: the nervous system may interpret the discharge as unsafe, triggering pain/symptoms as a distraction while trauma/tension surfaces.

• Set strong boundaries with practitioners

  • A key lesson was learning to say “no” and to stop sessions that exceed your capacity.
  • If a practitioner keeps pushing despite your limits, it may be time to find someone else.

• Understand TRE as both tension and trauma release

  • The nervous system may not separate “big T trauma” from stored emotional stress and muscle tension.
  • You don’t necessarily need to identify a specific traumatic event for TRE to be helpful.

• Mind-body approach: stop forcing “more” when chronic illness needs “less”

  • The presenter challenges the idea that doing more equals recovering faster for chronic conditions.
  • Strategy: do less during sessions to recover sooner.

• Use TRE to shift from survival/overarousal states

  • TRE is presented as helpful when the body feels stuck in high alert (examples mentioned: high heart rate, internal electricity/shaking sensations, anxious looping thoughts).
  • Goal: move from “survival mode” physiology into a softer safety state.

• Know the difference: unintentional shaking/tremors vs intentional shaking

  • TRE guidance focuses on unintentional trembling that occurs after specific muscle positions/stretches.
  • Intentional shaking is framed as different and not the same mechanism.

• Safety guidance for trying TRE

  • Suggests trying far less than instructed, particularly if you’ve previously had negative reactions.
  • Encourages learning the “mind-body healing” context before trying again.

• Practical encouragement: TRE can be used gently even for healthy people

  • The presenter suggests that healthy partners can sometimes serve as a “guinea pig.”
  • When used this way, it may feel like a release and increased energy afterward—sometimes replacing the urge for stimulants (e.g., alcohol/pub) with a natural lift/motivation.

Methodology (how TRE is described as being done)

• Targets specific muscle groups
• Uses a gentle stretching/positioning sequence
• Holds positions briefly (duration mentioned as options: ~30 seconds to a few minutes)
• Relaxes between muscle stretches
• Waits for spontaneous trembling
  • The release is described as resulting from the combination of the sequence and positioning, triggering a neurogenic tremor

Wellness outcomes the presenter reports

• Past:

  • Experienced significant pain after doing too much too quickly with a practitioner.

• Later:

  • After adjusting understanding and approach (and after reading Dr. John Sarno’s work), TRE became a tool the presenter values.
  • Described as releasing long-held stress stored in the body/mind and helping with nervous-system regulation.

Personal example illustrating TRE use

• Worked with their son (young adult) during a period of severe anxiety, sleep difficulty, and emotional distress.
• TRE reportedly helped bring up and process anger/rage, followed by crying.
• Over time, this is described as improving connection and healing.

Presenters / sources mentioned

• Amari Love (presenter)
• Dr. John Sarno — The Mind Body Prescription
• Dr. David Berceli — developer of TRE
• Peter Levine — associated with Somatic Experiencing
• National Geographic — documentary footage referenced