Shaking up that stress with TRE

Isn’t it horrible when you cannot stop shaking after a traumatic event – whether physical or emotional?

As it turns out, the shakes are actually part of the body’s natural response and this reflex can be tapped into with TRE (Tension and Trauma Release Exercises).

Salt Rock Hotel played host to an international TRE conference last week that saw experts such as Brazil’s Mariano Pedroza and the Canadian Joan McDonald, along with TRE for Africa’s Susanne
Thomas and local TRE practitioner Brigitte Lotriet, sharing some of what they know about this innovative new method for alleviating stress and coping with trauma.

“TRE is a brain based therapy that uses the body’s instinctive autonomic nervous system reactions to relieve stress,” Pedroza told The Courier.

In a nutshell, TRE utilises the natural ‘shaking reaction’ we all experience after a traumatic experience.

“When we undergo any sort of trauma the body is flooded with all sorts of hormones, adrenaline and more. The way the body releases all this pent up energy is through a natural shaking response,” explained Pedroza.

According to McDonald, it is unfortunate that many of us do not let the body go through this release.

“We have been culturally conditioned to see this shaking reaction as bad – or a sign of weakness.

This means that people do not end up releasing the energy stored up after a traumatic event – and they internalise it, carrying it around in the form of physical and psychological stress.”

With a sequence of simple exercises and stretches performed in a safe and controlled environment, TRE practitioners allow the body to release this pent up tension.

“TRE leads to a deep relaxation and can help improve sleep, lessen stress and tension, help calm the mind and lead to calmer, better decision making,”said McDonald.

TRE for Africa has also been getting involved in rural areas in KZN.

“We have trained six members of the Woza Moya NGO in Ixopo near Richmond to be community facilitators for TRE,” Thomas said.

Unresolved trauma is widespread in rural areas and is known to lead to substance abuse, violence, depression and high levels of chronic stress which often manifest in hypertension, insomnia and cardiovascular illness.

Thomas and the TRE for Africa team believe that bringing TRE into these communities will help people who cannot afford treatments from psychologists or physiotherapists to safely deal with
their trauma.

To see more of the good work TRE for Africa are doing, visit www.TREforAfrica.com

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