The very nature of trauma is that it is overwhelming – it’s more than our organisms can cope with. Trauma often shatters our worldview and rules of fairness and justice no longer seem to apply, which can lead to a spiritual crisis and a profound re-evaluation of meaning.
Trauma can take us to a very primitive place of fight–or–flight or dissociation, and it’s very hard to live fully with a brain screaming “danger!”, or generating life or death scenarios at the slightest stimulus.
The best way to reset the old parts of our brain is to slowly wake up the body. Healing trauma is not about remembering. It is about self-regulating to turn down intense reactions in the body.
A simple and practical way to wake up the body and reset the brain is ‘shaking’, or Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®).
Inviting the trauma-releasing shaking using these exercises is actually quite easy, so when you’re practising TRE it’s important to understand three important aspects of the trauma response in the body; freezing, flooding and dissociation to ensure the trauma-healing process is safe.
Avoiding freezing, flooding and dissociation is a simple but powerful framework developed by David Berceli, the creator of TRE, to help keep the process of shaking safe.
(It’s important to note that no one knows how to treat trauma successfully for all clients. We do not claim TRE is a cure for all people. Nothing works all the time for everybody, this is the same for any intervention. Treating trauma is complex and evidence is unclear. TRE has some limited research, very good theory, lots of anecdotal evidence and passionate advocates – it’s thought that over two million people have worked with these exercises now.)
What is Freezing?
Freezing is a form of immobilisation. It’s one of the last ditch strategies we have in the face of overwhelming threat. It’s the sense of a loss of relationship to the body, where endorphins flood the spinal cord, and there is a ‘cutting off’ from feeling.
Often people’s bodies can go stiff in this stage (especially in the hands and feet), or conversely they can go very flaccid – either way there’s an altered sense of the body.
You might feel cold or tingling or numb. Often the perception of your body shape changes, such as very small, far away feet, or big hands, or your belly disappears.
If this happens, it’s important to take a break from the exercise. Self-regulate and ground yourself and try again another day.
What is Flooding?
In the flooding stage everything starts to move too quickly – it’s associated with the ‘fight-or-flight’, mobilisation phase. Strong emotions, sensations, feelings or thoughts arise in quick succession. In flooding they are too overwhelming to be integrated into the present moment.
You might be thinking really quickly, or have the urge to talk really quickly. Your emotions might feel out of control, or you might begin to have really fast, difficult breathing patterns.
Whenever things feel like they’re beginning to get out of control, it’s important to stop the exercises, and to take back control of the situation.
Encourage yourself to slow down. Over a number of sessions learn to understand your difficult edges. Try to become more aware of the times when you start to go too quickly, because that’s when you need to stop.
What is Dissociation?
This is a term that’s often used by therapists and other people in the mental health profession to describe a sort of mental withdrawal. It’s the experience of temporarily losing connection with your thoughts, sensations or feelings.
Dissociation is often used solely to describe the conscious element of the immobilisation response. In fact, ‘freezing’ and ‘dissociation’ describe the same neurology – going really, really quiet and a sense of ‘playing dead’ is the survival strategy here. We collapse and shut down if our threat detection systems sense an inescapable threat. So people might feel numb, or as though there’s a veil between them and the world.
The confusing part about dissociation is that it can often feel a little dreamy, and it often feels like quite a pleasant place. Sometimes it can feel terrifying, but it can also be quite floaty, which is one of the reasons why people sometimes confuse it with expanded spiritual experiences.
Key takeaway: always give your system time to settle and integrate
So, in summary, when you’re practising trauma healing work like TRE, it’s important to learn to interrupt freezing, flooding and dissociation as quickly as you can. Put the brakes on early and give your system time to settle and integrate.
Would you like to try TRE?
If you’ve experienced trauma, it’s really important to find the community and get support to rediscover what safety feels like, which may involve taking some chances and opening up to your friends and loved ones. I invite you to join one of our upcoming TRE intro events:
Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®)
TRE Introductory days in London: April 21st, July 21st, September 22nd, November 3rd
Would you like to train as a Certified TRE® Provider?
If you’d like to train in TRE, our one year training starts on May 2025 and you can find out all about the timings and certification requirements here >>
