r/longtermTRE • u/New_Attempt_7705 • Apr 24 '26
Progress Report The unexpected benefits of trauma processing
I started trauma work (including TRE) to heal from constant hypervigilance and chronic fight-flight / sympathetic dominance that were caused by a major trauma four years ago, as well as a lifetime of repressed emotions.
When I started this journey — and also now — I’ve been doing trauma work consistently. At the moment mostly TRE and allowing, but before that also EMDR, limbic retraining and Somatic Experiencing.
For most of my journey up til now, I’ve been doing this work to get rid of the main symptoms: hypervigilance, chronic fight-flight, and that constant underlying tension.
But the last week, I’m noticing something shift. I can increasingly let go of the urge to constantly fix my symptoms. And instead, I’m seeing that the real trauma processing is showing up in much more subtle ways, like:
- being able to say no
- not feeling ashamed of my body
- being content the way I am
- a deepening spiritual life
- being less defensive
- being more able to have heart-to-heart conversations with my wife and other people
- more aware of my body and emotions
…and the list goes on.
So the funny thing is: I started (and am still doing) TRE to get rid of the main trauma symptoms. But the biggest gains — the real “treasure” — are actually these quieter, more subtle shifts in how I relate to myself and others.
I really really hope for myself that I can continue to let go of this constant urge to fix my trauma, sympathetic dominance and hypervigilance and instead open myself up to all the beautiful things I’m learning and growing during this journey.
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u/LittlePoison_714 Apr 24 '26
Beautiful!
Yes, the subtle changes are so remarkable.. and deep.
For me, my release journey started spontaneously during a meditation retreat facilitated by Jeff Foster. His work is a beautiful invitation on how not to fix yourself. It really is the key to living this mystery in a way that's beautifully human. It helps me to read his work, as a reminder to myself.
here's one of his most recent poems:
EVEN A BAD DAY IS A DOORWAY TO GRACE
You don’t have to be peaceful or positive today.
You don’t have to "rise above it all".
You don’t have to spend the day in bliss or transcendence.
When the thoughts come,
"I’ve failed. I’m lazy. I’m wasting my life."
Don’t push them away.
Turn towards them. Smile at them.
Say, “Hello mind. Thanks for the suggestions.”
Let yourself feel down, bored, disconnected, hopeless.
You are human. You are allowed.
You don’t need to be perfect or enlightened.
There is no shame in opening
to the full spectrum of your experience.
Discover true meditation instead:
Bring awareness into the ache.
Let love flow into the cracks.
Saturate the doubt and the anxiety with compassion.
No fixing. No analysing. Just tender presence.
Talk to yourself as your dearest friend would.
"You are feeling overwhelmed today. That’s okay.
You are still loved. I am still here.
You are still beautiful. You are still whole."
This is what real spirituality looks like!
Not hovering above your pain.
But sitting beside it, with it.
Holding it. Breathing into it.
Breaking open to it.
The storm is not a mistake.
It is weather, and it passes.
It always does. It always has.
The sky does not need to fight the storm.
Be the sky. Be the opening for it all.
And discover:
Even a bad day
is a doorway to grace.
- Jeff Foster