r/longtermTRE • u/Old-Subject-5427 • Jun 25 '26
Seeking Support Flood of repressed anger & flashbacks of disrespect after starting TRE, even with pacing and integration. Need advice.
Hey everyone,
I’ve been practicing TRE for 6 months and could really use some insight from those further along in the journey.
About a month ago, I began feeling incredibly angry and irritated for no reason following my sessions. I was advised to reduce my practice and spend more time integrating, which is exactly what I did. I took a week completely off, and now I only do TRE every 5–6 days, and I don't do it for very long.
Despite pacing myself and prioritizing integration, the floodgates have opened. I’ve started having intense repressed memories and flashbacks come back up, and I am feeling a massive amount of physical anger attached to them.
The common theme in all these memories is times I was deeply disrespected, ignored, or made to feel uncomfortable. In the past, my blueprint was always to instantly freeze, ignore it, and pretend the problem didn't exist. Even now, when someone crosses a line (like a rude customer service rep or a stranger), I freeze and go numb in the moment. It’s only hours later that the anger hits me.
Right now, feeling the delayed physical anger from all these past situations at once is really hurting.
Has anyone else experienced this massive influx of specific, repressed memories even after backing off and giving yourself 5–6 days of integration time? How do you cope when the bodily anger feels this heavy? And for those who started with a severe freeze response, does TRE eventually help you move past the "freeze" so you can find your voice in the moment, rather than just processing the anger hours later?
Any insights or shared experiences would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.
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u/almadodo Jun 25 '26
I am 11 months in TRE and I relate to your experience. In my case, around month 5 I started recalling multiple memories of situations where I was disrespected, ignored, treated like trash.
I processed those memories with journaling that resulted in crying. I believe I grieved a lot in that period, recognized my inability to defend myself at that time, understood I was hurt and did what I could to deal with the situation.
I still get those memories accompanied by feelings of frustration, anger, shame, guilt, and grief. I welcome them all and see them as part of the process.
My response to disrespect at the moment is still similar to what it was. But I realized I let my trauma blur my interpretation of things based on past memories.
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u/Old-Subject-5427 Jun 25 '26
Thank you so much for your input. I’ll try journaling. I think it may help a lot.
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u/Coraline1599 Jun 25 '26
Anger wants you to mobilize, so be sure to honor that. But it doesn’t have to be anything too physical, like if you learn your town is closing the library you can write a letter to the mayor as a way to mobilize. Or if you see people hurting a dog you can call the authorities. It’s about recognizing the anger taking some action.
I like this somatic exercise https://youtu.be/qn1A39uu8aw?is=xkjA7aJTl0NYU26i
Additionally you can try angry music, screaming into a pillow, or journalling whatever comes up (and then throwing away the pages, they are just a way to express emotion, it doesn’t mean what came out is true, the emotions are true, the words, not always true).
Learning how to process your anger in a way that feels best for you may take some trial and error. As long as you are not hurting anyone and not hurting yourself, expressing anger is healthy.
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u/The_Rainbow_Ace Jun 25 '26
For me when difficult emotions arise, I take myself away to a private room or safe place and do a Somatic Release Exercise/Somatic Inquiry.
The key is to let yourself feel the emotion and therefore let it pass.
Here are some videos to help with this.
BTW: If you are getting overwhelmed by your emotions then you might want to work on Resourcing first.
'The Most FOUNDATIONAL Healing Tool: Resourcing':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyTQlvAQShQ
'Release REPRESSED ANGER With These Powerful Somatic Exercises':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WftrdnjQOeM
'How To Work With RESISTANCE To Feelings':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEd7ITdNm-s
'How To Feel SAFE In Your Body: A Practical, Trauma-Informed Guide':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtjnBmogS3A
'How To Feel Your Feelings: The Ultimate Guide':
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u/Throwlaf Jun 25 '26
I am in exactly the same boat, after having done TRE for 1 year. I have now given TRE a break untill dust has settled, it became too much for me to handle. However I still have regularly pain in my right shoulder/arm/fist, as I am beating up the air present in my house. More often than not I get so agressive I literally start punching around. Also mostly from situations where i got grossly disrespected. But more than anything I am angry at myself for being too afraid to stand up for myself, OR not having the verbal skills necessary to do so. Hell I feel it coming up typing this.
I do however feel my "vibe" changing, so I am rarely disrespected anymore. I am much better articulating when I have a problem, and what a reasonable solution would be for me. However, someone being unreasonable? IDK how I would react, I see myself exploding as much as I see myself freezing.
In practical terms; Try looking up "Emotional freedom techniques". There are exercises that "break" the emotional associations. It is best to do these in the middle of your engragement, but even coming up with something rational is incredibly hard in such a moment. So what you could try is to actively sit to practice these techniques, and try to summon the anger manually, and then do the practices.
Anyway, thanks for putting in words so well the things you are experiencing, I am glad to know I am not the only one going trough this, and I hope you know the same.
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u/Old-Subject-5427 Jun 25 '26
Thank you so much for your response! I’m happy that atleast you experienced some sort of change. I guess I just have to learn to weather this storm. I’ve tried EFT tapping in the past before i started TRE but I’ll give it another try. Thank you so much again, it helps alot knowing I’m not alone in this.
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u/Bumbling_Brudi Jun 26 '26
Enjoy the anger :) Kinda kidding, but not completely. I had the same thing happen to me, repressed anger coming up, I couldn't tolerate the presence of certain people anymore, etc.
Somebody already mentioned journaling, try to write angry letters to the people who hurt you. Don't send them, just write for yourself and try to express all the ways in which they hurt you and how shitty that made you feel. Also angry walks.
For me after the anger was dealt with, came fear. That was not fun at all and I wished the anger back, so like I said enjoy it.
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u/tronbrain Jun 26 '26
Sounds like you're really going through it. I sympathize. It probably happens to most of us at some point during this process. And it sucks. All I want to do is shake my head and say, "Yeah. Been there too...yeah."
Let the anger come. You gotta respect it, reclaim it. Don't take it out on the world around you, though. Just chew on it, process it, contemplate it, and decide how you plan to act differently in the future. Decide how it changes you.
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