[HOW TO] Be Stress Free through TRE

Loboc Church, Bohol.
This is just one of the centuries-old church destroyed during the M7.2 earthquake.

Have you ever met an accident? Have you lost a relative or a family member? Have you ever witnessed or have been a victim of any crime? Where were you during the magnitude 7.2 Bohol earthquake? How about when Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated Eastern Visayas? Or during the crisis in Zamboanga?

If you answered YES to the first three questions, how did you feel? Were you traumatized by the experience? Imagine if you were in the above-mentioned places during the times that the earthquake, typhoon and the crisis struck the area. How would you feel?

One of the five ships ashore Brgy. Anibong in Tacloban.
Tacloban is one of the hardest hit areas of ST Yolanda (Haiyan).

If you answered NO to the first three questions, how about these scenarios: Overtime on a Friday night when you have plans set up? Traffic jam at EDSA when you're already running late? The number of people taking the MRT at 7 o'clock in the morning? Deadlines? 

Yeah, you name it! The list of stress and stressors that we have to go through everyday just go on and on.

But! Fret no more! I have found a natural way of how the body releases trauma and tension. 
No! I am not gonna sell you beauty products or what not. :)

Read on to find out more.

TRE: Trauma/Tension Releasing Exercises

Dr. David Berceli, PhD.
Founder Trauma/Tension Release Exercise

Trauma/Tension Releasing Exercises, more commonly known as TRE, is a set of seven (7) simple exercises in the form of stretching that is meant to tire the muscles in your lower limbs. This would then result to an involuntarily trembling/shaking of these muscles. This exercise is developed by Dr. David Berceli PhD, an expert in the fields of trauma intervention and conflict resolution from the United States. He developed this exercise by observing how animals react to stressful events and release stress through shaking. Humans, just like these animals tend to freeze when confronted by stress - muscles in our bodies tighten. TRE is designed to loosen those tight muscles by way of producing a neurogenic shaking of the muscles from within.

TRE Philippines 2014 Trainers and Volunteers
(L-R) Tamiko Kawashima, Joan McDonald, Karsten Balsley, Chris Balsley
Meoh Ching, Michelle Beck, Aaric Iskandar and Dr. Michael Manginelli

Just recently, TRE was introduced to the Philippines through the efforts of Human Capital Development (HCD). Globally certified level III trainers from the United States came to the country to conduct series of Teach the Trainers in Manila, Tacloban, Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo and Zamboanga. Furthermore, TRE volunteers from all over the world including Canada, Singapore, Hongkong, and Malaysia also came to help in the certification process of those who underwent the three-day training.

PSORHN and HHCL nurses pose with Dr. Mike.
Dr. Mike holds a certificate from us with the caption,
"Maraming Salamat, Dr. Mike Manginelli"

Yours truly, together with four other nurses, both from the Philippine Society of Sexual & Reproductive Health Nurses and the Helping Hand Central Luzon were fortunate enough to be part of the first batch of the Teach the Trainer held last 29-31 January, 2014 at Ortigas in Pasig City.

Our token of appreciation and thanks to Dr. Mike for being our mentor and friend during the
three-day training and two-day supervised certification process.

The Exercises

Seven basic stretching exercises aimed at tiring our muscles are being used in TRE. These exercises, so simple, can be followed by anyone. According to our trainers, the youngest recorded to do the exercises were children aged 4 and the eldest, 80 years old. They added that even those who are wheelchair-bound and amputees were able to do TRE and shake their lower extremities. (phantom limb). There are only two contraindications to these exercises which includes pregnant women and those who have had recent (2-3 months) lower abdominal surgeries.

Moreover, the exercises in general are meant to be self-help and self-administered way to self-regulate. Therefore, for each of the exercises, though the goal is to tire the muscles, one is asked to regulate his/her pain scale to a level 7 - one that is not too painful, as in scale 10, or one that is not painful at all, as in scale 0. At the end of each exercises, one must shake his/her legs to remove tension from the muscles used.

The Testimonials

TRE Philippines 2014 Batch 1.

As previously mentioned, TRE is designed to be a self-help, self-administered way to self-regulate form of releasing tension and trauma. Unlike the conventional post-traumatic stress debriefing, wherein patients are being asked to relieve the trauma, TRE has been proven to help the body relax.

Oscar Sangalang, a practitioner of alternative healing modalities, was also part of the batch. He said that prior to the training, he always had one of his middle fingers up in the air for almost two years because he's been doing massages for quite some time. After one session of TRE, he was able to release the tension from his finger; hence, he was already able to make a fist and grab the door handle.

Andrei dela Cruz, your Nurse Tambay, was also a participant of the training. He used to be suffering from insomnia over the past few years, sleeping at around 2 o'clock in the morning and then waking up at around 5 or 6 o'clock. After one session of TRE, he was able to get a good night sleep of 10 hours.

I personally has been complaining of a tight calf muscle for years now. According to a massage therapist, I have some veins pressed together. After the day's TRE session, I was no longer feeling the pain. Now, whenever I feel tightness again, I just lay my back down the floor and with a snap of a finger, go to shaking.

Media Hype

TRE, being the first time conducted in the Philippines, has caught the attention of the Philippine media. Practitioners from both traditional and online media were very keen to know what it's all about. Here are some reads and videos from the Philippine all-media about TRE:

• ‘Trauma Releasing Exercises’ expert Chris Balsley to conduct workshops for Yolanda survivors, aid workers (22 January 2014)
• Yolanda survivors shake off trauma, literally (29 January 2014)
• Trauma Release Exercise experts help Yolanda responders, survivors in Eastern Visayas (3 February 2014)
• Human Capital Development Brings US-Based ‘Trauma Releasing Exercises’ Expert Chris Balsley to Yolanda Survivors and Aid Workers Around PH (4 February 2014)
• Post-‘Yolanda’ trauma/tension releasing exercise (5 February 2014)
• Global FC/Azkal Player Misagh Bahadoran Talks About his TRE Experience (7 February 2014)
• Yolanda survivors undergo tension releasing exercises (10 February 2014)
• Oscillate not-so-wildly: New exercises aim to combat stress through shaking (17 February 2014)

As of writing, TRE is being practiced in 40 countries including the Philippines. 

If you know some groups who were survivors of the Bohol earthquake, Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban and Eastern Visayas, crisis in Zamboanga, or those who have had experienced trauma, please send me a message at erickbernardo.rn@gmail.com.

For more information about TRE, please visit the website. You may also check the TRE Philippines 2014 Facebook page to find out more about their efforts in the country.