u/PlaneRoom7681

Would love to share some breakthroughs I had today. I did my 2nd TRE session last night, stopped tremoring right at the edge of when it began to feel a bit uncomfortable. This morning, I immediately noticed several things:

1. My tinnitus is significantly quieter this morning. I've always had on and off tinnitus, but recently getting on an SSRI for my depression/anxiety caused the high-pitched tone to be there nonstop.
2. I made casual small talk with my mother and felt so happy I was able to allow myself to do this. A lot of my CPTSD trauma has to do with resentment against my parents, so this was a major breakthrough. Previously I was so anxious of being in the same space as them that I mostly locked myself in my room to avoid contact.

My SSRI is still currently too low of a dose to be effective at treating my depression. I'm on a sub-therapeutic starting dose because of sensitivity with meds in the past, so I'm pretty convinced this behavioural breakthrough is due to the TRE releasing some active blockages. I wasn't expecting it to work so fast and I'm mostly shocked that I never discovered this practice earlier, would have saved me a lot of grief.

I will be teaching kids aged 7-9 in a musical theater youth program. Kinda nervous for my first day but also super excited to pass on my love for all things theater. The classes are capped to about 10 students each, so hopefully class management won't be too much of a challenge.

I've been working primarily as an actor, but am now taking on teaching to supplement my income in a more sustainable way.

Would love to hear any advice you can offer for a new teacher. What should I invest in ahead of time so lesson preparation and classroom management can be a breeze?

Please feel free to share your experience if you've taught theater to young ages too, I'm in the mood to be inspired!!

I tried TRE for the first time yesterday about 1.5 hours before bedtime, nothing crazy, just a short session of tremoring. For context, I don't have active trauma but I have CPTSD that has been untreated since I was 16 (I'm now 33).

This morning, I woke up and felt like I experienced much deeper sleep than usual. My hamstrings feel a bit sore, felt like I just did some heavy deadlifts. My upper back, particularly the lats, feel sore as well, similar to how it feels after back day in the gym.

The physical soreness was somewhat expected as my tremors were quite strong, but I felt another new sensation arise today. It feels like some tingling energy comes and goes in the pelvic region. It feels like it's radiating from the groin which feels so strange, but it does not feel sexual in any way. I'm wondering if this is my body's way of clearing and integrating stuck energy from this area?

Curious if anyone else has experienced this too. Wondering if I should shorten my next TRE session, could this be a sign that I overdid it?

Emotionally I felt a bit anxious and jittery this morning but it has largely dissipated now and I'm back to my baseline calm again which is reassuring.

Thought I'd share my positive 1st experience with anyone else looking to begin their TRE practice!

For context, I am 33F, have CPTSD/depression/anxiety and recently began medication with Luvox and therapy. I'm trying out TRE because I can't afford EMDR and other specialized trauma therapy currently, and I don't want to keep delaying my healing journey because of my finances.

I followed along to a Dr Berceli video on youtube and to my surprise began tremoring almost immediately once my thigh muscles felt slightly fatigued/activated after a minute of keeping my hips up in the air in the initial bridge pose.

• The tremors began first as small vibrations that came and went in my thighs and calves
• As I allowed myself to relax a bit more, the vibrations intensified further into full on shaking and to my surprise, the vibrations began to move my whole body up and down, it felt like I was stimming in an intense way
• It began as powerful but small vibrations in the hips, then slightly more pronounced shaking, and eventually as I focused more on sighing and letting go of control over my body, my chest and shoulders began to jerk quite forcefully. A few times the force of the tremors lifted my neck/shoulders fully off the yoga mat
• I was a bit scared to overdo it my first time, so I just followed the length of the video and did a 10 minute round of 4-4-6 breathwork to ease my nervous system back down into relax mode
• Towards the end of my tremoring session, I felt suddenly a strong urge to pee, I'm guessing the perpetual tension I held in my lower back and hips finally released?
• A mild stomachache occured about 30 mins post-session and eventually I had to go do number 2... I was constipated and bloated the whole day prior to this exercise, so the bowel movement was a much welcomed surprise actually

Emotionally:

• I felt pleasure and relaxation at first, I tried to encourage that feeling to stay by smiling and thinking happy thoughts, thanking myself for doing the healing work
• It felt so freeing to just allow my body to tremor and move however it felt like in the moment
• Towards the end of my practice I felt a bit of panic creep in, but kept reassuring myself by saying "I am safe, I am fine" - I have a history of health anxiety so speaking kindly to myself was definitely important to remember and helped calm me down a lot

It's currently 1.5 hours post-session, and I feel strangely calm but also surprisingly tired in the legs, particularly my hamstrings which feel a bit sore. My upper back also feels a bit sore, as if I just did some lat rows in the gym. My lower back and stomach feel a lot more released already.

It's truly like a miracle how a few minutes of tremoring can release so much deeply held tension across the whole body!

Edit: Might be helpful to note I currently am not experiencing any active trauma, my cPTSD symptoms manifest mainly in chronic dissociation and feeling stuck in freeze mode, living with a lot of baseline anxiety/fear around new experiences and socializing, I also struggle with self-care routines. Hoping the TRE can unblock and disrupt my nervous system’s tendency to dissociate so I can feel more fully present in everyday life.

I got started on Luvox for depression/anxiety recently and am very curious to hear about positive experiences with this SSRI. Specifically, I'd love to hear how long it took before the mood-stabilizing effects kicked in for you, and what mental changes you felt when it did?

I've suffered from depression-induced anhedonia for years and honestly cannot wait for the day my brain feels like me again. It feels like I've been living in a constant brain fog and have barely any motivation to get out of bed. I work freelance and I find that between gigs I'm always in this state of dissociation and have zero motivation to do anything apart from doomscroll, watch TV, binge eat or read.

For context - my psychiatrist prescibed 25mg of Luvox and I've been on this baby dose for 4 weeks so far. I have a recent history of medicine intolerance and she wanted to keep me on the sub-therapeutic dose till any major side effects are ruled out. So far it has been smooth sailing luckily but I am getting impatient about getting bumped up to a therapeutic dose. I want to get better and improve my quality of life asap. I know SSRIs aren't a magic cure so I've also enrolled myself in therapy alongside medication.

I went to a psychiatrist for the first time 3 weeks ago and got prescribed Luvox for moderately severe depression/anxiety, starting with 25mg taken daily. Today, I had a follow-up consult with the clinic's care manager and she told me to continue still taking only 25mg daily till my next appointment with the psychiatrist, which is in October.

From what I've learned so far, 25mg is a sub-therapeutic dosage for depression/anxiety, meaning the effects are mild at best for treating adults.

Has anyone else been on a similar starting regimen? How was your experience like, did it improve your condition at such a low dose? Is it normal clinical practice to prescribe 25mg Luvox for 4 months when first starting on an SSRI?

My experience so far with Luvox has been pretty smooth sailing, minimal side effects, and I was more than ready to increase my dose so it can start working its magic on my brain/mood. I'm not in any real danger to myself or anyone, but I experience passive SI occasionally and constant anhedonia. I start a new job in September and really hoped to get any initial adjustment side effects out of the way fast because I heard they can be brutal, but now I guess I'll have to wait it out :(