When Abuse or Bullying Leaves the Body Holding the Pain
The experience may be in the past.
But the tension it created can remain locked in the body for years.
The Total Release Experience® helps the body release deep-held tension so healing can begin without reliving the story.
A gentle body-led approach used by people around the world to release stored stress and trauma.
Your body remembers what your mind tried to survive.
When abuse or bullying happens, the body reacts instantly to protect you.
Muscles tighten. Breathing changes. The nervous system prepares for danger.
If that stress response never fully releases, the tension can remain trapped in the body long after the event has passed.
You May Recognise These Signs
• Constant tension in the body
• Difficulty relaxing or switching off
• Anxiety or emotional overwhelm
• Poor sleep or exhaustion
• Digestive problems or headaches
• Feeling on edge or disconnected
These are not signs of weakness. They are signs that the body has been carrying too much for too long.
You Are Not Alone
• 1 in 5 young people report being bullied during their school years.
• Many adults continue to experience bullying in workplaces and relationships.
• Survivors of abuse are far more likely to experience long-term, stress-related health problems.
• The body can carry the effects of trauma for many years after the event.
Understanding the impact is the first step. Releasing the tension is the next.
When the Body Is Given the Chance to Release
The body has a natural ability to discharge deep muscular tension created by stress and trauma. When this process is activated safely, many people experience a gradual return to calm, balance, and emotional stability.
People often report:
• better sleep
• less anxiety
• relief from physical tension
• clearer thinking
• renewed confidence
A Gentle Path Forward
You do not have to keep carrying what your body has been holding.
The Total Release Experience® teaches a safe, natural way for the body to release stored tension and return to balance.
Real Experiences of Release
Many people who come to TRE UK® have lived with the long-term effects of abuse or bullying. These are their words.
Releasing helped me reconnect with my body and find my voice.
‘I originally joined one of Caroline’s Yoga classes. I read about her programme on her website, but the yoga class initially seemed less threatening. However, I hadn’t attended any activity outside of work since 2006, so it was a big step for me. After several weeks of attending the yoga class, I felt exhausted and unable to continue. Still, I thought I might consider doing the Total Release Experience through TRE UK® in the New Year. I e-mailed Caroline explaining my situation, and I had my first session later that day.
I’ve been stuck in a cycle of self-destructive behaviour since I was 15 (I’m now 33). Initially, I struggled with anorexia; moving into bulimia, cutting (self-harming); compulsive shopping and online gambling.
My history is complicated, but to keep it short. My Dad has suffered mental health problems most of my life, and because of this, I was a withdrawn and compliant child and an easy target. The major trauma was being targeted by a gang of boys at secondary school. I was sexually assaulted nearly every day at school for three years. At its worst, being gang raped on four occasions. Sexual bullying is such a taboo subject. The school branded me ‘hypersensitive’, and my Dad, unable to cope with it, emotionally disowned me. Whilst the sexual assaults came to light at school, I couldn’t talk of the gang rapes until 18 months ago. This was compounded by losing my Gran to cancer at the age of 15 and my Dad suffering a heart attack and cardiac arrest two weeks before my 17th birthday. I felt like I was being punished for what had happened.
I’ve felt like I’ve been on a mission to prove everyone wrong. Those who branded me hypersensitive, those who said I would never get a qualification, to those who said I would never hold a job down. Whilst my personal life has been nearly non-existent, I have managed a successful career, but I felt I was going through the motions of daily life and not living. I felt like I was stuck in a bubble, unable to reach out and connect to anyone or anything. I’d been in different talking therapies since I was 15 and tried anti-depressants on 5/6 occasions, which worsened my symptoms. I began seeing my current counsellor two years ago, a trauma specialist using EMDR.
The EMDR helped me, but Releasing helped me take another step forward, to reconnect with my body and find my voice. I used to be physically unable to move and often unable to speak when experiencing flashbacks. I am calmer and less overwhelmed day to day, and my sleep pattern has improved. I feel more alert and more able to connect and interact with people. It is like waking up from a fog; the world seems brighter. It also helped me while making a significant career change. I’d been stuck in my job for nine years, burning out after the first two but still battling on. For the first time, I’m choosing myself.
Physically, I have hypermobile joints, which required surgery on my knee, which subsequently caused my lower back to become unstable. The pain and stiffness have definitely eased somewhat since I started Releasing. I was suffering from regular headaches and reflux, both of which have reduced. I also suffer from vaginismus because of the assaults I suffered (yet another taboo subject), but I’m hopeful the practice will help with that too – only time will tell.
I felt safe and Caroline’s reassurance helped me through. Even when difficult memories came up, I still felt better overall. All I want to say is that I thought things could never get better and that I was an unfixable freak. But, I gave the Total Release Experience a chance because I had nothing to lose.’ lose and gained a valuable tool to help me take control of my future.’
4 Months Later
Dear Caroline
Just a note to let you know I’m okay after the recent session. Well, a lot more than okay. I know you never know what will happen with every Release, but that was such a powerful experience on Thursday. I have a dissociative disorder, and due to that, I have different ‘parts’. I fought against it for a long time. Facing up to and processing the trauma memories has been challenging, but in the last 3-4 weeks, one specific ‘part’ disappeared. I have been struggling with another ‘part’, but it was like we made peace in the session on Thursday. ‘She’ seems to have gone too now.
It’s really hard to explain what it’s like, but the main thing is I have always thought of myself as ‘She’. The major change is that I can now think and feel for myself. I feel, I think, etc., which is so different. It’s challenging. Although there had been an improvement before, things have been very different since Thursday. My head is usually noisy, but it’s not now. I’ve never experienced a quiet stillness like Thursday brought about. Thank you.
Releasing Childhood Experiences
,
Hi Caroline
Well, it’s been an eventful few days. I was more settled on Saturday, but on Sunday, things started to fall apart again. I’ve struggled for a long time with a memory from my childhood that I thought couldn’t be real/was my imagination. I spent hours on the internet Sunday afternoon trying to find out whether the place I remembered was real, without any success.
Yesterday afternoon, I went back there. I’ve been back previously, but never managed to get out of the car. Yesterday I did and followed the footpath and found it was a real place. It’s horrific to remember what happened there, but the sense of relief is overwhelming. I’m not imagining these horrible things and places. I’m plain exhausted today, but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. For the first time, I actually do feel/know I’m not bad and that I did nothing wrong. I can’t describe what that feels like.
I know I’ve still got a long way to go, but I never thought I’d be able to explain to anyone what happened that night and be believed. NC
Terry Releases the Past
‘Since learning The Total Release Experience with Caroline, I have gone through astonishing changes. I seem to make people nervous because they can see I am just not the same person. What I have noticed includ:
Reduced hypersensitivity, reduced anger, more movement in my shoulders, and the ability to do many things which I originally feared. Not needing to talk about things anymore, being able to deal with emotional pain more easily, having more sense of purpose for the future, increased productivity in work and being able to release resentments easily, these are just some of the things.
There is a side of the process that is a bit scary for me right now. I have realised that as I progress, suddenly the world is becoming a really different place. As my body is changing, so is my behaviour and how I think.
Suddenly, I am no longer with people and situations I was comfortable with as my outlook is rapidly changing. Events are not happening as they used to anymore. People react to me differently. It can be a bit anxiety-provoking sometimes, but I guess it’s fear of the unknown, and I know it’s all positive change. I am anticipating it could be a bumpy ride through!’
Everyone has a choice. We hope you are inspired by what our clients share. Never give up hope, because if you think you have tried everything, you have one thing left to try!
Your health is our concern. We know we are living our best life and are passionate about you living yours. Whatever you have been through or are going through, you have the power to change all that today.