Trauma Recovery Without Prescribed Exercises: A Polyvagal Approach to Healing

A response to a viewer's question about TRE exercises and finding a gentler path to trauma recovery

Recently, I received a thoughtful question from a viewer that highlights a common challenge in trauma recovery and self-development. They shared their experience with TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises) and how it led them from fight-or-flight into numbness, leaving them wondering how to navigate their healing journey.

This question addresses a common issue I frequently hear from new clients, Unstucking Academy students, and my audience: they're pursuing a prescribed method in trauma recovery and self-development. And I don't blame them. Of course, they want the thing! They want the hack!

While many approaches offer specific movements or techniques, I want to share a different perspective—one rooted in Polyvagal Theory and the wisdom of your own body.

Disclaimer: This content is educational and not intended to replace professional therapy or medical advice.

When TRE Exercises Stop Working: Understanding What Went Wrong

The viewer, whom I'll call "Z," described living in fight-or-flight with severe anxiety and depersonalization/derealization (DPDR). After doing "excessive TRE exercises," they now feel numb, with no more anxiety but a "weird" feeling in their head. They're asking how to get back to fight-or-flight so they can use relaxation techniques again.

This experience illustrates something important about trauma recovery and prescribed methods: the method may not align with your Polyvagal state.

The Polyvagal Theory Explanation: Why Prescribed Exercises Can Backfire

From a Polyvagal Theory standpoint, this situation could describe both sympathetic activation (fight-or-flight) and dorsal vagal shutdown happening simultaneously. The DPDR suggests significant shutdown or freeze states, as dissociation comes from these immobilized states. (Freeze is different than shutdown, btw.)

When someone has both fight-or-flight and shutdown active, they might:

• alternate between the two states

• experience a freeze state (mobilized energy that's immobilized)

• feel chronic underlying rage, overwhelm, panic, or intense anxiety that never fully resolves

If one is pushing themselves too hard, regardless of the method, it could potentially result in dysregulation and re-traumatization. Dysregulation can look like:

• re-experiencing a specific traumatic incident through a flashback.

• falling further down the Polyvagal ladder, like from sympathetic to shutdown

• triggering a mixed state of freeze (flight/fight + shutdown)

Why Prescribed Trauma Exercises Don't Work for Everyone

My approach to trauma recovery without prescribed exercises differs fundamentally from methods like TRE. Here's why:

1. One Size Doesn't Fit All Nervous Systems

Rather than looking at trauma as something to resolve through prescribed movements, I believe we need to:

• first build lots and lots of safety

• gently feel into our stuck defenses a little at a time

• allow the body to move naturally if and when it wants to

Q: Why did my TRE exercises make me feel worse instead of better?

A: If one is pushing themselves too hard, regardless of the method, it could potentially result in dysregulation and re-traumatization. One needs to listen to their body ultimately and what it can handle.

2. Your Body Knows What It Needs

In my live skills practices at the Unstucking Academy, I don't tell people how to move. Instead, we:

• anchor into safety first

• mindfully feel into stuck defensive activation

• ask the body what would feel good

• move in whatever way feels right

I've seen participants stretch, make swimming motions, or grab and squeeze pillows—movements I could never predict because each person's body has its own wisdom. I don't know more than your body does.

3. State-Specific Responses Matter

Someone in shutdown needs very different support than someone in fight-or-flight:

For Shutdown States:

• very small, gentle movements (if any)

• focus on mindfully connecting with the shutdown rather than trying to escape it

• allow self-regulation to happen naturally with safety as the foundation

For Fight-or-Flight States:

• more capacity for movement, but often with tension

• less playfulness and more skepticism ("This won't work for me")

• need for mindful awareness of present-moment experience over completing movements

For Freeze States:

• mobile energy that's immobilized—like having your foot on both the gas and brake

• risk of being triggered deeper into shutdown

• need for extremely careful, titrated approach to avoid "spinning out"

Q: How do I know what my nervous system actually needs?

It will tell you! Anchor yourself in safety first, mindfully experience your internal world, and then act on what it needs.

🚩 Signs a trauma exercise might not be right for your current state:

No matter what prescriptive methodology you're using, I recommend keeping an eye out for obvious signs of dysregulatuion:

• increased numbness or dissociation

• feeling panic, rage, overwhelm

• losing mindful connection with your breath

• intrusive thoughts (flashbacks, judgment, shame, etc.)

Building Safety: The Missing Foundation in Trauma Recovery

This is the piece I think people know but skip over. Everyone wants the technique, the exercise, the movement, the breathing method—something to help them quickly get out of their current state.

But there's no hack. There's no shortcut.

The safety state is the foundation for everything. The stronger your safety state, the more capacity you'll have for the difficult work of mindfully feeling and releasing stuck defensive energy.

A Body-Wisdom Approach to Trauma Recovery Without Prescribed Exercises

Instead of prescribed exercises, here's how I work with trauma recovery:

Step 1. Connect with Your Current State (Don't Try to Escape It)

Rather than trying to get back to fight-or-flight (as Z asked), I suggest: Let's connect with whatever's happening in your body right now. If your body's ready to move to fight-or-flight, it will.

Step 2. Focus on Experience, Not Completing Movements

If I were guiding someone through any movement (or breath exercise), I'd be more concerned with:

• What's the experience of the movement in the present moment?

• What thoughts or feelings arise?

• What does the body actually want?

As soon as someone thinks, "This is stupid" or "This doesn't work for me," that's far more important than completing any prescribed movement. I would then guide them to be curious about the present-moment emotions that drive their thoughts.

Step 3. Give Yourself Permission to Feel What You Feel

It's totally okay to:

• not be content with where you're at

• want to get into sympathetic activation if you're in shutdown

• desire more safety in your life

But you can't truly move up the Polyvagal ladder until you've mindfully connected with what you have in the present moment—even if that's collapse, numbness, or shutdown.

Gentle Next Steps for Trauma Recovery Without Rigid Protocols

If you're resonating with this approach to trauma recovery without prescribed exercises, here are some gentle next steps:

1. Prioritize daily safety practices (even small ones)

2. Practice mindful awareness of your current state without trying to change it

3. Trust your body's wisdom over external prescriptions

4. Seek support that honors your individual nervous system needs

The Unstucking Academy: Trauma Recovery That Honors Your Nervous System

The approach I've described is fundamentally different from many trauma recovery methods. In the Unstucking Academy, I don't offer quick fixes or prescribed solutions. That's not realistic, you and I both know it.

Instead, I provide:

• a small, intimate community (limited to 150 people)

• The Unstucking Pathway: a comprehensive journey from learning Polyvagal Theory to mastering skills like pendulation and balancing, which lead to sustainable self-regulation

• live practices that honor individual nervous system needs

• lessons under 10 minutes with practical, daily steps designed to reduce overwhelm

Q: What if I feel impatient with this gentler approach?

That's fine. I'd recommend anchoring into safety, then mindfully connecting with the felt experience of impatience. If you can listen deeply enough to your body's needs, it will tell you what it needs to do with the impatience experience.

Your Next Gentle Step Forward

To Z and anyone else struggling with the aftermath of prescribed trauma exercises: your experience is valid, and there are gentler paths forward. Trauma recovery without prescribed exercises isn't about finding the "right" technique—it's about building safety, honoring your current state, and trusting your body's innate wisdom to heal.

The journey may be longer than we'd like, but it's also more sustainable and honoring of your unique nervous system. Your body knows how to heal; sometimes it just needs the right conditions of safety and mindful presence to do so.

If you're interested in learning more about this approach, you can explore the Unstucking Academy at stucknotbroken.com/UnstuckingAcademy. Remember, healing happens in relationship—both with others and with your own body's wisdom.

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Author Bio:

Justin Sunseri is a licensed Therapist and Coach specializing in trauma relief. He hosts the Stuck Not Broken podcast and authored the Stuck Not Broken book series. Justin is passionate about the Polyvagal Theory and proudly serves on the Polyvagal Institute's Editorial Board. He specializes in treating trauma and helps individuals get "unstuck" from their defensive states.