TRE- Stressed Hospital Staff shaking out their Tension
We’ve all been through two years of uncertainty, conflicting media stories and stress as we’ve been dealing with Covid. However it is probably safe to say that very few people have been as affected as front-line hospital staff- needing to cope with a constantly changing narrative about the pandemic, having to wear cumbersome PPE and being alongside countless anxious and sometimes dying patients. All whilst having to manage their own families and the fear of bringing Covid home with them.
When I was asked if I would offer TRE to these anxious and stressed out staff I didn’t hesitate and indeed felt honoured to be doing my small bit for the doctors and nurses who have done so much.
Since the start of the pandemic I have worked with over 250 doctors and nurses from many different sections of the hospital- ranging from those working in intensive care, to theatre staff and pediatric nurses. Many of them have come several times as they found that the TRE sessions really helped to calm them down and sleep better.
Data was also collected about the response and feedback that people had to the TRE sessions
- 96% of people said they were satisfied/very satisfied with the sessions
- 92% said they would recommend TRE to friends and colleagues
The TRE sessions were also written up in Anesthesia News- a journal that is sent to all UK Anaesthetists to showcase some of the well-being work being carried out by the hospital.
It has been an incredibly moving and humbling experience to hear first hand accounts of just how difficult and challenging it has been for the NHS staff. The stress, the uncertainty of dealing with an unknown virus, the not knowing if they were potentially bringing the virus home to their own families. Also the fact that many of the hospital staff are originally from other countries, often far away, meaning that they have not been able to see their own families for a very long time, not knowing how covid was affecting them.
It has also often been a surprise to the staff attending to find out that their own bodies had an ability that they were unaware of- the ability to self-regulate through tremoring. I have watched with delight as these staff often look at me with puzzlement and wonder as they feel their own bodies doing something that they hadn’t consciously told it to do. This is one of the deep pleasure of introducing TRE to other people- the opening of a door into our innate body wisdom and witnessing as this same wisdom is able to deeply relax our nervous systems.
