*TRE stands for Trauma Releasing Exercises. The TRE in question is taught by Steve Haines & is part of a course that enables you to teach it upon completion.

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As some of you may know, although not many, I spent the last few years struggling with multiple health diagnoses, the worst of which was Chronic fatigue syndrome. It's an illness that robs you of your capacity to move, think, be, in many ways, and it is not very well understood. It used to be referred to as a woman's illness. Whatever it is, physical or psychological, it affects sufferers profoundly, mostly because they are told that it's in their head or that they are crazy (for me, at least).

I'm still recovering but a lot better. Like any illness, it teaches you something. For me, it made me really really curious and kind of obsessed with the body, mainly hands. I spent a lot of time doing a lot of things to help me get better while studying and to this day have no idea how I managed it, I think after being in pain for a long time I thought that it was a normal state and I just pushed through.

Recently I have come across a therapy called TRE (http://trecollege.com/) which helps the body to release stress and trauma. It is said that a build up of these factors leads to CFS. There is a workshop triyoga are running that teaches participants how to do these practises so that in time they may help others. It costs £400 and runs across 3 days, from the 27th to the 29th of March. My intention is to heal myself fully first before helping others do the same. The great thing about TRE is that it is self-regulating and therefore liberating for the person involved. I learnt this from my recent attendance at a workshop here.

It's something I feel finally strong enough to do, and say, and I am wanting help from friends, Facebook friends and family to do so. In return, I have been printing some etchings, and photos of the process can be found here.

They are small, between A5 and A6. For any donation above £15, I can send one to you. Anything less - I understand - and I would be extremely happy to draw you something or send you a drawing, just say.

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For links to raise awareness about CFS, click:

https://www.prohealth.com/library/evergreen_pages/me-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-organizations

http://absentofi.org/2014/07/chronic-fatigue-and-tre/

https://www.omf.ngo/what-is-mecfs/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/04/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs-taken-seriously

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/15/it-was-like-being-buried-alive-victim-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/27/me-affects-four-times-women-men-chronic-fatigue-syndrome