Back in the 1930's Physician and Endocrinologist Hans Selye first identified the 'flight or fight' response to stress. Peter Levine added to this with the 'freeze' response (His work can be viewed in his book on trauma 'waking the tiger') When we are overwhelmed by an experience, that is we cannot flee or run away from it and we cannot fight it, or do not have the resources to deal with it then we become overwhelmed and freeze. This can be shown with theOpossum that senses a Wild dog too close to run from and it is too small to put up a good fight so it plays dead 'freezes', drawing all its blood and nervous system responses right to the core of its being, becoming so still and cold that when the dog approaches, smells and nudges the Opossum, it senses it as being long dead- not good to eat. Once the threat of the dog has gone, the Opossum gets up and shakes out the experience from its core out through its limbs and then runs off. With advancing technology and human evolution, we have lost the ability to 'shake out' and therefore continue to hold onto our experiences, eventually expressing as stress, headaches, insomnia, tmj issues (tight jaw, clenching/grinding teeth), and at its highest expression; chronic fatigue, anxiety and depression. After a car accident which causes a stress response we just get back in the car, or maybe have a coffee to calm our nerves! Then we may go and have an argument with a co-worker or a grumpy customer interaction. When we pick the kids up from school they may be tired and arguing with each other in a long car ride with peak traffic. Where does this stress go at the end of the day? It has no outlet. It is held within our body, with tissues contracting and causing pain. If the shock to the body is severe enough, the tissues can remain contracted many years after the event. Craniosacral therapy can ease the contraction of the tissues and free up the energy previously trapped by stressful experiences. This leads to a more complete expression of health, increased energy levels, and deeper restful sleep. Further treatments can work to resolve 'stress' expressions in the body like headaches, stiff aching neck and back, and provide a path to the resolution of chronic fatigue, anxiety and depression.