Are You Depressed?
John F. Barnes
When I was a young boy, I stumbled upon a conversation about a distant aunt. Their voices were in a “hushed” tone. My sense was that they were embarrassed about her behavior. She had experienced a nervous breakdown!
I never knew what a “nervous breakdown” was, but it sounded very serious. As I have grown as a therapist, I have experienced many situations that have given me a better knowledge of these so called “breakdowns”. Some of the elements expressed by my aunt’s behavior during her “nervous breakdown” sounded similar to the mind/body’s capacity for self correction.
When pain, fear, and/or stress build to a certain threshold over time, our body begins to shake in an effort to rid itself of the excessive energy that has become trapped. Unexpected tears erupt and our body quivers with powerful emotions. Our society has taught us not to trust or express our emotions. Thus, we attempt to shove them down deeper and deeper. Over time this exhausts us, we don’t sleep well, we become irritated, agitated and easily “triggered” by others and events.
For centuries, there have been stories about people who started to shake, cry uncontrollably and loudly express themselves. As a result, authorities slapped “straight jackets” on those individuals and threw them into a mental institution for weeks, months or even a lifetime, when Myofascial Release and Myofascial Unwinding could have restored peace and equilibrium to their lives. Today, the “straight jacket” is Valium or some other tranquilizer. How sad. Drugs can be helpful in the short term, but long term usage can numb the mind and make one’s body lifeless. Drugs numb our feelings and inhibit our body’s natural capacity of self correction.
Another unfortunate example of how traditional therapy vainly attempts to just treat the superficial aspect of a problem, a symptom. Restrictions in the fascial system are the cause of many symptoms that you and our clients suffer with. It is now well known that Myofascial Release contributes to the reduction of pain, headaches, and the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and can also restore our natural, tranquil mental and emotional well being.


