Constantly tired boy sleeping in classroom - Gillespie Approach–Craniosacral Fascial Therapy

A Constantly Tired Boy

An eight-year-old boy presented with mood swings, irritability, focus and concentration difficulties, anxiety, emotional issues, and short-term memory loss. His biggest problem was sleeping. He can sleep for ten hours and wake up tired, always yawning. Young boys have energy to burn. What happened?

Tests at a major children’s hospital showed that he had inflammation of his vagus nerve, which sent him into sympathetic nervous system mode of flight or fight. The doctors saw the tip of the iceberg and missed his big picture of a zero-second brain cycle and fascial tightness everywhere.

His history was loaded with red flags:

Many times, a pediatrician will say that you will grow out of these infant problems. In my world, you can grow into his current conditions.

As a practitioner, I try to stay detached, but I am human. He was totally adorable with a quiet demeanor—a good boy. He reminded me of myself in the 1950s when I had my issues, although I was not nearly as severe.

As his mother spoke of his conditions, she was crying as a caring mom. He asked her why he felt this way? What did he do wrong? Does he have a disability? She answered positively and told him she would try to find the answers.

Hearing and seeing this, I felt my heart melting. I always talk about the work at birth to prevent these stories. In my mind, newborn therapy cannot happen fast enough.

I explained to him that he felt this way because he had a hard birth, his body got tight, and it is not working very well. It was not his fault—he did nothing wrong. I told him I was going to help loosen him to feel better.

He did very well with his first visit, with his brain cycle opening to a great 90 seconds. I am hoping that this work will be life-changing for him and his family. Gillespie Approach Training can be the missing piece of health and wellness.

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Gillespie Approach Foundation Training is designed for students to work with children and adults.

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Gillespie Approach Infant Training is designed for students to work with infants.

2026 Dates:

  • January 25–27 | Melbourne, FL
  • March 22–24 | Greenville, SC
  • May 17–19 | Westfield, IN
  • June 28–30 | Bozeman, MT
  • August 9–11 | Boise, ID
  • October 4–6 | Olathe, KS
  • November 15–17 | Newtown Square, PA

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