Parents suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome are often made to feel as if it is all in their heads. Family, friends, co-workers, employers, and even health care providers seem to believe that those with chronic fatigue syndrome are just not handling stress well. A March 2001 consensus panel, convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America, proclaimed that stress is not the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. Instead, the syndrome appears to be a hormonal/neurologic problem. It is highly probable that an infection could trigger chronic fatigue syndrome, perhaps through a problem with the immune response to the infection.