Abstract
Some experiences take you to new places. Others take you to
alternative forms of consciousness. Or in my case, unconsciousness.
Introduction
I am a highly sensitive person (HSP) with a low tolerance
for real or imagined pain. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed that I zone out and forgo my basic needs. In addition, I am prone to anxiety-driven vasovagal syncopes. When I go to a doctor, it might not only be my worst nightmare, but
also theirs.
Methods
Be dehydrated and/or low on sugar.
Freak out about something minor.
Forget to breathe.
Results
Places where I’ve nearly fainted: check
up room, blood draw room, middle school clinic, emergency room, high school
classroom, William & Mary lecture theatre, behind a Cambridge college bar.
Places where I’ve actually fainted:
sidewalk, check up room, allergy test room, kitchen, blood draw room,
elementary school classroom, theme park (Ireland in Busch Gardens), church (the
priest was discussing “sober inebriation”), W&M lodge living room (landed
on fireplace pokers), and a tissue culture room.
Note:
The number of incidents is likely an overestimate as some locations served
multiple functions. The actual number of incidents is around 17.
Discussion
Reasons I have fainted or nearly fainted:
scraping my knee, getting allergy tests, receiving a shot, seeing bags of blood
on TV, running a fever, accidentally stabbing my palm with a pencil, seeing
someone else bleed onto a sidewalk, having a nosebleed, getting my blood drawn,
seeing a human liver on TV, seeing someone else faint, thinking about a
friend’s injury, thinking about a hypothetical injury, scraping my shins, and
accidentally stabbing my finger with a sharps needle.
Conclusions
I’m
lucky to be alive.
People are generally caring and helpful.
I could
probably write a book about this.
At
least I’ve been consistent.
Acknowledgements
People
who have had to deal with my fainting: my poor parents, my sister, my entire 6th
grade class, regular doctors, allergy doctors, nurses (bless them all),
tourists, a P.E. instructor, my godmother, my grandmother, several Catholics,
my lodgemates/friends, a SCUBA instructor, a barista, grad students, and post
docs.
References
Title
Reference: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
