Fainting + Overheating tips for writing!!!
disclaimer: this is from my own experience!!! I have done literally zero research on the subjects. But as a frequent fainter that is weak to the heat (and a sickfic writer to boot!) I thought I would contribute what I went through recently for anyone wishing to write whump involving the subjects above :))
• There is a very definitive feeling when you are going to faint. Most media portrays it as like a sudden collapse, but for me I just knew what was gonna happen. Vision just a little fuzzy, a little off, nausea tightening like a rope in your stomach.
• You may think this is a passing discomfort. That it’ll go away. If you are fainting, I assure you it will not. • I was at work once when this happened, and believe me I WANTED to keep standing. I couldn’t. Your body can be vocal when it needs to and often overpowers your resolve. Knees shake and you’re mumbling that you need to sit down before you even register it.
• You are NOT as coherent as you think you are. In the moment you feel fully lucid. After the event, your memory is fuzzy, and others will say you were making no sense. But at the time you felt like you were in your right mind, even if you felt awful. Especially when the heat is getting to you.
• Speaking of feeling awful! Pre-faint symptoms for me included: awful shivery feeling despite 100 degree heat, excess sweating, blurry vision that feels like is moving slow, black pushing at the edges of vision, fast breathing, nausea, shaking all over. • In my experience, fainting does not always equal loss of consciousness. I ‘fainted’ and was conscious but barely so. Words sounded like they were underwater and I barely registered them. I heard people ask me questions but from a distance, like they weren’t meant for me. I was so very dizzy that everything was blurry. I was awake but nearly unresponsive.
• I’ve always heard that heat is the ‘silent killer,’ and I can tell you firsthand that it is. I got woozy and had to sit down once, felt fine after five minutes, and after standing for five more is when I became almost unresponsive. Unless you remove yourself from the heat, it will continue to wear you down unseen even if you feel better.
• And overheating doesn’t abate quickly. For about twenty four hours after the event, after I cooled down somewhat, I experienced heightened emotions (crying for no reason), come-and-go headaches, heightened sensitivity to the heat, dizziness when standing, lethargy, and shakiness. Oh and difficulty sleeping. Pair that with heightened emotions and it’s a rough night.
• And these symptoms aren’t contained within you. Others can see it too. People said I was extremely pale and washed out (this was at the moment of fainting but my complexion wasn’t quite right for a few hours), eyes not focusing well, blinking sluggishly, skin extremely hot and clammy, slurring/mumbling words, and slow to respond to things during the faint.
I think that’s all! Again, at the moment of, I was pretty out of it so I tried to remember everything I could. I hope this is helpful!!
