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Home » The Vine

The Vine: May 15, 2013

Submitted by on May 15, 2013 – 9:07 AM19 Comments

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Many years ago — at least 10 years I think — I watched a news report about a man that would pass out or faint whenever he felt smug. Basically if a strong feeling of being superior came over him he would just black out…and wake up to a very pissed off friend/wife who knew EXACTLY what he was feeling before he fell over. 

I’ve shared this story with many people over the years but when I tried to look it up online I couldn’t find the article anymore and now my boyfriend thinks I made it all up. Does anyone else recall this story? Can anyone point me to the proof that this exists? I’m starting to wonder if maybe this was all just a fever dream. I think this man was British and that I might have been watching the BBC when I heard about his condition. I also remember that he spoke about how his condition took a toll on his marriage because if his wife said something that he felt was incorrect or dumb, he would pass out and his wife would know her husband was just thinking he was much better than her. 

M

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19 Comments »

  • Sarah says:

    I heard an episode of This American Life that dealt with a man who passes out when he feels positive feelings – here’s a link to a transcript: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/409/transcript

    Scroll down to “Act Three. I’ve Fallen In Love and I Can’t Get Up.”

    His diagnosis is “narcolepsy with cataplexy” so that might be something to search on.

  • Jennifer . says:

    I’m sorry I can’t help, but, heeeeee! I’m just graduating college right now, and I basically couldn’t have gotten through school if I had this condition – I would constantly be blacking out.

  • Melissa says:

    I don’t recall the story, but I wonder if the man suffered from narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is often triggered by sudden emotions, usually anger or laughter, so extreme smugness would be a new one to me.

  • Leigh in CO says:

    It seemed like Snopes.com would be a good reference source for this one — it has a decidedly urban-legend feel to it. I had no luck finding it there, sadly. It could be something you submit to them, though?

  • Nicole says:

    Is it the Held Hostage episode of This American Life? It’s about a man who passes out whenever he has a strong emotion. Not exactly the same thing, but same idea!

  • Danie says:

    That is both awesome and awful in equal parts. No idea if it’s true or not so I can’t help but I’m definitely looking forward to reading the thread that will follow this letter!

  • IsisUptown says:

    I didn’t find what you’re looking for, but I found this:

    http://brunching.com/smugguy.html

  • Scarlett says:

    The emotion isn’t “smug”, but this is totally part of the Mysterious Benedict Society books!

  • Sandman says:

    If only feelings of superiority (… heh, he said, smugly) were so generally hazardous to one’s health, fewer people might indulge in them.

    “OMG, are you okay? How’d you get that big lump on your head?”
    “This is your brain on schadenfreude, baby!”

  • Sarah D. Bunting says:

    Heh. I’d have died by 1989.

  • Katie says:

    In this article about narcolepsy cataplexy (the same thing described in the NPR episode), a British doctor mentions that he had a patient who passed out whenever he felt smug. That’s got to be your guy!

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/19/healthandwellbeing.health

  • Maria says:

    I was reading a little on vasovagal responses to triggers, and certain body movements can bring on fainting. Maybe the guy would contort his face in an eyeroll or sneer, and that would be the trigger.

    Interesting, and what a mess to have such a “tell”!!!!!

  • M says:

    Thank you Katie! I think that has to be him! I can clearly remember the man being interviewed on his couch and his poor wife sitting next to him, giving him the stankiest of sideyes. I finally have proof!

  • Bridget says:

    I can guarantee it exists. It is called narcolepsy with cataplexy, and my mother has it. In her case the seizures are triggered by extreme positive emotion. My son was very proud of her when she didn’t fall down while playing catch the other day.

    I can usually tell what’s going to set her off before it happens. We joke that I’m her seizure dog. That one doesn’t make her fall.

    It can be awkward in public–trying to reassure freaked out passers-by or pool lifeguards that she’ll get up in just a minute or two, but we’re pretty used to it by now. The kids all know that when YaYa laughs, she falls down, and that whoever sits next to her at dinner needs to be prepared to catch YaYa when things get silly.

    As funny as it sounds, it is a real seizure disorder and can drastically affect quality of life. It’s very rare, so doctors don’t know much about it, and trying to balance the meds for quality sleep with the meds to suppress the seizures is completely trial by error. She’s been on depressants, amphetamines, anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, even GHB.

    All that being said, I do keep offering to buy her those fainting goats to keep her company.

  • Isabel says:

    A friend read an article about emotionally-triggered narcolepsy, with one of the example emotions being ‘smugness’ on the BBC website years ago, and it really caught both of our imaginations. Just last weekend we were hanging out and met a very self-satisfied man, instantly turned to each other and said, “isn’t it as well that he doesn’t suffer smugness-induced narcolepsy, he’d be out cold by now!” or words to that effect. I’ve never seen any details about an actual sufferer, though- just a reference in passing on the BBC website, something like the Guardian article above. I’m sure it’s very sad for the real patient, and if I knew too much I might feel bad making jokes, so I think I prefer not to know more.

  • Erin W says:

    Is anyone else remembering that Scrubs episode? They had the patient who had narcolepsy triggered by arousal. It brought out insecurity in Carla because she couldn’t make him pass out. Finally she declared to him that she liked how he looked and she didn’t care what he thought, and he told her the reason he didn’t find her sexy was because she reminded him of his sister.

  • Jo says:

    Bridget: Funny that you mention the fainting goats. I was just thinking about them. Is the cataplexy in humans the same thing that the goats have?

  • Bridget says:

    Jo: I don’t think so. From what little I know, the two conditions work differently in the brain. Cataplexy is almost always found in conjunction with narcolepsy in humans. Although who knows–maybe the fainting goats are sleepy, too…

  • Glenn says:

    So, I do agree with most of the previous comments: sounds like a cataplectic attack, seems plausible (if uncommon), and certainly seems like the stuff of a human interest story or sound bite.

    For anyone who might be interested in similar stories, I’d highly recommend “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and other Clinical Tales” by neurologist Oliver Sacks. A collection of case histories of some of his patients, it’s also a relatively accessible introduction to neuroscience.

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