The Passout challenge , played by many teens tweens and sometimes children it can be young as 6-7 but most children first tried the game at about 14 years of age. This Game can be called by many things: the passout challenge, hangman, fainting challenge , sleeper, blackout, funky chicken, space monkey, flat liner, tingling and suffocation roulette, the names vary but the most common would be called the pass out challenge.
This is important topic to us because we have played it and we know the negative and positive side effects, we know the feeling it gives and we know the fear other people have about the game. Passing out gives a feeling to some it gives them the feeling of a quick high but why does this quick 10 second high happen? Well when it happens, oxygen deprivation to the brain is called Hypoxic-Anoxic. This occurs when the oxygen is either completely or partially cut off from the brain.
The disruption of blood flow to the brain is what causes the “high” children and teens are looking for. The process starts with decrease in partial pressure of arterial CO2, Increase in blood pH, (respiratory alkalosis), and vasoconstriction of blood vessels supplying brain. Pooling of the blood is present in the brain at the time and the brain rapidly uses up oxygen (O2) available in the pooled blood. O2 concentration in the brain drops and unconsciousness occurs from hypoxia of cerebral tissue.
All of this happens with the different ways the kids chose to do it some of the different ways are by tieing rope, chains, leashes, anything that they could find and staging themselves. This is the most dangerous way but there is also less dangerous ways that are still bad just not as extreme but still give you the feeling it’s when you squat and breathe very heavily for about 45 seconds then stand up and sit back down then blow on your thumb with it on the top of ou other roof or you represent the breathing and somebody pushes on your chest another less common for is if you squat breath hold your breath then press down on your lymph node area and boom you’re out for 10 seconds. Sometimes however you will notice a twitching going on as we have both done that and this is not a seizure this is something called myoclonic contraction. A myoclonic contraction is a brief shock-like jerks of a muscle or group of muscles
Although it may seem like some quick fun and as safe as something like that may come, it has caused many deaths and various injuries among those who have participated in the challenge. As one youtuber stated in the beginning of his video that his way was very safe and not to listen to the others who say it’s not, he proceeded to hyperventilate and soon passed out which led to him hitting his head on furniture live on webcam. The video was later taken off due to it violating their Community Guidelines, they stated that they did not want anyone posting any videos encouraging others to try something that can harm others.
Yet hundreds of videos containing the passout challenge are uploaded every day, with kids seeming to have fun and laughing when their friend is on the ground out cold and seizing but they don’t understand the danger that comes with the challenge. These videos can make it seem fun and exciting for kids to try and they barely know the dangers. A young girl tried the choking game with a bike lock which ended in death when the lock got caught in a drawer. Many others were found in other places of their houses hanging or on the floor dead with a rope around their neck.
While their parents thought it was suicide, medical examiners explained that the cause of death was in fact the choking game. One mother was completely shocked as she came home to her son dead with a rope tied around her neck but what made it worse was the police telling her that it was not a suicide but a result in the choking game. Having never hearing of this before and seeing the dangers brings and seeing what it can cause, she decided to spread awareness to parents, hoping this will maybe save someone’s life one day.
Another boy decided to try this challenge for the first time, which also ended in death, after passing out he had fallen onto glass which slit his throat open. After waking up and losing a large amount of blood he made his way down the stairs trying to warn his dad and get help, but along the way the blood loss reached too much leaving him dead on the stairs. Many others have died from brain damage from after losing consciousness, hitting their heads on various things around the room. This challenge can cause serious health problems such as: seizures, head trauma, concussions, coma, or even death.
In some situations, some people slump into a sitting position after passing out which can make it harder for the heart to pump and can lower oxygen levels, this can lead to the listed health problems. Without getting enough oxygen to the brain, you are risking your life, especially when it involves other things such as: ropes, bike locks, strings, and any other items that be used for the choking game. This is a serious issue and has cost many their lives, while many teenagers do it to get that short lived ‘high’, little do they know that they’re playing with death.
A few seconds of fun can suddenly turn into a deadly, scary ,life changing event that they will later regret and question forever. Addiction , It what it is , The people who do the game over and over and over again. (the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. ) They Are addictis, no not to drugs sex or money, to the game. It happens because when you play the game and pass out the short 10 second high feeling that’s happening is making you want more.
Understanding addiction website said that “addictive drugs provide a shortcut to the brain’s reward system by flooding the nucleus accumbens with dopamine. The hippocampus lays down memories of this rapid sense of satisfaction, and the amygdala creates a conditioned response to certain stimuli. ” this is what happens but not with drugs or alcohol but with the game it release dopamine in the brain because you enjoy the feeling but because it is so short (10 second time spans ) they do it over and over agian hours on end repeating to get that feeling over and over again.
When the addition reaches the point of doing it alone , it’s bad they want it so bad they don’t even have their so called safety net ie there friend or whoever they play the game with to watch and keep them safe the game is there codependent they rely on the game to give them what they want they look forward to it just like as a drug when the high is gone they want more than they even know they will want. Imagine coming home to find a loved one dead or unconscious on the floor with a rope around their neck, or even finding them hanging in the closet or other areas of the house.
You think it’s a suicide, you question yourself and if this was your fault or if there was something you could have done. The cops show up at your door a few days later and explained to you that the medical examiner found that it was not a suicide, but a deadly attempt of the choking game. Or finding a loved one on the floor complaining about their head hurting and asking you to take them to the hospital. You are in the ER and you have just found out that they have a bad head injury or head trauma and they don’t have a good chance at making it.
You ask them how this happened and minuets before they pass away they tell you that they tried the pass out challenge. They tell you that they didn’t think it would work but it did, they tell you that they must have hit their head on the table. You don’t know what to do, you feel hopeless and you have just lost a loved one, this is how many of these parents and friends feel knowing that it was just some dumb internet challenge that killed the one they loved. They don’t want anyone else to go through this, (they wouldn’t even wish this pain on their worst enemies.
They want to spread awareness to make sure that this didn’t happen to anyone else, they know that the pain is unbearable. Spreading awareness for this is very important, it might even save a life, it’s also a good way to cope with a loss and can give you hope that you might be saving someone else from all the pain that you hold. Letting go isn’t always the answer and there are many support groups for the loss of loved ones. Even if the challenge did not lead to death, some will still blame themselves for the injuries or fatalities that it has caused.
Some will think that they should have been watching them more or spending more time with them or blocked certain things on their internet. Its importance for the friends and family to get into a stable environment and have as much support as possible, without that they could spiral in a world full of depression and anger. They might even do something to harm themselves. The community needs to give much love and support for those who have died from this challenge.
In conclusion, the passing out challenge has been revealed by multiple sources to be dangerous, and life threatening therefore it should not be practiced. As the information above has provided, it can become very addicting and is most common among teens and young adults in their early 20s. The game can give you a quick high, but has severe consequences. Side effects include: headaches, brain damage, seizures, coma, or even death. Loved ones of the victim are starting to spread awareness of the challenge, hoping that they will save another from playing this fatal game.