Did you forget to study for an interrogation? Have you confirmed your attendance at an event, but would you really like not to go? Or do you have to pretend to faint in a play? Whether you need it as a diversion or to get out of an unpleasant situation, the following tips can help you pretend to faint in a really convincing way.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Learn to Imitate a True Faint
Step 1. Know the causes of fainting
Many people have fainted. The causes of this symptom can be harmless or life-threatening. So, if you have to pretend to lose consciousness, it's a good idea to learn the not-too-dangerous reasons why people have fainting. In a nutshell, a person faints when blood flow to the brain is reduced too much.
- Harmless fainting can be caused by low blood pressure or a nervous system response that reduces blood supply to the brain. These nerve responses can be caused by very stressful or traumatic events, fear and pain.
- If you are a teenager, fainting is a perfect excuse to avoid an event or question because it is a symptom that often occurs at that age and is almost always harmless. For adults, fainting is possible once or twice a year, but more frequent episodes often indicate a serious illness.
Step 2. Learn to recognize the symptoms of a faint
Fainting people experience many symptoms that lead to loss of consciousness, including feeling hot, nausea, confusion, dizziness, and hyperventilation. A person may also feel faint or dizzy, suffer from tinnitus, or momentarily lose hearing. They are common symptoms for those suffering from harmless fainting.
Step 3. Decide on a harmless reason for your fainting faint
If you don't have to pretend to faint from a play, you need to find a reason for your fainting that doesn't make people call an ambulance and that allows you to leave shaken, but unharmed. Since low blood pressure and a lack of blood supply to the brain are usually the causes of harmless fainting, there are several scenarios that can result in these episodes.
- Not having breakfast, or waiting too long between meals, can in some cases cause a drop in blood pressure. Not drinking enough water can cause dehydration and reduce blood flow to the brain.
- If you are outside or in a room full of people, you can say that it has gotten too hot. You can pretend that you have been through a traumatic or stressful event. If loud noises or insects scare the hell out of you, you can pretend that fear has led to hyperventilation and, as a result, fainting.
- If you decide to have another person participate in your plan, you can ask them to hit or slap you so hard that you pass out. This may seem excessive and put the person who wants to help you at risk, but it is a valid reason for a faint that does not raise suspicion about your state of health.
Step 4. Plan the event
In order for your false fainting to have as few repercussions as possible and to achieve the desired result, you have to plan everything down to the smallest detail. The reason that makes you want to pass out often determines where the episode must happen. Instead, you may have more control over the exact moment. Finally, make sure you have total control over the fall, so as not to injure yourself and not cause unexpected consequences.
- What are you trying to avoid? A friend's wedding? A question you are not prepared for? Maybe you have to sing in front of a crowd of people and you don't feel ready.
- To minimize the repercussions of your fake faint, you should fake it in front of a few people. By fainting in the presence of so many people, the risk that someone will discover your fiction increases and the episode can have a greater resonance than desired, preventing you from freeing yourself in a short time.
- Avoid passing out even during an important event, when the incident may affect other people, such as a friend's wedding, someone's awards ceremony, or during a class test you try to skip. Plan the faux faint before the event to avoid.
Step 5. Decide all the details of your faint
Will you be standing or sitting? What symptoms can you mimic effectively? Which side will you fall on when you pretend to faint? How long will you pretend to have lost consciousness? Answer all these questions.
- It is important to test for fainting. Don't assume that you can be convincing, only to realize at the key moment that you are afraid of banging your head on the ground and not being able to hyperventilate without bursting out laughing. You should also make sure you are able to fall as safely as possible, to minimize potential injuries.
- Decide exactly what you will do so that your plan goes smoothly.
Step 6. Plan your outing
You should pretend to lose consciousness for a few seconds, 20 at the most. When a person falls to the ground or bends to the point where their head is parallel to the ground, blood flow to the brain is almost immediately restored and the victim is recovered.
- When you pretend to wake up after losing consciousness, don't jump to your feet right away and don't give the impression that everything is fine. Sit down for a few minutes, as it takes time for a person to recover after a true faint. This is an important detail.
- You can't expect to pass out during a time-limited event and leave immediately afterwards. Also be prepared to explain that the incident is nothing serious, so that you can leave the place as soon as possible when you feel strong enough to get up and walk.
Method 2 of 2: Passing Out in Public
Step 1. Prepare the right situation for your fainting
Now that you are ready it is time to take action. When you are in your chosen location for fainting, make sure all conditions are right and according to plan.
- Are there enough people present? Is the event you are trying to avoid still about to happen? Is the area too crowded?
- When everything is according to plan, move to the area where you want to have the fake faint. Fainting occurs rather quickly when the first symptoms appear.
- Make sure there are no dangerous objects near you that could cause you to risk a serious injury. Also make sure you can't hit anyone.
Step 2. Complain about fainting symptoms
When you are ready, start showing the symptoms described above. It only takes a few minutes of acting. If you chose as an excuse that you didn't have breakfast, you should say that you are very hungry. If the room is crowded or chaotic, you might say that you are very hot. If you are walking, slow down, hold your head and explain that you are dizzy. You can blink or squint. Complain about feeling nauseous. Suddenly pretend to lose energy and tell about feeling weak. Keep showing the latest symptoms for 1-2 minutes.
Step 3. Reach the location where you will pass out
Continue to show symptoms and without drawing attention to your movements, move to the safest spot to fall. If you want to pretend to pass out while sitting, explain that you are too weak to stand and go to a chair. You can tell that you feel bad and that you need a glass of water or a breath of air.
Ask someone to open a window. If there are no windows and you can't ask for water, sit down or try going outside to get some air. Stay seated for a few moments, then slowly stand up. Stumble and fall forward. Before doing that, try saying "I only have …". Remember not to finish the sentence
Step 4. Pretend to faint
Make sure you do it safely. Don't hit your head and don't get hurt. If you are standing, bend your knees and bring them to the ground before coming down with your chest. Descend rather quickly, but without giving the impression of being hit by a 5000 volt discharge, if you want to be believable.
- If you are sitting, relax and imagine that you are really fainting. Fall off your chair, as it is very unlikely that you will be able to remain seated after losing consciousness.
- Try to land on your thighs and not your hips or sacrum. Then quickly drop the chest. Close your eyes and let all the muscles weaken completely; in short, relax.
- Move like you have no bones and fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. So you will be convincing.
Step 5. Pretend to lose consciousness for a few seconds
Stay on the ground. Don't be too stiff and if someone tries to lift your arm and shake it, let them completely relax and drop them naturally. This is the most common test for finding out who is pretending to faint, because unconscious people have no control over their limbs. Someone should reach out to check on how you are, causing a distraction.
Don't stay on the ground too long, or someone might call an ambulance. If you don't want this to happen, make sure you don't pass out for more than 20 seconds
Step 6. Open your eyes and take a deep breath
Often those who pass out wakes up without remembering what happened in the previous moments. Answer the questions by saying that you only remember feeling hot and feeling that someone was turning off the lights in the room.
Step 7. Sit slowly and after a few moments, stand up on your own or with someone's help
When you are fully recovered, you can try to stand up and swing again so that people think you can pass out again and encourage them to help you. Start by explaining to the questioner that your fainting was completely harmless.
Step 8. Get out pretty quickly
Rest for about ten minutes while you pretend to recover from your faint. When you're ready, apologize and ask to go home to rest or make an appointment with your doctor. If someone asks you if you want a ride, you can choose whether to accept the generous offer or explain that you can safely reach your destination on your own.
Advice
- Don't start talking right away when you open your eyes. Look confused for a few seconds, then ask what happened. If you start babbling as soon as you open your eyes, you won't be convincing.
- If you think you can't fall realistically, try to pass out when two or three people are close enough to support you in time, but not close enough to know you are pretending.
- Avoid smiling or laughing when you pretend to pass out or you will get caught.
- You may need to exercise before the fainting feels real. Find a technique that doesn't cause you pain or discomfort.
- If you decide to pass out head-on, try to avoid placing your hands on the ground during the fall. This is a spontaneous reflex and it will take you some practice to avoid it.
- If you are concerned about getting hurt in the moment of the fall, "pass out" near something you can hold on to to slow the fall. Often people who pass out realize in advance that something is wrong and are able to grab onto something before they fall. However, let yourself fall anyway, using the grip to slow down the fall and avoid possible accidents.
- If you really want to be safe the moment you pass out, just do it on a rug, or on a bed, making sure you're barefoot when you start the fiction.
- Try to pretend that you are passing out against a wall that will cushion your fall.
- If you pass out in an open space, make sure you don't hit anything or anyone to avoid injury or unwanted consequences.
- In general, a faint is a loss of control, which is not total or sudden; who faints experiences a gradual black-out and does not become a cloth that falls to the ground.
Warnings
- If you resumed your normal activity right after the fake faint, you'd be pretty suspicious. Take a moment to sit quietly and rest your head between your legs.
- Don't use it too many times in a row; people might think you have a serious problem.
- When you fall, make sure you don't hit anything or anyone and don't risk an injury. Always pay attention!
- Don't do this to avoid a police arrest; it would lead you to even greater trouble.
- Don't hyperventilate if you don't want an ambulance to be called seriously. If absolutely necessary, make sure you do it up to the limit where your heart rate is a little out of the ordinary, but don't overdo it.
- Don't say "What happened?" right after you recover. This cliché would make you look suspicious. A few minutes later, however, you can ask what happened, perhaps adding: "Did I look bad?" or something similar.
