I faint up to 15 times a day due to anxiety.

Former Member

I’m 16 years old and i constantly faint when i get overwhelmed. I has ASD (autism) so loud noises and bright lights tend to overwhelm me. Because of health and safety risks my school wants me to take classes online but I’m worried my life will go back to how it was during lockdown and i will feel isolated again. I have a counsellor but he is mostly focused on stopping me from fainting instead of the fear of isolation. Im not sure what to do- does anyone have any advise?

Former Member

Hey sweet friend, @anonymous311,
This sounds really hard but thank you for taking the courage to dig deeper and understand your fear of isolation. I can somewhat relate. I'm 17 and I have severe social anxiety, within the first week of my school this year I got put in virtual school and the isolation can be tough. But personally, some things that have helped me are taking breaks and doing something active. Or being intentional about when I talk to my friends. Making plans with people also can help because then you have something to look forward to. I will also say that it's not a bad thing to spend some time alone. I feel like our generation, myself included, is afraid of being alone. That if we aren't constantly around someone else, then we're defined as weird or a loser. But that's not the case. In spending some time away from others, we're sending a message that we value ourselves and are comfortable with being with ourselves in whatever capacity. Keep us updated and I hoped this helped^^

Former Member

Hi at @anonymous311
I’m so sorry to hear this. It seems to me that you are in a rather lose-lose situation, that you either way you are in a high anxiety environment at school or you do online learning and become isolated, which can also have negative effects on anxiety.

Have you spoken to your counsellor about what support you would prefer? They are there for you, and should cater for your needs. It may be that he wants to focus on your anxiety because it seems to have the most impact on your life at the moment, with it causing you to faint so frequently. You could potentially suggest working on both your anxiety and isolation fears simultaneously?

@mk1881 thank you for sharing your experience, I think many people will find it helpful. You have given some great advice about being active and making intentional plans. I definitely agree with the belief that this generation is afraid of being alone, I think a lot of it comes from fear is missing out. In lockdown at least the majority of people were in the same situation. But in this case, it may be that you are watching people going on about their lives, whilst you are stagnant. I think it’s important to keep in mind that everyone is on their own journey and moves at their own speed.

I wish you all the best, take care of yourselves ❤️

Former Member

Hi @mk1881 and @fiona333

Thank you both so much for your advise I am going to talk to my counsellor about what’s right for me. I’m also going to ensure i meet with my friends in an environment i feel comfortable. Some good news- I haven’t fainted today!

Maisy

Hi there,

It must be difficult for you fainting when you feel overwhelmed and yet you are unable to do anything about your environment. It's understandable that the school would be concerned from a health and safety point of view and would suggest online learning. It's also very understandable that you wouldn't want to go back to being isolate either.

I was wondering whether the school could allow you to have some accommodations? For example, maybe you could try wearing sunglasses indoors to prevent the light from bothering you or ear defenders or ear plugs to help stop you from being overwhelmed by loud noises? Or maybe you could do online learning but in a quiet room at school?

It makes sense that your counsellor would want to help prevent you from fainting, though as others have said, it sounds like it might help more if you could talk to your counsellor about your fear of isolation. I also agree with others who have suggested to make an effort to meet up with friends so that you aren't completely isolated either.

Glad to hear you hadn't fainted too!

Former Member

hey @Maisy

thank you so much for your advice. Previously i had tried wearing ear defenders and sunglasses at school but that didn’t stop me from fainting

Doing online work from a quiet room at school would be a great compromise i’ll definitely speak to my parents and counsellor about that!