I have narcolepsy with cataplexy, and it can be very frustrating to try to explain what it’s like to people who have never seen narcolepsy in real life, and how much of a struggle it can be.

Most people think that it’s funny until they see what actually happens, or they are completely unprepared and get really scared and panic.I filmed this by accident

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by autoimmune destruction of hypocretin-producing neurons inhibiting the brain’s ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally.

Narcoleptics generally experience the REM stage of sleep within 5 minutes of falling asleep, while non-narcoleptics do not experience REM in the first hour or so of a sleep cycle.

Another common symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy, a sudden and transient episode of muscle weakness accompanied by full conscious awareness, typically (though not necessarily) triggered by emotions such as laughing, crying, terror, etc. affecting roughly 70% of people who have narcolepsy.

Brave woman to be willing to promulgate this. Very illuminating.

By Sarah Elizabeth on .
Narcolepsy description quote from Wikipedia.