Teenagers Play Choking Game for Fun
By Shae, July 2007
Every year hundreds of teenagers and children will die in the United States from injuries sustained while playing a game (not counting those that have serious injuries such as memory loss, stroke, or other neurological impairments). Experts say that this game is popular with children ages 9 to 15. It is called by many names: the black out game, space monkey, flatlining, the dream game, the passout game, or the choking game. To play this “game” participants use their hands, cords, or other devices to cut off the oxygen supply to their brains in the hopes of getting a high.
Doctors say adolescents are using belts, leashes, ropes or neckties to cut off oxygen to their brains to get a head rush. It usually starts in a group a 14-year-old girl reports, “You get on your hands and knees and you put your head down. You breathe really hard until you get really light-headed, and then someone puts their arm around your neck and flexes until they go limp. Everything blacks out. You wake up a couple of minutes later lightheaded and tingly. You feel really peaceful and calm.” But eventually, the addiction takes over and some teenagers are doing this alone.
Most teenagers believe this is simply a harmless game. Unfortunately they are wrong. What these teens are essentially doing is putting their brain in a seizure. The brain becomes asphyxiated to the point that brain cells are dying probably in the millions, definitely not recoverable. Every time this happens, there could be hemorrhage, there could be silent strokes in the temporal lobe and other areas. The array of complication related to denying the brain oxygen is vast and devastating. Even if nothing catastrophic ever happens, the damage is inalterable.
This game is addictive. What teenagers start as a dare eventually becomes an addiction. A deadly addiction that could claim your teenagers life at anytime. Warning signs to look for in your child include marks around the neck, frequent headaches and red eyes.
If you think your teen could be participating in the choking game, or other risky and dangerous behaviors the time to act is now. Get your teenager the help he or she needs now before a “game” needlessly claims another life.
Source: www.teenchokinggame.com
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