SPACE MONKEY
Kids get bored during the summer. To
relieve the boredom, some are playing the chocking game
called Space Monkey. (Also known as Airplaning, American
Dream, Blackout, California High, Chocking Game, Dream Game,
Fainting Game, Flatliner, Funky Chicken, Gasp, Passout,
Roulette, Suffocation, Tingling.) Read those names again. Is
it really a game? Many smart kids think the Choking
Game is a safe game versus drugs or alcohol. It's not a game
at all. It's estimated that from 250 to 1,000 kids between 9
and 16 die annually. It's actually just an act of hurting
your brain on purpose for a few seconds of feeling
lightheaded. As of
112116 Questions Heard of the game Helped someone Participated myself Was alone With other people Legand:
T - Table
Number; CC- Curry
County.
Red: above state
average What
is the chocking game?
Adolescents cut off the flow of blood to the brain, in exchange for a few seconds of feeling lightheaded. Some strangle themselves with a belt, a rope or their bare hands; others push on their chest or hyperventilate. When they release the pressure, blood
that was blocked up floods the brain all at once. This sets
off a warm and fuzzy feeling, which is just the brain dying,
thousands of cells at a time. Who's
playing it?
By one name or another, the Choking Game has been going on for well over 20 years. But the most recent use of bonds (ropes, belts) and the growing practice of playing alone have increased its deadliness dramatically. Its estimated as many as 250 to 1,000 young people die in the United States each year playing some variant of the Choking Game, but its difficult to track statistics because many of the cases are reported as suicides. Boys represent 89% of the reported accidental asphyxiation and most were alone and 67% suicide by asphyxiation. The report did not include deaths that involved autoerotic asphyxiation or self-strangulation during masturbation. 16 years of Age and Under
North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, 1994-2005 Why
are they doing it?
Why
are so many dying?
Playing the game in any form causes the permanent death of a large number of brain cells. Within 3 minutes without oxygen to the brain, a person will suffer noticeable brain damage. Between 4 and 5 minutes, a person will die. Some of those kids who died were alone for as little as 15 minutes before someone found them, and it was already too late. Also, the rush theyre getting
can be addictive. Many times the Choking Game starts off as
a social activity, but adolescents end up doing it alone,
which is even more dangerousnobodys around to
help them if they pass out. What can I do to help stop this? Talk to the children in your life, as well as parents and everyone you know who works with children. Make sure they understand why the Choking Game is so dangerous: even if they survive, theyre permanently killing thousands of brain cells, and other children may be indicted and prosecuted for their involvement in a death or injury.
If
I know someone is doing this, what can I do?
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