#ropesafety — Public Fediverse posts

Today I want to talk about getting lightheaded and possibly actually fainting/losing consciousness in rope because it's a thing that happens far more often than I think is discussed and I think a lot of riggers and bottoms aren't aware of the factors that contribute to risk of fainting. If you do suspension bondage, you should be aware of this risk. If you bottom for suspensions, you should be prepared to communicate about your physical state while under extreme duress. Both riggers and bottoms should have a plan for how to handle emergency descents should such a situation arise.

Personally, I've gone fully unconscious in rope once and very nearly did so at least 3 other times that I can think of. I've also witnessed several other instances of other people fainting in rope during both play and rope classes. All of these incidents involved suspensions.

So, why do people get lightheaded and possibly even lose consciousness in rope bondage? It's due to something called Vasovagal Syncope which is a part of your autonomic nervous system (the system that controls blood flow, respiration, etc.). Suspension bondage in particular puts a number of stressors on your body that impact your nervous system and your bodies' ability to pump blood to your limbs and organs, and if those stressors become too intense, your body basically does a reboot. And it can be pretty scary (not to mention dangerous) to pass out while you are hanging from a few pieces rope.

There are several factors that I'm aware of that make it more likely to faint in rope which are:
1. Being hot (not sexy hot, temperature hot you perv) - high ambient temperatures and high humidity make your nervous system much more sensitive to other stressors. I've also seen folks vomit while tied up because they got too hot (and/or chugged water while hot) and nausea is another way that the autonomic nervous system indicates there is an problem

2. Being tied in an upright position where the legs are suspended below the heart - vertical suspensions are deceivingly stressful for the body and having the legs suspended below your heart makes pumping blood to your extremities more difficult. I'm not saying don't do vertical positions, I'm saying be aware that they carry more risk factors that increase the chances of a Vasovagal Syncope issue, and if you are going to do them, try to ensure that you have a quick and easy exit plan. I have a friend who was tying with someone while pregnant and did a vertical partial suspension. Neither she nor the rigger had any idea that they were doing a higher risk tie, thinking that a partial suspension in a sort of standing position would be pretty safe. But my friend got dizzy and had to be cut out of the rope because they did not plan an easy exit.

3. Intense pain - of course rope is known for being painful to a degree, but sudden, sharp pain or sustaining painful positions for long periods can activate an autonomic response of fainting.

4. Low blood sugar - if you haven't eaten or have low blood sugar before doing rope, that can cause lightheadedness and risk of fainting

What are the warning signs of Vasovagal Syncope?

You may start to feel a little nauseous and/or dizzy at first. You may feel like you started sweating a lot all of the sudden, like cold sweats when you have a fever, then the dizziness may start to increase rapidly and you may hear a buzzing in your ears, experience blurred vision, or the sensation of the room closing in on you. If you get to that point, you probably only have seconds before your vision will go dark and you will lose consciousness.

If I feel even the slightest bit dizzy or nauseous in rope, I like to let my rigger know immediately so they can be on alert and checking in with me more frequently, and also so they can mentally prepare for a quick exit if need be. I don't have a problem every time I experience dizziness or nausea, but when the Syncope sets in, it does so very quickly so it's best to be prepared.

The one time I actually lost consciousness in rope, we were doing a Hashira suspension which is a vertical suspension tied to a vertical pole (see image 1). We were tying outside and it got a bit warmer than we anticipated. The way Hashira's are done is that each component builds on the next and there is no quick or easy way out. So we basically had ALL the risk factors and no easy way out. And no one else was there to spot or assist with an emergency descent. Oops.

Anyway, I started to feel dizzy and told Secondfloor (my long term romantic partner and rigger) and he immediately started untying me. I had a foot on the ground pretty quickly which is usually enough to stop the issue, but that time it wasn't. I was continuing to progress through all the warning signs I mentioned above and I knew time was running out so I managed to get the words out, "I'm not going to make it" and then I was out. I came to maybe a moment later, sitting on the ground, in Secondfloor's arms, with him continuing to untie the rest of the rope. He had managed to get my limp ass body out of the suspension and on the ground. I was fine, but very shaken up because it's scary to pass out in rope and scary to wake up in a different position than I remembered being in.

The first time I ALMOST fainted, I was tying with a rigger that I def would not recommend. I was in a vertical-ish position (see image 2), feet below heart. I started to get dizzy and tried to push past it because I was new and had a hard time finding people to tie with and I didn't want to seem like I was weak or a shitty bottom. But it didn't go away and just got worse so I had to say something. He started untying me and it felt so excruciatingly slow waiting for him to get me down to the ground. I didn't go out but I was so close, I was at the blurred vision, room closing in stage so I probably only had seconds left when he finally got me down. I don't recall him doing any checkins with me afterwards that evening or anything at all to make me feel like I wasn't a garbage bottom for not being able to handle the tie. He didn't check in on me afterwards either. Please don't be that guy.

Another time I almost fainted, I was tied in a Daruma position (see image 3) which is a VERY intense tie where you are like almost folded in on yourself. I wasn't hot (it was actually quite cold) and my legs were above my heart, but the position was vertical-ish and quite painful + taxing and I guess the position was just too stressful on my body. Anyway we had a good friend there who was shooting photos, so when the dizziness came on, I said I needed to come out NOW and she immediately stopped shooting and helped support my body while we got both my legs down.

In the classes where I've witnessed bottoms fainting, it's always been in pretty advanced level transition classes, but I don't recall any of the bottoms giving any notice that something was wrong, so they may not have known what was happening before it was too late (or maybe they were like me the first time and didn't want to disappoint their rigger). In each instance, the bottoms were assisted down by other people in the classes, sometime with multiple people lifting them so that a carabiner could be unhooked and they could be brought down to the floor before they were untied. Why not cut the rope? That creates a whole other set of safety issues. I'm sure there are times when cutting the rope is the best choice, but usually it's safer to untie or get help lowering the bottom manually than to cut. But mostly the main thing to do if someone is lightheaded is to get them on solid ground and in a recumbent or seated position ASAP. Then once they are stable, get them hydrated and maybe something to eat to make sure blood sugar is good.

Feel free to ask me any questions you have on this topic or add your experiences in the comments.

#ropeBondage #ropeEducation #vasovagalSyncope #ropeSafety #bondage #bdsm #riskManagement #shibari @[email protected]