Disinfo: Collapsing Every Time You Laugh (Due To Rare Medical Condition)

Telegraph (UK): Kay Underwood, 20, has cataplexy, which means that almost any sort of strong emotion triggers a dramatic weakening of her muscles. Exhilaration, anger, fear, surprise, awe and even embarrassment can also cause sufferers to suddenly collapse on the spot.Victims are often left paralysed for several minutes, although they always retain the ability to hear what is going on around them. Kay, who was diagnosed with the condition five years ago, once collapsed more than 40 times in a single day. She said: "People find it very odd when it happens, and it isn't always easy to cope with strangers' reactions."Once, when I collapsed on some stairs, a woman walked past, hit me over the head and said I should have collapsed in a more convenient place. But I've learnt to live with it. I can tell when it's going to happen and have learnt to fall in a comfortable position or find something to lean on."Like most cataplexy sufferers, Ms Underwood is also battling narcolepsy - a condition that makes her drop off to sleep without warning. Narcolepsy affects around 30,000 people in the UK and about 70 per cent of them also have cataplexy.