Ongoing History Daily: Concert stress
Back in the 1990s, German doctors identified a new malady they kept seeing among people who went to concerts. They called it “concert stress.”
They studied cases of people who got so excited at live shows that they fainted or passed out. Part of the cause has to do with the emotion of the show. But the doctors also discovered that the fainters had many other things in common. Chances are, they were up all night before the show. Chances are they hadn’t eaten all day and had stood in line for long periods of time. And chances are that they had expended a tremendous amount of energy yelling, screaming, and moshing. It’s also possible that the crush of a mosh pit causes anxiety and panic attacks that lead to fainting.
What kind of advice do these doctors have: “Sleep, eat, keep cool, and stay out of the crowd.” Good luck with that.
