2 days ago
A man has become known for asking people to sit on him in public. Who is 'fake seizure guy'?
Noah thought he was doing the right thing when he saw a man collapse and seize at a park in Melbourne and — driven by instinct — ran over to help. "I don't know if it was a hero complex," Noah told The Feed. "But I was like: 'I'm going to help this man.'" When Noah arrived, he said the man insisted Noah sit on him. "He said: 'I need you to lay on top of me and hold me down.'" Noah now believes the man he ended up sitting on for the next 15 minutes is the same person referred to as "fake seizure guy" online. Many people have claimed the man has been faking seizures for as long as 10 years in Melbourne.
There's a Reddit forum dedicated to reported sightings of the man and alleged encounters with "fake seizure guy". Several social media users says the man demanded they sit on his back and restrain him during his apparent fits, and he would insist they not call emergency services. "There were times when I was pinning him down that he was getting upset because I wasn't holding down his arms hard enough," Noah said. "I was thinking, he's being very picky for somebody who is taking time out of their day to lay on top of a man in a park in daylight."
Lisa Todd from Epilepsy Action Australia said "there's never an instance where you would sit on someone" during a seizure. While it's unclear what "fake seizure guy's" motives are, many people with lived experience of seizures claim the man's behaviour is inconsistent with how someone experiencing a seizure would act.
Todd criticised the brief trend on TikTok where people have faked seizures, which she said fuels cynicism about the severity of seizures. "It's mocking and it undermines the credibility of people who are living with epilepsy. How would you feel if someone was making fun of a health condition that you had?" Todd said faking seizures is "deeply disrespectful" for those who experience seizures.
"Spreading misinformation fuels stigma [and] trivialises the lived experience of individuals with epilepsy and can re-traumatise those who have suffered injury or discrimination due to their condition," Todd told The Feed. "If they are in fact faking seizures, there must be some underlying reason why they're doing it," Todd said.
However, she said there are legitimate explanations for why someone could be having a seizure, even if they don't have a diagnosed condition, like epilepsy. "There are things called provoked seizures … It looks like a seizure except that there's no electrical disturbance." Other episodes can be caused by psychological stress and in certain cases, the person could remain conscious during a seizure. A seizure happens when there's a sudden surge of uncontrolled electrical signals in the brain, which can lead to stiffness, twitching, or behavioural changes.
Another Melburnian, Drew (not his real name), told The Feed he had a similar experience with "fake seizure guy". He was going for his usual walk in Port Melbourne, when a man fell to his knees and asked to be sat on. "He was shouting commands like: 'sit on me properly', 'put your weight into me', that sort of thing," Drew said. Drew said he heard about "fake seizure guy" after the incident and now he no longer walks his usual route.
"I wouldn't want to be back in that situation again … it's just put a bad taste in my mouth." Drew claims he's since lost trust in people and will now think twice if he comes across someone seemingly experiencing a medical episode in public. "I'm less inclined to help someone if they just fell down in the street now," he said. The Feed understands the man believed to be "fake seizure guy" is facing charges for public nuisance and will face court later this year. The National Epilepsy Line, 1300 374537, operated by Epilepsy Action Australia, is a free, Australia-wide telephone, email, and telehealth service staffed by specialist epilepsy nurses.
