I’ve never heard first hand of anyone doing this. Is it actually important to tell people to “sit down”? I’d heard somewhere that fainting during conversation was a Victorian affectation because it was supposed to be a sign of good breeding.
Never fainted in my life, but the closest I came was when I ran my dad’s horse into some barbwire that was down and the taller grass covered it up. Cut his legs up real bad, one leg was shooting blood up like a water fountain. I tore my shirt off to slow down the bleeding, got my cousin to go get my dad. At the Vet, doctor said this leg is fine, but this leg here isn’t so much. That’s when I started seeing gray and white little stars. Never did pass out, but I do believe it happens to others. It turns out our horse recovered 100% from both legs, thank goodness. Made me sick to my stomach when it happened.
No cite handy, but I’ve heard it was the corsets. When you get surprised, your heart rate goes up and you start breathing heavier. With a tight corset, you can’t get enough air in to keep up with your adrenaline surge, and down you go.
My husband did once. Except it was good news - it was in a medical context and he was fine until they gave him the results and then he ended up on the floor.
I used to be a bit of a fainter, so I know my warning signals. I’ve generally only passed out due to bad combinations of physical issues: generally, low iron + poorly oxygenated environment (indoor swimming pool, basement kitchen). I’ve not fainted since learning to avoid these things.
Came close, though, when taking care of my mother during her terminal illness. It was, unbeknownst to me, her last night. My dad and I were sitting with her and she was in so much pain that it hurt her too much to let us hold her hand. I realized how little time we had let and I did almost pass out. I think, had I not already known my symptoms, I might have ignored them and subsequently fainted. So I can imagine that at that moment, “bad news” came very close to causing that.
I’m not much of a drama llama or fainter but when I was in a room full of people waiting to hear good news about a missing colleague and instead the police told me on the phone that he was dead, the strength left my legs and I sunk straight to the floor just like in the movies. It was like perfectly fine then “my legs don’t function”. I think it was a huge sudden burst of adrenalin or something. I also vomited just a few minutes after as well, it was just such a shock and a mental trauma.
The only time I’ve seen someone faint IRL outside of a hospital or medical clinic (for humans.)
A dog was car-hit in front of my house and was in bad shape. I ran out and grabbed it and headed for my vet who lived a mile down the road. On the way, a frantic-acting guy was running along the road calling for his dog. It was his dog. I told him to get in, we were going to the vet. Dog had punctured lungs and the vet did some scary thing involving plunging big-assed needles into the dog’s chest. Owner crashed to the floor in a dead faint. Vet assistant took care of him.
Dog lived. 
After my father had a heart attack we in the family were allowed in to see him, two at a time.
I mean, one’s father is THE MAN, and Dad looked short somehow, and so very pale.
I started to feel weak, so I leaned on the tray table at his bedside. The my knees started to quiver and I knew I was seconds away from passing out. So I blurted “Dad, I have to go to the bathroom”, and scurried out of the room.
I didn’t pass out completely but if I’d stayed I would have. So I think it can happen.
It appears the stomach is also affected greatly by some people more than others when seeing or hearing something disturbing.
I’ll never forget when I worked at the old factory, a hunter brought in a deer head from a kill he had earlier in the week. He was showing it to a young man, and when he seen the maggots coming out of it, he immediately started hurling, emptying the contents of whatever he had in his stomach for that day. Instant weight loss.
I didn’t fall over, but I got weak and woozy and I dropped everything I was carrying…when I got a letter from a friend explaining that he was mad at me and didn’t ever want to talk to me again.
(It turned out to be over a misunderstanding!)
I didn’t fall over, but I got very faint while visiting a friend in a hospital burn ward. I fainted slowly, and was able to walk to the door. By the time I hit the door, I was blind and deaf. I walked across the hall to the opposite wall and leaned there a while. Sight came back first. Hearing took another minute or so.
(Do you have any idea how much pain there is in a hospital’s intensive care burn ward? I didn’t!)
When two marines announced to my mother that my brother had died in Viet Nam from friendly fire she fainted. They had suggested she sit down and she was seated and actually slid off her chair.
My friend passed out when she heard her brother died. I haven’t passed out cold, but like a few other people, have done the collapse-to-the-floor a time or two when I got bad news over the phone.
On a lighter note, I blacked out for a second the first time I was allowed to stay up and watch the Oscars. Late in the show, my favorite actor was announced as a presenter. I hadn’t known he was going to be there, I was already excited because, Oscars, and when I heard his name, I was standing up, and very abruptly was doubled over on the floor.
I’m not terribly certain whether this is considered to be “fainting” or not, but I had some minor surgery (removal of a pre-cancerous mole) where the doctor cut out about a square inch worth of skin from my back. All was well through the procedure and for about a minute afterwards. But then I stood at the front desk to pay, I started to black out.
I had enough strength of will to clamp down on the edge of the counter with a hand, to stand perfectly upright, even though I couldn’t see anything but black. The lady at the desk noticed (I’m not sure what she noticed - maybe my face went white?) and ordered me to sit down. She had to say it twice for it to get through to me, but I was able to lower myself into a sitting position on the floor, and she came around and guided me back into a laying position. I guess, when you’re blacking out, it’s better to get your head low than to try and stay upright, or you’re depriving your brain of oxygen and fresh blood.
Yes. I was present when someone in his thirties was given the news that he has cancer. Fainted dead away - took a few minutes to get him up.
I’ve always thought people fainting in movies and books was absurd. The same with sweating under stress.
I’ve seen somebody faint from good news. It was a co-worker who had just been told that her fiance would be back from overseas in time for Christmas after all.
yes, I’ve had a friend who started dropping after bad news.
Interesting, so I stand corrected - it is indeed a good idea to have people sit down if they’re getting big news.
Injections have sometimes bothered me.
1975 tetanus booster: Got so faint, had to lay down in the medical office for about three hours, but didn’t actually faint. 1985, 1995, 2005 tetanus boosters: No problem.
Throughout the 1970’s (when I was in my 20’s), getting blood drawn tended to make me feel a bit faint. It seems that I’ve outgrown that though.
Annual flu shots: No problem.
Shingles shot: No problem.
Pneumonia shot: Problem. The above shots all take about 3-5 seconds to administer. Pneumonia shot took about a full minute or so. And was a bit bloody. I walked out, made it to my car in the lot, sat down in the driver seat – and passed out.
Circa 2002, felt faint during a company meeting for no immediately apparent reason. Went back to my office, lay down on floor, passed out. Woke up after ??? time passed to find I had peed on myself. I had just the day or two before started taking Atenolol. I suspect that’s what caused it.