Scientific background: Cataplexy is a disease of the forebrain often associated with narcolepsy (if you have cataplexy, you almost always have narcolepsy, but if you have narcolepsy you don’t necessarily have cataplexy).
Cataplexy is mainly caused by a loss of hypocretin-producing neurons (also called orexin neurons) in the hypothalamus. Cataplexy is usually triggered by strong emotions, especially positive or surprising ones. Common triggers include: Laughter, excitement, embarrassment, anger, etc. For example, someone with cataplexy might laugh at a joke, and suddenly feel their knees buckle or their head drop. But they stay fully conscious and aware.
Personal history: Unclear what year Chelsea was born, but she went through at least sixth form at Wigston College, which used to be called Guthlaxton. A 2024 article in The Sun says she is 27, so she would be 28 now. The Sun article lists her job as a “social media creator.” That seems true, she just hit 200k followers on TikTok. Several photos also suggest she is doing sex work of some type, likely from pictures to be financial domination. An unsourced article says she has a part-time job, and that her Nan is her carer. The unsourced article says she attempted careers waitressing, bar work, babysitting, and working in a sandwich shop, but “I was worried I’d drop something or fall asleep on the job.” She stated she makes approximately £2200 per month from social media posts about cataplexy. One recent TikTok depicts her in a Jet2holidays uniform with a nametag.
It seems that her mother is dead, and posts suggest it was related to complications from epilepsy. She has pictures of her father when she was younger (throwback photos) and some older men in some photos, but if her dad is still around/ living, she hasn’t noted it. She seems to have a rotation of many friends, with whom she goes out often. Her hobbies seem to be drinking, traveling, and spending time with farm animals. At one point she was marketing herself as a makeup artist, at another point she seemed to be assembling candy boxes as a side hustle. I do not thing she has children, herself, as she states she would “one day like to have children.” Her relationship status is “single.”
Health claims: Chelsea told the Sun “I faint every time I laugh, cry, or get hungover… I’m terrified it will kill me one day.” The hungover one I believe!
The Sun article says her alleged cataplexy started when she was 17 and “felt her face drop after she laughed,”at her aunt’s house, but the unsourced article describes a situation wherein she first noticed it when she and her cousin were performing a “daft dance routine.” This would maybe imply she was younger when it first started?
She says she cannot drive, and during a cataplexy episode in the pool, she could have drowned: “Thank goodness I managed to hold my head up!” Her first viral video depicted her having an alleged cataplexy episode atop the electric obesity trolley at Asda.
Supporting medical details offered include, per the Sun, “Chelsea… was told she likely had a sleep disorder, narcolepsy and cataplexy… but failed to get an official diagnosis.” Furthermore, the Sun adds, “At first, they thought it could have been a non-epileptic disorder… Chelsea had several tests and saw a neurologist… she ‘gave up’ going to the doctor after tests didn’t show anything up, and has yet to receive an official diagnosis.” The other, unsourced article states that she stopped pursuing a diagnosis because it “was a long way by bus.” Unclear if perhaps she was going to a specialist, but Kibworth does have its own health clinic.
The unsourced article claims she had and ECG and MRI, and a “second neurologists agreed it was likely to be cataplexy, but that she would “need further tests to confirm what type.” The unsourced article says she has taken videos of her alleged episodes (that she’s shared on social media) and plans to show them to her GP.
“Chelsea describes the lack of muscle tone as similar to fainting, but she is conscious,” the Sun wrote and that she “feels as if her brain is drunk.” The unsourced article also claims that she “jolted violently awake several times a night,” and the Sun article also claims she said “I was falling asleep everywhere. I still fall asleep very easily.” Those are the only mentions of possible narcolepsy symptoms, narcolepsy is never depicted on her social media.
Counterpoints: The videos of her allegedly fainting/ having a cataplexy episode/ etc just look fake. She falls down, but gently, making sure not to hurt herself. Her eyes are closed. One video depicts her knocking over a beer during an episode, but in an indescribable way it seems performative? One video depicts her farting during an episode, which also feels performative. It’s difficult to find video footage of a true, diagnosed episode of cataplexy– but there acutally is one very famous one. The record-breaking long jump of US athlete Bob Beamon at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics, which you can watch for yourself (two videos are two different camera angles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEt_Xgg8dzc and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9JWvPcf2s ). As you can see from the video, he just looks a little limp and noodly. He does not at all look like what Chelsea is portraying.
Research does not indicate that a family history of epilepsy is a predictor for cataplexy (Chabas et al, 2003, many others). Which would make sense, as they are dysfunctions in two totally different areas of the brain (ie the lobes for epilepsy vs the diencephalon for cataplexy). They result from two totally different processes (uncontrolled electrical activity for epilepsy, vs loss of hypocretin for cataplexy). They have completely different possible triggers (flashing lights for epilepsy, strong emotions for cataplexy). In short, if she had said these were seizures, I might have found it much more believable due to her family history.
Furthermore, all literature indicates that cataplexy is most frequently triggered by sudden, unexpected, strong emotion. Why would the girl faint if she’s already laughing and having a good time? Why would one laugh trigger a spell, when another would not? If anything, she would be aware she’s laughing, and the emotion would not be sudden and unexpected. Many of her videos depict her horsing around and having a good time, and then fainting. Many other of her videos depict her laughing and *not* having an episode.
Dangers- many videos depict her doing dangerous things, or things contraindicated with cataplexy. A video shows her dancing over the water, and another shows her trying to cross a stream while laughing. Many pictures show her in pools and jacuzzis across continental Europe. If it was me, I would not be risking it, especially if it appears as she portrays, poorly controlled. Furthermore, there are perhaps a hundred depicted instances of her drinking and getting drunk; while not a risk factor for exacerbation, it certainly makes one more of a fall risk.
Counter-counterpoint: if her gran is, in fact, her carer, perhaps she has some preponderance of evidence? Am not quite sure myself how much paperwork that requires, but it’s not none.
