Leopold von Sacher-Schwartz
A Motion Sickness Masochist Shares His Quesiest Hits
Many people have heard of Marquis de Sade and are aware of him being the namesake of sadism, but until I wrote this piece, I did not know that Leopold von Sacher-Masoch is the namesake of masochism. Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer, and journalist who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term masochism is derived from his name, invented by his contemporary, the Austrian psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. Masoch disapproved of this use of his name.1
The caricature of masochism brings black leather, whips, and chains to mind. My mashochism is in the form of motion sickness. It is a disorienting sensation where the world seems to spin or sway, despite your being logically aware that there's no imminent danger. It comes with nausea, dizziness, sweating, and overall discomfort. Whether you are standing or sitting, the unease persists, and even lying down offers minimal relief. The desperation for relief can reach a point where one wants to die.
Why did I keep exposing myself to these debilitating experiences? It should probably be thought of as a disability, but in my case, I refused to accept it. Was it the fear of missing out? Was it just plain youthful stubbornness that fueled my persistence? Or denial, thinking that the different motions I exposed myself to were unique enough that I wouldn’t be adversely impacted? Part of the challenge is that many people find these activities exhilarating. I SO wanted to like them and feel that sense of belonging.
This is one of my early memories in which I was taller than the wooden character measuring sticks, but not old enough to know what these rides did to me.
Origin Story: 1970s, 8-10 years old, Farmingdale, NY – Tea Cup Amusement Park Ride
Scenario: A surprise evening of 1:1 quality time on a school night with my hard-working Dad at a sparsely attended amusement park. (At age 63, I see nothing amusing about them.)
Outcome: After sampling some more benign rides, we went on the Tea Cup ride. In this ride, the victims sit in an oversized teacup with a circular dial that riders can spin to vary the intensity. My Dad was someone, like me, who wanted to extract the full value from his ride ticket. As he increased the spinning, I started screaming for him to stop. Even as he slowed down, it was still too much for me. My desperate yelling for the ride to end escalated, and since we were the only people on the ride, the operator terminated it.
This is the first and only time I stopped an amusement park ride, although there would be many future moments when I wish I had this magical power.
Making My Dad Proud: 1985, 23 Years Old, Boston, MA – Sailing
Scenario: I had recently relocated to the Boston area for my first adult job, and a business associate of my father’s, whom I had never met, kindly invited me to sail in the Harbor with him and his son. It was a tranquil summer morning. As we fastened our life preservers and made our final preparations, anticipation swelled within me. In those initial moments on the water, the allure of sailing beckoned to me, and I entertained the thought of embracing it as a hobby. I distinctly remember thinking, “This is awesome, I need to learn how to sail so I can do this on my own.”
Outcome: After a few brief moments of joy, and despite the relatively placid waters, the least uncomfortable (and most humiliating) spot I could find was sprawled on the front of the boat like a snow angel. I would have forfeited my entire net worth to be on dry land. I’m not sure exactly what my father’s business associate told him about me, but I am sure I did not make a great first impression.
Sometimes, you’re just someone’s son, trying to meet new people and explore novel interests. It is so disappointing to have this door slammed in your face.
Sometimes a sense of responsibility trumps self-preservation.
Medal of Valor: 1980, 18 Years Old, Upstate NY – Gravitron Amusement Park Ride
Scenario: As a summer camp counselor, we were wrapping up a three-day trip away from camp. The 10-year-old kids in my charge wanted to go on this ridiculous ride. I knew the potential risks involved, but my sense of duty and protectiveness compelled me to go anyway.
Outcome: This is the most ridiculous of all the rides I’ve been on. At one point during the ride, the floor drops down, and the only thing keeping you up against the wall is centrifugal force. After the ride, my kids escorted me back to our bus. My co-counselors told me my complexion was the color of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. On the long bus ride back to camp, I was so sick I lay down in the aisle. Everyone had to step over me when they walked to the back of the bus to use the bathroom.
To this day, no one has thanked me for my heroic act.
Even when I resisted, well-intended friends and acquaintances would push me to participate, fueled by their desire to share this experience with me.
Pure Peer Pressure: 1981, 19 Years Old, Portland, ME – Pirate Ship Amusement Park Ride
Scenario: During a visit to my cousin, he invited me to go with his friends to an amusement park. When we arrived, everyone made a beeline for the Pirate Ship ride. This is the first time I noticed that people tend to gravitate to the worst ride (as defined by me) first. I was reluctant, but everyone persuaded me to join them.
Outcome: I spent the rest of the evening alone, recovering on a bench, interrupted by kind members of my cousin’s friend group checking on me between rides.
There was no joy for me in Portland that evening.
And sometimes the proverbial train is in motion, and you can’t jump off.
Epic Scheduling Failure: 1982, 20 Years Old, Fort Lauderdale, FL – Deep Sea Fishing
Scenario: An early morning deep-sea fishing reservation after a night of spring break partying in Fort Lauderdale. Women were involved in the planning, so this incident can’t be blamed solely on early twenties male poor judgment. We were responsible enough to call the front desk for a 6:00 AM wake-up call, but the operator informed my friend she couldn’t help us because it was already 6:30 AM.
Outcome: With my motion sickness exacerbated by 2 hours of sleep and a massive hangover, I held the fishing rod for 30 seconds before putting it back in the stand. I found an uncomfortably hard and narrow bench to lie down on. One hour into the trip, I felt like I was going to die. 15 minutes later, I was afraid I wouldn’t, and that’s when my friend brought me Dramamine, Nalaxone for those suffering from fatal bouts of motion sickness. Although I was still miserable, I no longer considered jumping overboard.
The momentum of a planned outing can be hazardous to your health. It’s important to learn the lesson of sunk costs early in life!
Even as you grow older and wiser and take steps to avoid motion sickness, bad luck can still strike.
Scopolamine Withdrawal: 2016, 54 Years Old, Atlanta, GA – Home after a Cruise to Northern US & Southern Canada
Scenario: Anticipating the adverse effects of being at sea for five days, I planned ahead and wore a doctor-prescribed anti-seasickness patch. It worked as advertised. As instructed, I removed the patch when we disembarked.
Outcome: Within a day or two of returning home, I started feeling motion sickness and had no idea what it was. It didn’t take me more than a few minutes to learn from WebMD that withdrawal after the patch removal was not uncommon. Imagine being sea sick on dry land for a solid week!
This was not my most severe motion sickness incident, but it was the longest and the strangest.
Sacrifices must be made for the advance of science and the betterment of mankind.
2024, 62 Years Old – Bethesda, MA – Vestibular Challenge Test
Setup: As a participant in an NIH-funded research study on autosomal male dominant hearing loss, the workup included a vestibular challenge. The clinicians blew air into my ear canals (I had to do it twice) to simulate motion exposure to see how I responded.
Outcome: I had all the misery of motion sickness without having to leave the comfort of the NIH medical building. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long.
Let this be a lesson to read the medical release forms more carefully before participating in a research study. I’m all for volunteering to participate in a research study, but I’d avoid it in the future, and you should, too!
I’ve got other scenarios involving an Air Glider and the innocuous Ferris Wheel that didn’t make the cut, but I’ll save them for the sequel to this article if the demand is strong.
So, the next time you see someone wobbly at an amusement park or puking off the side of a ferry, please have a little sympathy. They likely feel worse than you can imagine. As I've grown older, I've come to recognize these experiences as triggers for a form of PTSD, and I've accepted that saying "no" is a legitimate act of self-preservation. And, a vulnerability to motion sickness is not a character flaw or a sign of mental weakness.
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_von_Sacher-Masoch