Serious breathing and losing awareness..

Okay, so I'm posting on behalf of someone else whom is too stubborn to get it checked out by a professional. Every blue moon or so my friend will be sitting on the couch or a recliner type seat just doing a normal everyday life thing. Unexpectedly, she will start reaching weird (her being unaware of anything) as if she is super short of breath. She doesn't respond to anything someone says she doesn't look around... Whenever this 'episode' happens it's like she literally can't move on her own. We have to physically sit her up straight or move her a bit from the sitting position and then she starts to come back to reality.. It's as if you had woken up a person from the dead.. She doesn't really know what the hell was going on, goes into a small panic attack, and then, eventually, catches her breath.

She doesn't know who to go to about this so I understand her being hesitant, but it scares me that one day someone isn't going to be there to help her out and something, even more serious than not being able to breath correctly, may happen.

Please give me any information you may have or know or if you can even guide us into the right direction on what doctor to go to. We are stunned and she has mentioned it to a doctor before, but they can never really give her a straight answer (because they have been just regular practice and family type doctors).

We are thinking she may be sitting on a nerve or a vital part that may be triggering these episodes...