thehoneybean
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2012
- Messages
- 2
Hi bluelight c: I'm relatively new here and I wasn't sure where else to put this, but I'd say it's pretty health/body-related so here it shall be.
Is anyone familiar with the ASMR phenomenon? ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, which is a really ridiculous term that they came up with because it sounds more polite than "brain orgasms". Some of you might be familiar with this tingling sensation that feels like its emanating from the inside of your skull, and sometimes travels down your spine and even into your limbs. The sensation is triggered in people who experience it by certain stimuli, such as people speaking in soft voices or with a strong foreign accent, crinkling paper or chip bags, tapping or scratching, people playing with their hair, etc. If you don't experience it naturally, these things won't seem all that remarkable to you, and it's nearly impossible to do the feeling justice when describing it to someone who doesn't have ASMR. Many people who have it have felt the sensation since childhood, but never discovered other people who did until looking it up on the internet - because trying to explain it to someone who doesn't have it usually elicits a weird look and a "wtf are you talking about" response.
Here's a link that explains it in a little more detail: http://anti-valentine.hubpages.com/hub/ASMR
There's also an ASMR subreddit where people share video links that have triggered the feeling for them. There's even a little niche community on youtube, where people purposefully carry out actions that are known to commonly trigger people.
What I'm getting at is that this can be really helpful to people who suffer from anxiety or insomnia, as the feeling is very pleasurable, relaxing, and euphoric depending on the strength to which you experience. Unfortunately, if you don't have it, it seems that you can't spontaneously trigger it. But even so, the videos people make often focus on relaxation techniques and positive vibes that could be beneficial to anyone. Personally, tapping into this sensation intentionally (instead of leaving it to random chance experiences) has helped me overcome sleeping troubles associated with PTSD. I just got done posting in the cannabis-related anxiety mega thread, so I'm also thinking that this sort of thing - which some people compare to a positive, natural evolutionary "drug" - could possibly help people dealing with drug issues of that nature if it's harnessed and used with a specific intent, to aid in meditation, or to calm the mind.
If anyone else has ASMR and could share their thoughts on the topic, I think it could be interesting, in a drug-related context or otherwise. It's a phenomenon with very little if any scientific research surrounding it - you try getting a grant to research brain orgasms....
Is anyone familiar with the ASMR phenomenon? ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, which is a really ridiculous term that they came up with because it sounds more polite than "brain orgasms". Some of you might be familiar with this tingling sensation that feels like its emanating from the inside of your skull, and sometimes travels down your spine and even into your limbs. The sensation is triggered in people who experience it by certain stimuli, such as people speaking in soft voices or with a strong foreign accent, crinkling paper or chip bags, tapping or scratching, people playing with their hair, etc. If you don't experience it naturally, these things won't seem all that remarkable to you, and it's nearly impossible to do the feeling justice when describing it to someone who doesn't have ASMR. Many people who have it have felt the sensation since childhood, but never discovered other people who did until looking it up on the internet - because trying to explain it to someone who doesn't have it usually elicits a weird look and a "wtf are you talking about" response.
Here's a link that explains it in a little more detail: http://anti-valentine.hubpages.com/hub/ASMR
There's also an ASMR subreddit where people share video links that have triggered the feeling for them. There's even a little niche community on youtube, where people purposefully carry out actions that are known to commonly trigger people.
What I'm getting at is that this can be really helpful to people who suffer from anxiety or insomnia, as the feeling is very pleasurable, relaxing, and euphoric depending on the strength to which you experience. Unfortunately, if you don't have it, it seems that you can't spontaneously trigger it. But even so, the videos people make often focus on relaxation techniques and positive vibes that could be beneficial to anyone. Personally, tapping into this sensation intentionally (instead of leaving it to random chance experiences) has helped me overcome sleeping troubles associated with PTSD. I just got done posting in the cannabis-related anxiety mega thread, so I'm also thinking that this sort of thing - which some people compare to a positive, natural evolutionary "drug" - could possibly help people dealing with drug issues of that nature if it's harnessed and used with a specific intent, to aid in meditation, or to calm the mind.
If anyone else has ASMR and could share their thoughts on the topic, I think it could be interesting, in a drug-related context or otherwise. It's a phenomenon with very little if any scientific research surrounding it - you try getting a grant to research brain orgasms....
