Let's talk about ASMR!

In My Humble Opinion
1

First, the definition: ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a pleasurable tingling that begins in the scalp and may travel to other body parts. Some people refer to ASMR episodes as “head orgasms,” and they always begin with a trigger. The trigger can be internal & voluntary (Type A), or external and involuntary (Type B). Type B ASMR is technically involuntary, but if you learn your triggers and deliberately expose yourself to them, it’s very easy to learn how to induce it regularly. There also seem to be diminishing returns on the sensation. Once ASMR occurs, it peaks, plateaus, then decreases, and becomes difficult or impossible to trigger again until several hours later.

Some people (not experts, since this doesn’t appear to be an accepted “thing” in the scientific community) have theorized that ASMR is more common among introverts, and may be an evolved response from when our primate ancestors picked bugs out of each other’s fur. The latter theory was probably developed by evo-psychs, but it’s still a potentially interesting justification for the sensation.

There is a huge ASMR community on youtube with people who film themselves performing common triggers, and I believe there’s a reddit group for it too (not too sure how big that is, I don’t do reddit). My triggers include watching videos of people getting massages, seeing people getting their hair brushed, watching people do things slowly and deliberately with their hands, and various sounds like whispering, brushing, and soft nail-tapping. Also some of the roleplaying videos trigger it, but generally only when they fall into the previous categories (like pretending to give the listener a haircut or massage).

So I’m wondering: Have you experienced this sensation? Have you heard the term ASMR before? What do you think causes it? Why doesn’t wikipedia have an entry on this? It doesn’t appear to be an area of scientific study for some reason, but it’s apparently shared by a *lot *of people–there seem to be way more people with ASMR than synesthesia. But synesthesia has been studied and documented, and ASMR has not. And, if you are capable of Type B episodes (like I am), what are your known triggers?

Hugs and skittles! I think this topic will make for a fun discussion. :slight_smile:

2

It’s an alternative experience for people who don’t get laid much. :frowning:

3

Nobody else wants to talk about this? =/

4

I’ve never had the experience as you describe but I watch many of the youtube videos about it, especially the whispers (there’s this one Russian woman I watch particular…). In person there are some speech patterns and as you say deliberate hand movements that entrance me, but for videos the best I get is relaxation.

5

I had no idea there was a name for this…

I have had this feeling since I was a small girl. I am and introvert. The earliest time that I remember having the feeling, I was watching the children’s librarian shelve books… I find that I can anticipate having the feeling when I am watching someone else who is absorbed in what they are doing, but I don’t think I can trigger it. Hmmmm…

I call it the prickly warm fuzzies. :0)

6

So far the makeup order unboxing and the sewing box (the ones that have appealed on preview) have triggered it. My husband is watching TV so there is some distraction. I’ll have to check these out when the house is quiet.

Thinking about the feeling while typing this post is triggering it.

I don’t know anyone else who has it, or at least anyone who talks about it. But then again, how would you bring it up? “Hey, does your head tingle???” :0)

7

Introvert here, and get that sort of sensation when listening to really inspiring music (think, “Requiem for a dream”, or a few things by Nightwish.) Not gentle melodies, either of them… Hm.

8

I was “experimenting” with this last night after the TV went off. It seems that I had used up the experience with the bits of video that I had watched 20-30 minutes previously, but I will come back to them. Possibly it was all one prolonged experience? I’ve never experimented before. I just enjoy it when it happens.

Senegoid, although apparently described by some as a “head orgasm,” I wouldn’t say it’s sexual at all. It **is **a pleasant feeling that I would like to repeat.

10

Reported.

11

Whoa, there’s a thread about this. Bumpity-bump-the-fuck-bump.

We’re going to talk about this and you’re going to like it! (Please.)

Ever since I could remember, there have always been certain sounds that just make my brain melt. People speaking over announcers, paper and leaves rustling, fingernails tapping, whispering. Some sounds I can hear on infinite loop, and they make me feel, I dunno, giddy. So one day I was bored as shit at work and searched YouTube for people whispering. Holy shit, I had no idea that not only I’m among many who searches for this kind of thing, but that there are seemingly endless channels and entire websites devoted to this. There are even more dedicated to just listening to weird sounds in general, like people unpacking boxes and shuffling through their purses. These sounds are just inexplicably soothing to me, and sometimes when I can’t fall asleep, I’ll cue up videos of people scratching fabric or something, and I’ll melt then zone off. Love it. I am glued to the Home Shopping Network and the god of ASMR, Bob Ross. “The Joy of Painting” is the single greatest show television has ever produced, not because I like hotel lobby landscapes, but because the sound of his voice and the brushes hitting the canvas couldn’t possibly be more soothing.

Here’s a pretty good article for the ASMR types that’ll make you go “I know, right?!” over and over.

So yes, I’ve heard of ASMR, have experienced it, and it seems no one knows what the hell I’m talking about. One day I ask a friend if there are any sounds – just random shit, not necessarily anything meant to be good – that he likes. He goes, “Like, music?” I say no, I mean seemingly innocuous sounds like muffled voices from the other room or leaf blowers, or…? He shakes his head, has no idea what I’m talking about. So I go into how much I like weird sounds like folding paper and whispering. He goes, “Is this, like, some sort of weird sexual thing?” No, ass. It’s just… it’s a thing. Turns out the only person I know who feels my craziness is my sister. We got into it about how much we like the sound of people typing on keyboards. She told me about how she was on hold with a customer service rep who apologized for taking so much time looking up info, but she secretly enjoyed it because the sound of the keyboard was music to her ears.

Okay, so that needed to be said. There. I said it. I can’t believe nobody else here knows the joy(/weirdness?) of ASMR!

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Sucks to your ASMR!

(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

13

I used to get these when I was being examined by the doctor when I was a little kid.

I had my first one in years just last week, when the security guy at work was talking me through the process of scanning my fingerprint into the computer system. In fact, I’m having a small one right now as i type, remembering that experience.

I theorize that it’s mostly about being around an adult male who’s very calm, self-assured, competent, likes me, and is paying close attention to me.

I mostly only have these when in those types of situations. Anytime someone knows more than I do about a subject at hand, likes me, and is paying attention to me, though, it has a chance of happening. usually there has to be some kind of physical movement of some kind, though, on my part or theirs.

I’m surprised other people have these, and that it has a name.

14

When I was younger I did get autonomous sensations in my head or brain, like sheet lightning, or tingles, or most accurately intense eureka moments. It was not uncommon for me to see colors or flashes in the corner of my eyes. May have had schizophrenic tendencies or senses, along the lines of hearing voices and such.

Anyways that passed after a few years. It was troubling childhood.

Fast forward to Bob Ross and ASMR videos, and a nearly entirely different experience has come about for me. Less autonomy, and dare I say, much more healthy overall.

When I first watched ASMR videos this was the first video which triggered me. Cath1000 I believe thier name was. They seem to have closed thier account since.

Anyways, I found Hand Fixations, Foreign Accents, Tapping and Scratching, and RolePlays to be especially triggering.

This is one that comes to mind that has foreign accents and hand fixations - cutebunny992 Hand Relaxation with Brain Melting Greek - YouTube
They have since closed their account as well. So I am unsure exactly why so many ASMR artists are moving onto different things, but they are… Anyways, I started watching ASMR videos about 4 or 5 months ago and it’s inspired me to make an ASMR website. I won’t post the link just yet, as it’s still in beta and this is my first contribution to the website.

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Nope - and I consider myself fairly savvy. Going to look this up. Do you get goose bumps when this happens? I’m not sure if I’ve had what is being talked about. But sometimes I will have something I think similar - that will cause goose bumps with head tingling and I try and prolong it.

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I’m fascinated by the concept, but am pretty sure I have never experienced it. I can’t suss out exactly what the feeling is you’re describing.

I went out to youtube and checked several of the vids and not only did I not get a pleasurable sensation - I was actively annoyed by many of them. The whispering ones were particularly annoying.

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Hey, this thread is on the front page again!

Funny that you should mention Bob Ross, MeanOldLady. I used to love sitting and watching him paint (and talk), but the only place I ever saw his show was at my grandmother’s. I wonder now whether she also experienced ASMR and that’s why she watched it (and taped it), but I never did ask her when she was alive. As I got older, I did talk to my mother (her mom was the Bob Ross watcher), brother, and husband about it, but they had no idea what I was talking about. My kids are in their teens, and neither one of them experiences it, either…

So it’s just me watching videos of Maria and Ilse and several other ASMR video specialists in my house (and Bob, mustn’t forget Bob!)… I also like the sort of videos I was talking about earlier in the thread, where the ASMR triggers are unintentional. I will get out of bed if I can’t sleep due to thoughts rattling around in my brain, and will be calmed by all the soothing going on. I have fallen asleep at my computer a few times with my head resting on my hand.

DataX - the term itself is relatively new but, now that those of us that experience ASMR have found one another on the internet, we know that this is definitely a “thing.” I’ve never noticed goosebumps, but there is a tingling that starts on the back of my scalp that almost feels like “skin crawling” but it is pleasant rather than creepy. I’ve posted on Skepticblog’s ASMR post that I would volunteer for any kind of scientific testing into it, but I wouldn’t know where to begin looking for such a thing. We need someone who experiences it who wants to study it…

Khadaji - I’m not a fan of whispering so much, either. I usually like the ones where people are toying with things that make noises like plastic paper crinkling, or dice tinkling together, or something like that. I think it is also due to the people being so attentive to what *they *are doing that I like. It really is hard to explain to someone else. But if they’ve experienced it, they go “I know exactly what you’re talking about!”

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Hi! I finally found this thread, too. I totally know what you guys are talking about, but my triggers might be slightly different sort of. I get it when someone whispers in my ear and I can feel their breath - or even from a dog or cat sniffing my ear. Certain singing voices can make it happen - namely Maynard’s from Tool. I have no idea why! But it happens at any live singing show, concerts or musicals, where certain live singing voices hit certain notes/tones/stridency. Um. What else. Scary movies! Certain moments of suspense, or immediately after a “gotcha!” moment that makes me jump a little or startle, I get the same tingle. It starts on top of my head, goes down my spine but most noticeably the back of my neck, and there’s an audible sensation in my ears. Sometimes I’ll get goosebumps, too. Biting into certain foods also triggers it - particular sweets like fruits, and a certain tea I make. Huh. Maybe that’s really why I make that tea. And it only happens on first taste/bite. Someone else combing or playing with my hair does it.

I never thought of it as something weird or unusual or that not everybody has it happen. I never thought about talking about it much except as a passing moment. I had started a thread a little while ago asking if certain foods give people the tingles, and it’s this sensation I was really talking about but didn’t realize it had a name, and somehow didn’t associate it with the other things that that give me the exact same tingles. Well, it explains why I like scary movies! I totally subconsciously seek these things out.

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Oh, the hair! Yes, that too! I’ve never had the sensation with foods, though.

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Another latecomer to the party here. I think you should have titled the thread “Do you get Head Orgasms?” to elicit more responses. :slight_smile: I just discovered today what ASMR was from this articleon Slate. I’ve been wondering most of my adult life if anyone else experienced it, but never knew how to describe it, or if people would think I was crazy for even bringing it up. It excites me that this is a real phenomenon and I can’t wait to get home and try some of the videos to see if I can trigger it.

I remember my first one vividly, as a kid playing Transformers (of all random things) with a friend of mine. There was a moment when he was talking, but not necessarily to me, and I sat there as this strange tingling took over from head to toe. I didn’t move out of fear the sensation would go away. I’ve experienced it only a few dozen times since then and never quite as intense or long lasting. That first one probably lasted about a minute, but it’s become ever shorter the older I get.

As the article eludes, at least for me, the common factor does seem to be attention from another person, but coupled with lack of interaction. A good back and forth conversation wouldn’t trigger anything, but just having somone talking to me without expecting a response is the most common trigger. I think being in the dentist chair would be the perfect situation if not for all the drilling into your mouth. :slight_smile:

I like maisoui’s description of being absorbed in what someone else is doing. That’s a good way of putting it. I’ve never gotten it from music or just noise alone. I actually got it somewhat recently from a boring business meeting that I wasn’t really involved in. I should also add that I too am an off-the-chart introvert, so maybe that does have something to do with it.

So for those of you who experience it, how often does it happen, and how long does it last? Like I said, I’ve only had it no more than a few dozen times in my 37 years, but when it does happen it’s unmistakable. I can’t wait to do some more digging on the topic and watch some of the videos. I hope more people will see this thread and share their experiences once they realize what it’s about.

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Hey, my thread got bumped (several times without me noticing :eek:). Cool!

Joey, since finding out ASMR existed (and that I have it, of course), I’ve always been able to trigger my own ASMR reliably. But there are definitely diminishing returns. I only do it once every couple of weeks, now. And the longer I wait, the stronger the tingles are. I got kinda disappointed for awhile because I couldn’t feel it any more, and I thought it went away forever… nah, it was just overexposure. Didn’t do it for a month and it came back full-strength. So if you do get into self-triggers, don’t overdo it! =)

Oh yeah, and now I have a new favorite trigger: zipping/unzipping. But it has to be the right kind of zipper, a slow, deep sound. If someone just rips a tiny high-pitched zipper back and forth, I don’t feel anything. But with a slow, big, deep-sounding zipper, it’s like my brain is being unzipped (lol). I have a youtube video of it bookmarked on my Kindle Fire at home, I’ll have to find the link.