Have you ever been watching a movie, or listening to music, or seen someone doing something very mundane like folding laundry — and suddenly been struck by nice feeling tingles? Did it make you feel relaxed and relieve your anxiety?
Congratulations! You’ve experienced a phenomenon called ASMR.
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a phenomenon characterized as pleasurable tingling sensations in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body. It’s generally in response to visual or auditory stimuli. It’s GREAT for relieving anxiety. I’ve been experimenting with my own ASMR anxiety relief techniques and it’s really making a difference! 🙂
Different Ways You Can Experience ASMR Anxiety Relief
For example, whispered speech triggers it in some people. For others, it is sounds like gentle tapping or scratching. I remember getting INSANE tingles once watching someone iron a pair of pants. The slow, gentle movements. The sound of the steam. The soft whispering noise of the cloth. It was all incredibly relaxing and soothing.
Turns out I’m not the only one. The “brain tingles” of ASMR are as old as the human race, but there was no real name for it until about 2008. Since then, lots of people have been exploring this pleasurable, relaxing response by:
Watching movies — Some movies have quiet scenes with soft, gentle sounds and / or slow and hypnotic movements. Since auditory response often causes ASMR, movies can be a great way to seek out good tingles. My personal favorite is an 80s movie called Suspect with Cher and Dennis Quaid. The law library scene is pure ASMR awesomeness!
Exploring sounds — Certain sounds often do it for people. Sounds like tapping, scratching or rustling noises can induce tingles. Some ideas are folding laundry, tapping on a table with fingertips, the sound of paper folding, wind rustling through trees, etc.
Whispered speech — If you’ve ever had someone whisper gently in your ear, you know how good this can feel. Lots of ASMR YouTube videos have popped up featuring gentle whispering. More on this in a minute.
Getting your hair cut — I love getting haircuts because it almost always gives me the tingles, which feel very safe and nurturing. I always have a woman cut my hair too.
Getting a massage — This can trigger the tactile form of ASMR. Being nurtured with touch can be an incredible way to relax.
Pleasurable thoughts / fantasies — Some people can have tingles by just thinking about certain things. I’ve never been able to do this, but some claim to be able to.
YouTube now has lots of ASMR videos designed to trigger the response via visual and auditory methods. My favorite ASMR “artist” goes by the name GentleWhispering but there’s other very talented people also making videos. Just search “ASMR” on YouTube to find them.
Here’s one of her videos that I’ve watched again and again. It’s a “sampler” video of relaxing ASMR sounds, all recorded with a 3D microphone.
Headphones are definitely required to get the full effect:
ASMR is a fantastic anxiety relief method. It’s a great way to get that soothing feeling we all need. I hope you will explore your own ASMR anxiety relief methods and share them with us on Facebook.
Till next time,
Namaste.
