Originally Posted by
rsvman
Just curious.
For the uninitiated, ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and refers to a pleasant tingling sensation that usually is experienced on the head or back of the neck in response to certain visual, tactile, and especially audio stimuli.
It turns out that apparently a fair number of people experience this reaction in real life, most commonly when getting their hair cut or when somebody whispers in their ear. Some people remember first getting it in grade school when the school nurse would check their head for nits during a head lice outbreak.
To be honest, I never thought I experienced it in real life, beyond the obvious stuff like when people lightly scratch the back of the neck or, when we were kids, where we used to do that thing in which we pretend like we are cracking an egg on top of each other's scalp. I didn't know it had a name and I didn't think much about it. I do remember that certain visuals would be pleasant to me, although I don't remember specifically the tingling or thinking of them as ASMR. There was a commercial on the tv for a local bank that had a short segment that showed somebody riding a surfboard out to catch some waves. It was shot from a GoPro on a neighboring surfboard. I liked the way watching that made me feel, enough so that when I came across it on a DVR'd show I would run it back and watch it a second time.
Anyway, I do traditional wetshaving (straight razors, double edge safety razors, etc.) so I was searching YouTube for instructional videos one time. I came across a shave video that had "ASMR Salon" in the title. I thought that was just the name of the salon, but once I started the video it was clear that something was definitely amiss. It was just weird. I then searched the Wiki for ASMR and learned about it.
After that I watched a few videos. I never tingled, but I found some of them quite relaxing, so I kept watching them now and then. Eventually, although I didn't tingle DURING the videos, I would notice I got that tingling sensation right AFTER I finished watching the videos, which is weird. I'm still not sure I understand that.
Now I sometimes tingle during videos and sometimes not. I listen to them when I'm stressed out and just want to relax. I've found some favorites. I like the people with really good sound quality. The best for that, in my opinion, are Deep Ocean of Sounds and ASMR Surge. I like some of the well known people, especially Gentle Whispering.
I know some of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, and others probably do and think it's unimaginably weird. Maybe there are others out there who, like me, utilize these videos for specific purposes and enjoy them.
If you have never tried and don't know what I'm talking about, I'd recommend going to Deep Ocean of Sounds and checking out two of his videos. One has the 23 most common triggers, the other has "uncommon triggers." Give them a listen. Yeah, it's strange. Whatever. It will either work or it won't. Maybe you'll find them relaxing, and maybe they can help you when/if you are stressed out or just want to unwind after a hectic day.
Anybody else around here experience ASMR? If so, did/do you notice it in real life, or only when watching/listening to a video?