Hi, I'm Doctor Tracey Marks, a Psychiatrist
and I make mental health education videos.
Today, I'm talking about ASMR.
What is it?
What triggers it?
And does it work for everyone?
ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response.
ASMR videos have become very popular in recent years,
but the term didn't come into existence until 2010.
Jennifer Allen created the term as part of a movement
to draw attention to the phenomenon
and give it more credibility amongst scientists.
Since then, interest in the topic has grown,
and now there are hundreds of videos made every single day
and podcast episodes of ASMR triggers.
The research on it is still new, but it's developing.
So that's the history behind it.
Here's what it is.
ASMR is a reflex response to a trigger such as a sound
or something you see.
It's a tingling sensation
that starts at the top of your head
and moves down your spine into your shoulders.
It doesn't always move though.
And how far down it moves seems to depend
on the intensity of the experience.
Milder responses may only be felt in your head,
but an intense response may send the tingles
all the way down your arms and to your lower back.
So ASMR is not a condition or a disorder,
but a physiological reflex
that some people have to certain triggers.
And this reflex creates a sense of calm
and is pleasurable.
ASMR is similar to
a more established phenomenon called frisson.
Have you ever listened to someone speak or sing
and felt so moved by what they were doing,
that you felt tingling or goosebumps on your skin?
That's frisson.
It's a physiological response to something that you hear
or see that you find intensely pleasurable and exciting.
The difference between the two ASMR and frisson,
is that frisson is stimulating,
whereas ASMR is relaxing and calming.
There are many kinds of ASMR triggers
and what works for one person
may not work for the next person.
And here's some triggers
that I've divided into four categories.
First you have mouth sounds
and some examples of these are chewing and whispering.
Then there's repetitive sounds.
And examples of these are tapping sounds,
scratching, objects that crinkle crumple or crackle
and falling rain.
Next is watching an activity.
Some examples of this are watching someone paint or draw,
watching someone brush their hair or apply nail Polish,
watching someone open a package or watching someone cook.
I found this category interesting
because it made me wonder if whatever it is
that makes people have ASMR
from watching these things,
is the same thing that makes these videos
very popular on YouTube.
Like unboxing videos or cooking videos,
or even makeup videos.
These videos are very popular,
even when the creator is not whispering
or creating an ASMR trigger sound.
Just something that made me think.
The fourth category is personal attention and simulations.
Examples of these are getting a haircut,
getting an eye exam, getting a facial,
slow body movements and smiling.
As you can see, this is quite a variety.
The first two categories rely on auditory stimulation
and the second too rely primarily on visual stimulations.
But oftentimes the person making these videos
called ASMRtists, will still whisper
and add other sounds related to the visual simulation,
the personal attention videos place you the viewer
as the point of focus of the video.
The ASMRtist is usually very close to the camera
and facing you.
And this creates the illusion
that you're in the room with them.
Then they proceed to perform an activity on you
like brushing your hair or stroking your face
while they whisper affirming statements.
Some people find this kind of simulation unsettling,
or even creepy.
One study that I have referenced in the description
found that mouth sounds were polarizing
as study subjects found them to either be
pleasing or irritating.
Speaking of irritating, not all triggers are created equal,
and it will take some trial and error
to find sounds or experiences that work for you
to make you feel relaxed
even if you don't have the ASMR.
There is a caution to consider though,
with ASMR triggers.
Although anyone can find some sounds unpleasant,
a small percentage of people can react to certain sounds
with intense anxiety or anger.
And this may be due to the
neurological condition called misophonia.
Some researchers believe that ASMR
may be on the opposite end of the spectrum from misophonia.
So on one side you have misophonia and then flip it around
you have ASMR.
With misophonia, you react very negatively
to common Sounds like breathing and eating.
If you have this condition, you can become unglued,
intensely angry and even self-harming
when hearing these sounds
that other people hardly notice.
This condition usually appears around age 12,
and is sometimes related to OCD.
A person with the OCD tendencies can hear a sound
and then need to perform rituals
to manage the anxiety created by the sounds.
If you have this problem,
you would probably already know it
and know to stay away from trying the ASMR experience.
Even if you find the ASMR triggers positive,
you still may not experience the tingling response
and euphoric feeling that some people can achieve.
One thing that may improve
your chances of having the physiological response though,
is getting into a flow state.
A flow state is when you're intensely focused on something
to the extent that you block out
other things in your environment
and even lose track of time.
It's what people refer to as being in the zone.
You can think of flow as a form of intense mindfulness.
Try bringing all of your attention to the sounds or visuals
as a way to get more out of the experience.
So for example, if someone is crinkling paper,
focusing only on the paper and how it sounds.
If your mind drifts off to
the color of the person's nail polish,
and you start wondering if they had a manicure
for the video, you're losing focus.
Simply bring your awareness
back to the active focus of the video
and the sounds and visuals that are being created.
The research on ASMR is still new.
So there's a lot of unanswered questions about it.
Even if you never achieve ASMR,
you still may find the process of visually
immersing yourself in an activity
or taking in the sounds as calming
because at its most basic level,
it's a way to engage your senses in a mindful experience.
Watch this video for more on
things that can trigger a flow state
and this one on mindfulness
as a remedy to mind wandering.
Thanks for watching.
See you next time.