ASMR for Self-Care, Relaxation, and Anxiety
A friend of mine mentioned something called ASMR to me the other day when we were talking about mediation and when I looked it up I was really interested in what I found. There is a whole assortment of videos available on Youtube for you to experience ASMR - people whispering and making sounds and brushing things... It stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and essentially describes that tingly feeling you get on the back of your neck and up to the back of your head. People usually get this feeling in response to soft speech or certain sounds. Youtubers who specialize in ASMR videos sometimes do role-plays like spa specialists or hairdressers - things that involve personal attention and closeness of speech. Situations like this allow them to incorporate multiple sound effects into their videos and really create an experience for the viewer.
While I thought they seemed a little strange at first I decided to give them a try and the video above is from the channel I liked the most of all the random selections I clicked through. I like that her voice isn't quite whispered but is still gentle and soothing. The creative soul in me is also really impressed with the persona she's created online. Not everyone experiences this sensation and I don't always experience it myself when I watch the videos, but I do find it very relaxing. If you're feeling high-anxiety, stress or having trouble falling asleep, this might be worth trying. I'll include a few different channels I've come across so you can try out a few and see if one suits you better.
The reason I decided to categorize this under self-care is because of the focus on personal attention. I'm in a relationship right now, but I haven't always been and I know that it can get lonely and hard when you have to rely on only you to pick yourself up and be there for you. (It doesn't mean we need relationships to make it easier, though. It's just an added bonus.) So when you feel the need for giving yourself attention, it might be nice to pay attention to yourself using these videos. We don't want to become reliant on them of course, but it's kind the same reason we go to the spa in reality - we go to give ourselves attention, to care for our body and our mind. So recreating that might have some sort of placebo effect? I'm not an expert, simply making some educated predictions!
I have yet to do more research on it, but if you have any questions I'd be happy to pass along what I do know!
Let me know what you think!
-B