I have an addiction...

     From the moment we were all brought into this world with eyes wide opened although we couldn't see properly, our lungs breathing in the cold hospital air, feeling a sensation other than warmth, and hearing all the beeps and chatter of everyone in the delivery room, our senses have been with us since day one. Many of us utilize all our senses on a daily basis, some may not be so fortunate while others have special gifts. There are children who grow up to be adults that have superb vision or amazing singing voices and then there are the few who can appreciate sounds just a little bit more. Specific sounds can cause you to whirl into an ecstasy like state with tingles all over your body and a sense of nostalgia when you hear a song, sound, name or anything really. I, for one, am one of the few people who experience Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). ASMR is "a neologism for a perceptual phenomenon characterized as a distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body in response to visual, auditory, olfactory, and/or cognitive stimuli."(Wikipedia source)
     Whenever you hear that one song that automatically gives you chills, you are experiencing a "trigger" from an ASMR response! I never really knew that there was an answer to what I was experiencing my entire life but one day, I got fed of trying to explain myself to people as to why people talking gave me chills and goose bumps or why songs made the hairs of my arms stand on end, so I did some research. Turns out, there are millions of people who experience this sensation and don't even have a clue that there's a name to it all! As I wrapped up my research, I happened to come across a youtube link in which the title intrigued me so naturally, I clicked on the link. Let me just begin to explain the amazing triggering effect the woman had on me. I was hooked.

 

      I watched video after video after video of this woman, Maria from Russia, who's youtube channel is GentleWhispering and I immediately fell in love with ASMR and all that came along with it. I would have never known that there was an entire community of people who were tingling from their head to their toes when their ears catch an attractive sound. From that point on, every single day... EVERY SINGLE DAY, I look up different ASMR videos, different "ASMRtists"(ASMR + Artist=ASMRtist) for me to watch and enjoy their content. Some give me nostalgic feelings, some make me super sleepy, and some videos send endless chills up and down my spine that I'm wiggling all over with happiness haha. 

     The technology that these ASMRtists use is phenomenal. It really is nothing like we are accustomed to hearing on a daily basis. There is such a thing as 3D hearing! These ASMRtists use 3D microphones to simulate the sounds as if they are actually speaking from ear to ear. I want to shake the hand of the person who invented 3D microphones because it's given me a brand new look on music, sounds, and people's voices. It's such an amazing experience. Many ASMRtists specialize in certain categories in ASMR such as: Role play videos(where the ASMRtists pretends to be a character and simulates a scenario for your hearing pleasure), Food Videos(where the channel holder records themselves eating foods and talking about them), Sci-Fi videos(The ASMRtist creates a Fictional world for your viewing pleasure and stays in character with great sounds and effects. Example in next picture.) And, the list goes on!

 

*click on picture to watch this video*

     If you have ever experienced any of the mention signs of ASMR, then you might be one of the lucky ones haha. Go ahead and click the picture above to be taken to the Sci-Fi ASMR video. If the amazing 3D sound doesn't get you addicted then the great visual effect certainly will.

Go ahead and explore all outlets, youtube, google, and anywhere else you can think of and do your research and you'll be promised to have a tingly great time. 
Until next time...

Much love,
Margie