So what is this all about?

I have always been a very sensory, tactile person.  There are certain sounds, smells, and textures I like. For instance, I love the sound of a rotary phone...the longer the number the better.  When I was a kid, I used to sit and rub my grandma's smooth, polished fingernails for a good 20 minutes.  I always found it soothing.  I loved it when people would stroke my hair, don't touch my scalp but just stroking my hair with their hand.  When the Mr and I were dating and he'd whisper whatever sassy things teens would whisper to each other when trying to score, it would literally send an involuntary jolt through me down to my lower back.  I thought that was totally normal because you know, horny teen.  I never gave much thought to any of these things until a week ago.

People have always told me my voice is very soothing.  I don't think it is but a friend's boyfriend said he fell asleep to my voice when they were watching a video I did one time.  Others have told me it de-stresses them.  (I bet the Mr would beg to differ but now that I think about it, he may say "this is why I yawn when you speak!")  Last week, two different people contacted me saying how soothing my voice was and I would be big in the ASMR community.  AS-ya what??  I think, like a lot of people, I mistakenly thought it was a fetish thing but I soon found out it's not at all.

So I looked it up and if you're curious what it stands for, you can go here.  It basically means you get a physical (tingles from head through the spine) or psychological (relaxation/feeling drowsy) response from hearing people whisper, tap objects (I've always been a finger tapper but don't like to hear other people tapping), flip pages in a book or color or even watch Bob Ross paint happy trees. The more I read, the more I saw how much it actually helps people with all kinds of ailments and issues.  It helps people who can't relax on their own to unwind, people with insomnia to become sleepy and even people with PTSD get to sleep or relax if they're having a hard episode.

I kept seeing ASMR Darling pop up in my findings so I watched a few of her videos.  Now if you're watching them without earbuds on, it might look a little strange because she talks into each side of her microphone so it's like she's whispering in either ear.  Should you decide to check out her videos, I suggest wearing earbuds and do it close to bedtime.  You could definitely fall asleep at your desk listening to her at work.  I'm not a big fan of the role-playing videos because it's just not my thing but I guess the ones where she's just whispering are really calming to me and so many people in the comments talk about waking up with their earbuds strangling them or never knowing how a video turned out because they fell asleep!  Only a few times did I ever experience the tingly jolt I described earlier but a lot of people do with her videos.  Imagine how helpful this could be if you have insomnia, anxiety issues and need to unwind and don't want to resort to taking medication to do it.  Not all people experience ASMR like I don't think the Mr does but I guess it's taking the internet by storm.  I'm all for whatever makes people relax in this high-stress society and I'm actually thankful for those few people bringing it to my attention.  I really like this girl's channel not just because of her videos intended purpose but her personality is so sweet, encouraging and positive.  Can't we all use a little more of that in our lives?

Have you heard of ASMR?  Have you experienced any of those sensations and not known what the heck they are?

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