Okay but have you listened to ASMR?

My obsession with ASMR and how it started

This is embarrassing to admit but when I was 17, I discovered that my first boyfriend, Kyle, had been listening to ASMR. I didn’t know what AMSR was at the time…only that he enjoyed it because it calmed him down. But I was upset, I’m not going to lie! Because some of the videos he had been watching were girls kissing microphones and lip smacking. I didn’t understand why he was watching those videos since he had me hahaha. But after I broke up with him (it didn’t work out yall), I gave ASMR a chance.

ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. It’s a sensation of tingling in your body that happens when you hear sounds or see visuals that appeal to you. Some people like whispering. Other people like the sound of hair brushing or receiving personal attention in spa roleplays. The possibilities of ASMR are endless and there are millions of ASMR videos online now a days.

But when I discovered ASMR and I realized it made me feel good, I only knew perhaps 5 ASMR artists on YouTube. So, it was just emerging back at that time. The reason ASMR began was because although we can say we are “connected” to each other online, it is not the same as being together in person. ASMR began, I believe, as a way to pretend and to trigger the sensation of being with another person-even though because it’s online, it is not the same as physically being together. But I think that as time goes by and we are becoming adjusted to the internet, that ASMR is a way that we can feel intimate while not being intimate. If you really think about it, using phones and tablets and computers/desktops/laptops and TVs is a way of essentially starring at a an object for hours on end and it is socially acceptable. I do understand that there is a lot we can do and watch and see but it still hits me when I watch TV for too long that I’m just sitting down being entertained by lights and pixels and that it’s just me starring in one spot for hours. For me, ASMR is the closest I have ever gotten to feeling less alone online because great ASMR artists devote time and effort into making you feel special.

Maybe one day in the future, there will be advances in ASMR that have been unheard of now but currently I see various types of ASMR online.

That I’m aware of, there’s…

Music ASMR, Visual ASMR, Comedy ASMR, Roleplay ASMR, Cooking ASMR, Eating ASMR, Body massage ASMR, Skincare ASMR, Makeup ASMR, Hairstyling ASMR, Nails ASMR, Art ASMR, Unintentional ASMR, Inaudible ASMR, Religious ASMR, Spiritual ASMR, Meditation ASMR, Binaural ASMR, Ear cleaning/licking ASMR, Unboxing ASMR, Shopping ASMR, Fast and aggressive ASMR, Nature ASMR, Soap cutting ASMR, Inappropriate ASMR, Educational ASMR, Letter Tracing ASMR, Keyboard ASMR, Quick changing triggers ASMR, Gripping ASMR, Camera touching ASMR, Layered sounds ASMR, Mic scratching ASMR, Ear drops ASMR, Spray bottle/mist spray bottle ASMR, Whispering ASMR, and Book reading ASMR.

I listen to ASMR to escape for awhile into a world where I am safe. Because I have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), due to trauma in my past, it is nice to relax when I’m triggered by a stimuli that is unpleasant for me. So I listen to ASMR to self-regulate and return to a state of clarity. And also for fun!

If you’re interested in listening/watching ASMR videos, there is a huge array of videos to your disposal. Below are a few I enjoy:

I hope that if you are not a fan of ASMR, that at least you can appreciate what ASMR does for others and for myself. Now off I go to listen to some more ASMR!