ASMR - I thought everybody had this!

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I had no idea this had a name, let alone an internet following. I get this feeling from people explaining complicated things in a low, slow voice that I am not obligated to fully understand. Also from the sound of a car's turn signal.

I have been reading a bit more about ASMR online and noted some interesting comparisons. They seem to have a little bit in common with synaesthesia (sounds and sights transferring into physical and emotional sensation.) Another interesting possible avenue that could be investigated is seizers. I only experience these ASRM reactions in great intensity very occasionally but I would describe it as a sensation of euphoric buzzing or vibration in my brain while I feel my thought and my thought processes tumble down like a matchstick model while tickling my brain as they collapse. I also experience a not-unpleasent dizzyness and almost what I could describe as depersonalisation or what less sceptical people than I would describe as 'out of body' experience. The whole thing only lasts a few short seconds.

I understand that some mild seizures can actually be pleasant - I would be very very interested to know if anyone who knows they experience seizures finds what I describe at all familiar?

Update: More specifically, what I occasionally experience seems to fit exactly with the description of a SIMPLE PARTIAL SEIZURE. yay! ....oh wait, S**t!

This is very interesting. Unfortunately it doesn't look like there has been much research into it, but if there is, I definitely think it would be an idea to look into its commonness in autistic people.

I get this feeling from music (specifically, certain pieces of classical music, though very occasionally also very beautiful vocal or instrumental works in other genres). I don't think it has ever happened to me from voices or everyday noises, so I don't think I would feel drawn to watching the youtube videos. However, I do remember experiencing a sensation very similar to the one described when I was younger when I would think about whatever it was I was obsessed with - even just the thought of that particular film or book or character would be enough to send a tingle up my spine, and that's partly why engaging in my special interests was so pleasurable.

Have others experienced this in relation to their special interest? It seems to have lessened over time for me but it certainly happened great deal in childhood.

Until a few months ago I thought that everyone had ASMR experiences. I didn't even know it was uncommon.

I have them very often.

I like GentleWhispering's videos: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD3SctQxAz8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVpfHgC3ye0[/youtube]

I've experienced this, from soft-spoken men's voices.

The video linked in the page linked in the first post actually invokes a more misophonic reaction. I hate whispering.

Watching the video, it sounded like words were hitting my brain and I don't know how to describe the sound in my ears from her whisper voice. I have always had that feeling and so do certain music tunes. I am not sure if that counts as ASMR. But I don't get this headache or a tingling in my brain. It does not go down my spine. I also get moments where my head feels heavy but that comes from lot of listening. But some things do give me a good feeling inside I am not sure how to describe it.

Here's an example of a man whose voice does this for me:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6o7LvA5pA[/youtube]

In this case, Jay Wilson, the man being interviewed. Actual interview seems to start at 46 seconds. I spent a lot of time watching Diablo III videos because his voice caused that ASMR thing.

Perhaps oddly, I am not attracted to men at all. Weird.

None of those girl videos do much for me, probably because I don't like most women, especially the type most commonly considered attractive (blond, makeup, etc.). They're a trigger for bad feelings with me. Also the things being said in the videos just sound plain creepy. Why don't they have videos of men just reading a book or something? It doesn't seem to matter what the words are as long as they speak the right way. If I close my eyes and ignore the words and just try to concentrate on the flow of sound, I definitely get that feeling, and it never would have occurred to me that it's anything unusual.

But, THIS, from the article:

Both Bob Ross and the Diablo guy do nothing for me. Voices have to be at least soft-spoken and slow for me. Female whispering still works best.

@kotshka
Well there are some videos with guys whispering. However most are "roleplays" like a fake eye examination. That's just what most people prefer.

i thought everyone had those as well, very cool, spent too much time getting tingles from various asmr vids on youtube.

Most certainly does not happen to me. None of the videos I've watched do anything to me. I've never heard of this before, though, very interesting.

Very, very interesting. The bubbles in your head thing sounds very familiar, though I couldn't get it to happen watching any of those videos. I did get a little bit of a goosebumps/shiver feeling. Is that similar? I sometimes get goose bumps when I listen to a really good song, or see a very epic part of a movie.