YouTube is usually a place where I watch countless make up tutorials or music videos, but I have found a whole new way of experiencing YouTube and that is in the form of ASMR.
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response which sounds complicated but really is just a long way of saying that certain sounds can cause triggers, and these triggers set off a response in your body, usually a nice tingling and relaxing feeling.
I first came across this art when I had trouble sleeping, and searched for calm sounds in YouTube to which I came across the channel GentleWhispering. I really love the tone of her voice, and her soft spoken accent, it really calms me. I have found that I usually am more responsive to sounds and visuals (which I’ll explain later) but I could just listen to her voice my whole life and be eternally calm and happy. 
Incase you’re still wondering what the hell I’m going on about, I want to try and explain what I feel from ASMR. Remember though – everybody is different, and everyone has different triggers and responses and some people don’t respond at all, so don’t worry if you watch and aren’t getting the same feelings as I am.
When I listen and watch my favourite ASMR videos, I feel what I can only explain as a blanket, starting at the nape of my neck, and lifting over my overworked and overtired brain. I feel as if someone is softly pressing their hands on my mind and it begins to feel numb as I grow distant from everyday life. If I really concentrate on being relaxed (without falling asleep) I can feel a mental massage on my mind and I literally can’t do anything else whilst I am concentrating on this – my mind literally won’t let me.
its scary how powerful your mind is
I saw a comment once on a video, saying they listened to it whilst they were doing an essay so I thought ah.. I’ll give that a go.. nope.. physically couldn’t do the essay, the effect ASMR has on me gives me mental block to do anything else. It’s scary how powerful your mind is.
In terms of sounds: some videos are dedicated to purely sound and no talking. I think that MassageASMR does this best as you will see throughout his channel. The concept behind it, is finding simple things around your house that make crinkling/ tapping/ touching/ anything noises and combining them effectively into a video stream. It works wonders when you’re suffering from insomnia!
Now onto visuals – these come in mainly two forms. Firstly, doing an action visually to trigger a response e.g, brushing hair, folding clothes, playing with hair, a massage. Or secondly, a newer type of visual ASMR, which is role play. I personally connect the least with role play out of every type of ASMR, but there are many different variations, such as getting your eyes tested, having your hair cut or even having your ears tested, so give it a good go before you decide. My favourite type of visual is definitely brushing or playing with hair. This was my first ASMR experience and I won’t forget it. All it took was a lady talking about anything and brushing her hair slowly to send me in the calm state and I will be forever grateful to that lady for introducing me to the world of ASMR.
My second favourite visual video, is by GentleWhispering, who folded different clothes whilst speaking. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, the sounds and motions when she folded the clothes were mesmerising!!
I know some people will read this and think jesus woman, you are absolutely crazy! but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! I’ve only been doing it a few weeks and I love it. I think it’s a true art, so I just wanted to share my favourites with you:
MassageASMR: Definitely the best channel I’ve found for sounds. His Crinkle Heaven 7.7 is my life – I have listened to that whilst trying to fall asleep countless times. I find it really enjoyable watching this man, he is so talented and passionate about it and that is clear from the video. That really helps to engage and connect me mentally.
GentleWhispering: Also really passionate, her soft voice captivates me. My favourite of her videos are ones of her voice, and her visuals such as folding clothes or doing make up.
And finally, the one that set it all off. The first ever ASMR video I watched that I can blame for my addiction was this one – simple but effective heaven in my eyes.
This blog post was different to my usual ones but I hope you enjoyed it!
Let me know if you tried ASMR or know of any other similar techniques?
MAKING UP 