(note: I wrote this in English because the videos I’m gonna mention here are also in English, and it would not make sense to do it otherwise).
So… unless you live under a rock (well, hi there, neighbor), you may have already heard of that quirky, peculiar youtube trendy videos of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response, that is).
The fact that it became so popular is obviously an indicator that many people are watching this stuff, and not only out of pure curiosity. They simply enjoy it.
But this asmr thingie is as various & diverse as the people who does it. So, maybe there’s no wonder why usually people feel a little uneasy or reluctant to admit that they’re watching it. We have these people who make asmr videos for therapy & sleep, while we also have those weird hormonal people whose crappy videos kinda resemble a porn material. Eww.
But… to each his own.
Asmr I like: catchy quality content at its basis, whether that is: drawing tutorials, nail-art, story-telling, hauls (toys, books etc), makeup & hair-styling, cooking, meditation,… So, yea, just about anything that may interest me with or without pleasant noise attached to it.
Asmr I don’t like hate: those dull, hollow videos, videos without content, only made for silly noises (like hideous eating/drinking sounds) or with stupid thematic (like those “mommy-issue” type of videos, “let me check your fleas” or whatever, and let’s not mention again those deeply embarrassing horny chicks).
So… to sum it up, a decent asmr video shall appeal to your senses (mostly auditory but also visual) in order to release the tension and help you relax by stimulating a feeling of comfort. At least so they say.
It’s nothing really complicated and it’s no deep wisdom ‘cause it’s something that’s been in our lives since always. Just remember when you were a child and you enjoyed a whispered story-telling or played that game with your sis’ where she’d “draw” all kind of stuff with her finger on your back and you had to guess what it was.. Or even now when someone’s playing with your hair or gives you a hand massage.. or that crystalline sound of glasses or clinking sound of glass beads.. or whatever may be.
You may now say: “ yea, but seeing someone getting a hand massage is not like I’d be given a hand massage, so I don’t really care about it”. True, and that’s why this asmr thingie doesn’t work for everybody. Usually empathetic people find this asmr thingy relaxing because they can easily relate to others’ sensations. And that surely applies in a negative way too, like.. when you see someone had accidentally cut his finger on a knife and you flinch as if it was your own finger, for example. It’s all in our minds, after all, our whole reality shapes in our mind. Even seeing (or thinking of) a squeezing lemon makes your mouth water, although there might not even be a lemon nearby.. your mind translates the feeling into your body as if it was for real. Because your subconscious does not know the difference between real & imaginary. It just works with whatever you feed it. (good to know that, if you’re struggling with depression or anxiety; we’ll get to that later on).
Now… if you look through all those comments posted down these asmr videos, you’ll notice how maaaany people suffer with anxiety and insomnia, and how grateful they are for such vids! Thus, it might have all started as a silly gameplay on youtube, but meanwhile for some it became a therapy which works at least as much as a paid session at a psychologist. And, you know, not all people can afford a psychologist, let’s admit that.
We’re living a very stressful life which moves in a fast-forward pace. On top of that, as paradoxically as it might sound, the fact that we’re so many on this planet made our interaction even harder; our loneliness increases in direct proportion to the growth of human population. It pretty much looks like a huge insects nest where no one’s special anymore and there’s not much time for feelings and weakness and cuddling or dreaming; and whatever happens you just got to get up and move on because everybody’s moving fast and if you don’t, then you’ll get run over so that’s why you need to KEEP MOVING!
(Geeez, I got tired just by writing this paragraph..)
So, ya, we need to slow down sometimes to avoid burnout.
Since my mind gets easily overwhelmed, I do feel the need to hear a word of comfort (even if it’s only the “It’s okay” magic line) sometimes. Believe me, you don’t want to share your personal problems with random people, no matter how desperate you are; so, in case you can’t reach a trustable friend and you can’t afford a psychologist, then this may be your best available option.
When I was a baby, I used to fall asleep with sounds on, whether it was a little radio nearby or my family doing their things around the house. It was like a sense of comfort because back then I used to find the complete silence to be much creepier than the random common, familiar sounds. I still find the sound of long earrings or bracelets to be almost hypnotizing, and I tend to feel dozy when hearing the sound of the hairdryer (I fell asleep on my desk once back in the time when I used to work in a beauty salon).
I can’t describe how weird it felt first time I’ve bumped into an asmr video. I remember it was a role-play type of asmr, and there was this girl staring into the camera and saying “hi, how are you?”.
Me (mumbling): “umm.. am I supposed to answer back to you? You crazy lady”
Her: “I see you look very tired…”
Me: OMG, SHE CAN SEE ME???”
Ya, so… I indeed found it to be quite peculiar at first.
Little note: I am agnostic and I am a curious with a skeptical mind. I do not believe in anything that can’t be proved by science, yet I do not reject some theories because I know that our science is not fully developed. I don’t know much about reiki, auras, energy, crystals, meditation and stuff like that, therefore I can neither promote nor deny them. What I know is that when some of these asmr people are using it in their therapeutic videos, it feels helpful in a rather placebo type of way. Although I will never promote a belief in things unseen, I think that all these people I shall mention below, are people who, by their own input, only wish to make the world a better place, so… whatever we believe in is good as long as it makes us good people.
With that said, I’m gonna now share some of my favorite asmr youtubers; most of them are therapists as a full-time job, whether it’s psychology or reiki or massage, or.. artists who truly put effort in creating something beautiful & relaxing for people to enjoy watching. There are lots of them, growing and evolving in a world which seem to desperately need to put their minds at ease before bedtime, preferably without taking pills. Here i’ve mentioned just some of those i’m most familiar with, others also appreciated and yet to be discovered.
Jillian (The Lune Innate) is a reiki practitioner and what I like about her videos is that besides the relaxing sound part, she also offers deep insights on life and about how to approach various stressful moments or traumas. I was able to relate to this video very much so I found it very helpful in a therapeutic way rather than in an “asmr” kinda way. Like: ASMR Reiki, Healing Childhood or Quiet Your Mind, Reiki ASMR
Erin (Goodnight Moon) is a very young artist, she’s got a wonderful soothing voice and she puts so much creativity & effort into her videos which are “movie-like”. I simply love her. She’s got various videos of role-play, travel, story-telling, drawing, and so on and so forth. It’s awesome and really fun to watch. Like: ASMR Summer in the forest or The Willow Witch Prepares for Your Journey
Ok, it may sound pathetic, but… since almost all of my friends went abroad for work and I ain’t got a friend nearby, I enjoy listening to Erin because her chat in front of the camera is the closest thing I can get to what I long for: a long silly random talk in the evening.
And like all popular things growing & evolving, this asmr thingie also evolved into some really artsy videos, in which is quite clear the effort that these therapists put into their work. I mean, really, come on, this is really like… the next level, the “movie-like” videos: Diane in Moonlight Cottage ASMR
Angela (albinwhisperland) is an adorable girl who’s also an artist. I usually enjoy watching her drawing videos, but she’s also got a ton of other cuteness overloaded videos where she presents her toys, makeup, purring cats, awesome books & comics, snacks, storytelling, you name it. She’s also got hair-play videos and nail-art tutorials. I love her drawing skills and her vintage style, she’s awesome. I wouldn’t even know which one to show as a sample, so if you’re curious just pick one up: https://www.youtube.com/user/albinwhisperland/videos
Another therapist I like is Olivia (Olivia Kissper ASMR) who is actually a psychologist. I think she’s weird in a cute way, always original and dedicated to her work. I like her authenticity. For some reason she reminds me of childhood, maybe because of her playful attitude and of the role-play she does, it reminds me of how I used to play with my sis back when we were 7 or so.. I enjoyed pretending all kind of stuff and it was fun. Olivia also adds her helpful input in dealing with anxiety and stress. Like… Asmr for anxiety, inspirational, motivation, sleep, relaxation or Meditation for clear mind & better decisions
There are not many asmr males whom I enjoy watching (mostly because it’s like watching a dog purring.. ya, weird and kinda impossible). But I recently found this guy Dmitri and I liked his long talk about grief & anxiety (and tools to help) video. I also like the fact that he’s dedicated to his work and… dunno.. it’s fun to explore his vids, and… why the heck can’t I be one of those people who get a back massage for free??
Ok, let’s move on to another male youtube therapist. That would be Jason Stephenson. Who hasn’t yet heard of Jason Stephenson? Oh, yea, you sir, who’s been living under that rock.. let me fill you in on this topic then. Jason Stephenson has few YT channels, and you can find lots of sleep meditation music, guided visualization, bedtime stories for children, all kind of relaxing “treats”. He’s really awesome. I love his guided visualization of rain-forests and tropical islands, like.. when you close your eyes and you hear the waves and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.. sitting on this comfortable beach chair , enjoying your tropical drink.. mesmerizing.. *-* I love his bedtime stories (like children space adventure or A Spoken guided visualization (Letting go of control)
Ok, so lately more guys joined this playground, and i can’t believe i even found some that i like watching! Of course, males are rather, let’s say, more technical, and that’s what makes them unique, ’cause who on Earth wouldn’t want to study Astronomy like this..? — Rich in Let’s Find Out ASMR
….Or Teaching you math by Destiny Whispers
There are truly lots of them, many good Youtube therapists, many of them whom I don’t even know about yet. I do enjoy The Honest Guys works too (guided meditation – anxiety relief). And so many more.
Emma (WhisperRed ASMR) is… such a cat-like enchanting lady. You know, cats’ purr frequency is in the 20 to 140 Hz range which has a therapeutic effect. Well… I feel like Emma’s smiling presence is just that. It might be just me, but if Emma would just sit there and stare at me, I’d be almost instantly knocked flat to the floor into a deep sleep. Here it’s Emma leafing through random self-help books.
And because i like drawing & jazz music, I personally like (a lot) drawing/sketching videos with jazzy/chill music background. So, i’d personally recommend those ones too, it really puts your mind at ease.
What I do not like hate: I hate eating/drinking sounds (and just about all mouth sounds). Why would anyone on this planet enjoy such sounds? I mean… you may as well make a video with screeching sounds of a nail on a chalkboard! That would surely give you the shivers! So. I simply hate such sounds, unless it’s this cute asmr-bunny, of course.
And now that you’ve seen a bunny doing asmr, here’s another extra: a cute asmr-toddler doing asmr (she’s adorable):
So now as a final conclusion: if you’re the emphatic type of person, you might enjoy such videos. Also, if you struggle with insomnia and anxiety, such videos might also help. I don’t know how it is for others, but to me it’s like… a tool which helps me put my mind on hold, because… my mind is often overwhelmed and continuously racing. So, hearing someone talking in a calm, soothing voice, kind of slows me down and changes my “frequency” (like.. when you tune a radio from a rock-music station to a r&b one). However, if it takes you more than 15-20 minutes to fall asleep when watching such video before bedtime, then maybe you should put it aside and find something more helpful for that matter. Youtube can be addictive and you don’t want to find yourself lost in browsing the internet and having your time wasted with no benefit whatsoever. Believe me, been there, done that. Try to always make the most of your time, in the best way possible.
It is the loneliness or the love for others that torments the most? The nonsense of loneliness and the fear of losing what you love: the scariest shadows of something most beautiful.
CĂRȚI LA PURICAT 