Skip to main content

A.S.M.R - an effective relaxation resource that can help anxious teenagers. The tabloids sometimes portray it wrong.







When A.S.M.R first became popular on the internet, the press choice to sexualise it with descriptions such as brain-gasm within sexual language. This resulted in parents thinking it was maybe risky and weird.


Lots of teenage clients I have seen over time report using it as a relaxation resource during times of increased stress and anxiety such as exams or returning to school after prolonged periods away such as holidays or illness.


It doesn’t work for everyone, but if it does work for you it seems to be a game-changer in regards to sleep.


I don’t fully understand when watching it how it can induce sensory relaxation and if I’m honest I find the whispering very irritating, but it works for my daughter and below are a few paragraphs written by her explaining what it is and the benefits she has felt when using this valuable resource.


“ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos are something I watch every night before I go to sleep or when I’m anxious and dysregulated. I watch ASMR on YouTube, but you can also access it on the Tingles app and platforms such a Patreon.

The phenomenon ASMR, is a tingly feeling felt at the top of one’s head or sometimes down the spine. 

This feeling is highly relaxing and can induce sleep very quickly. ASMR can be ‘triggered’ by sound, sight and light stimulants. Personally, visual and sight triggers work best for me; especially when the ‘ASRMtists’ (creator) is performing personal attention e.g. pretending to play with your hair, giving you a head massage, applying makeup to your face. Other people, and sometimes myself, experience ASMR through sounds that are highly sensitive, soothing, relaxing and ‘satisfying’ to the ears.


I really recommend this technique of relaxation for people who suffer from insomnia, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and restlessness as it provides a sense of comfort and a safe space in which to relax. My favourite ASMRtists I view daily and weekly are:


Gracev


Karuna Satori ASMR


mads asmr


ASMR Sharm


Jusi ASMR


Gentle Whispering ASMR


Granted, viewing ASMR can take some weeks to become accustomed to; it may feel a bit weird when you first start watching it. Although, once you have relaxed into the idea and realised how beneficial the sensation is, ASMR will be your go-to self-care tool”

For more information please see the links


https://www.vox.com/2015/7/15/8965393/asmr-video-youtube-autonomous-sensory-meridian-response

https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-is-asmr/

Comments

  1. Thanks so much for sharing this information with online! Thirdly goal of grief counseling is to take on unfinished business, so to say goodbye for you to say hello. It's hard to say hello to new activities until we bid farewell to old painful ones, by goodbye we mean letting go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. An insightful exploration of ASMR's calming benefits for anxious teens, debunking tabloid misrepresentations. This blog provides invaluable reassurance and guidance, shedding light on a misunderstood relaxation technique. A must-read for anyone seeking genuine relief and understanding in the midst of sensationalized media narratives. Heavenly Counseling

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anxiety lesson 6 – Expression of feelings, those pesky things!!

Photo by Morgan Basham on Unsplash Anxiety lesson 6 – Expression of feelings Its not uncommon for people with anxiety disorders to withhold their true feelings. There are many reasons for this, one common one is the need to be in control and a fear of losing it. When feelings have been denied over time, anxiety can start to manifest. I wrote about this briefly in Anxiety lesson 1 potential causes https://helenharveycounselling.blogspot.com/2017/10/anxiety-learning-potential-causes.html Because people with anxiety/phobic tendency tend to be emotionally reactive and have very strong feelings, the expression of them is even more important for their emotional well-being. When I did my degree in Person Centred Therapy, it was a requirement that you checked in with yourself and others in the morning, also a portion of the day was dedicated to personal development. Again, this is a discipline that requires practice, to notice and name feelings and the memories/events that a

Ideas on Self-esteem feedback for your teenage boys

  Things could be hurting over time for your teenage boy and you may never know. Anyone who has different sex children reports feeling at a loss in navigating the differences when it comes to teenage years. It is true that there is a crisis in masculinity for teenage boys. They are expected to be sensitive, but not the group p***y. They are expected to be persistent but not overbearing. Caring but not needy. The language used by teenagers blurs these things and words that don’t suit a person’s characteristics are banded about and may have more sticking power than they should do. If we model empathy and sincerity, we have a greater chance of our boys feeling comfortable displaying these qualities. You could express things that your teenager may not have considered about themselves but when said rings true for them. Below is a list of words that have nothing to do with image or how someone looks and everything to do with inner qualities. When you notice one of these qualities bei

Social media bullying, the effects are far reaching for everyone involved. What you can do to support your teenager

  Social media bullying, the effects are far reaching for everyone involved. What you can do to support your teenager Overwhelmed and panicked is the feeling both teenagers and their parents experience when bullying happens on social media. The themes that play out over the days and weeks of this harassment is: Intrusion Isolation Embarrassment Lack of control over events Repetitive Helplessness Fight or flight Frustrated A lack of voice A lack of autonomy Those themes are also used to describe PTSD and that is because being bullied on social media or real life bullying over time is traumatic. In particular criterion D and E in the diagnosis of PTSD very much relates to the list above. It changes the life course and life stages, because in some circumstances the teenager has to bring an end to the cycle themselves by withdrawing from school, this brings a whole host of loses that this blog can’t cover in one go. Let’s take each of the themes above and expand

Mumsnet

mumsnet