How ASMR changed my life and helps me with my PTSD and OCD!

Hey Everyone! My name is Rachael, thank you for stopping by and I hope everyone is doing well. It is nice to meet you! Full disclosure, I am not a professional writer, I just want to talk about real life stuff and I hope I can help someone in return by sharing my experiences. My first post or story rather is going to be about ASMR and how it changed my life. I am not here to convince or persuade anyone about ASMR but simply just to tell my story, educate on what it is and the great benefits it does provide for people who suffer from Mental Illness like OCD, Anxiety, Depression, etc... Hope you enjoy!

So here is my story... I was diagnosed with PTSD a couple of years ago due to an extremely traumatic event that happened to me personally with a close friend. After months and months of trying to figure out what was wrong with me and literally going crazy, I finally gave in and went to go see a Psychiatrist. After explaining to her what happened to me in full, lengthy detail and everything I was experiencing after the fact, she diagnosed me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or better known as PTSD coupled with Anxiety and Panic Attacks. Now unbeknownst to me, I did not even realize that my PTSD also brought out my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or better known as OCD that I did not even know was a major problem I had. Growing up, I was always kind of knew or had an inkling that I had some type of OCD but never thought or categorized it as serious Mental Illness I was suffering from. I will talk about my PTSD and OCD in another post but this story is not specifically about that. Anyways... having everything hit me at once was overwhelming to say the least. Dealing with PTSD, Anxiety/Panic attacks, Depression and OCD all at the same time and not knowing how to cope with it was scary af man! This Pandemic is not helping either. Feeling lost and hopeless, I came across something that is a definite game changer for me and I for others. I was on Instagram one day and came across a post from this girl I follow on there doing an ASMR Makeup video, which is extremely popular in the ASMR community. At the time, I knew very little about ASMR but I was intrigued and very interested to watch the video and learn about it. She explained briefly what ASMR was and began to proceed with the video. Whispering, tapping/tracing, mouth noises, etc... At first, I was like WTF is this and do I love it or hate it? LOL but after watching the video, I remember feeling so calm and quite relaxed so I decided to do some further research and really take the time to educate myself about ASMR.

So let's dive in... does the sound of crackling fire relax you? or the sensation of someone running there fingers through your hair? If so, ASMR may be extremely beneficial for you. ASMR is an acronym that stands for Autonomous. Sensory. Meridian. Response. What the heck does that mean you ask? It is a tingling, relaxing sensation triggered by visual and auditory stimuli such as whispering, tapping/tracing, mouth noises, finger waving, etc... and the sensation usually begins at the top of your head or scalp and may travel down through your spine. For me, I tend to feel the sensation in my spine first and it just travels up but everyone experiences it differently. I know it sounds kind of weird and crazy and some people may not understand it and in fact, may not even experience a true ASMR experience. According to the experts, only 60% of people can experience ASMR. There are many different kinds of ASMR experiences. I personally find the ASMR Makeup videos are the most relaxing for me, for example, they are simulating doing your makeup or nightly skin care routine and I also find the more specific, targeted ASMR videos like tracing/tapping or removing bad energy are also my top favorites as well.

To conclude, ASMR has been extremely helpful for me in many different ways. When I start to feel an Anxiety or Panic attack come on, instead of giving into it, I put on an ASMR video and shut my eyes. It is like a ritual now for me and I kid you not, I go from absolutely freaking out to feeling extremely calm and relaxed within minutes. I swear it is like a magical pill! The tingling sensation I feel from the certain ASMR triggers are absolutely glorious and euphoric. Oh and I forgot to mention it also helps me with my sleep tremendously, omg. It puts me to sleep like a baby instantaneously! Sometimes I do not even remember falling asleep LOL My hopes are that I can help at least one person and educate them on what ASMR is and how it is truly beneficial for most. Whether you suffer from Mental Illness like myself or are just looking for a tool to reduce stress and anxiety, meditate or promote better sleeping habits. Please look into ASMR, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you again for stopping by and taking the time to read my story. Please stay safe and remember you have a choice, Mental Illness is real and there is nothing wrong with it! Talk about it and always ask for help first! If you change nothing, nothing changes. Till next time.