Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is much in the news recently and Opticians get more than their fair share of coverage. ASMR has created a craze for posting videos and images of things that promote an overwhelming feeling of pleasure or wellbeing --Google it.
Head Orgasm is the vernacular being used as a shortcut and also to grab more headlines for the phenomenon. While it would be easy to dismiss ASMR as the latest fad from the crystal-clutching crazies in society there are others suggesting, some even medical people, that ASMR could have a therapeutic benefit.
ASMR is described here by the Guardian, whose readers I should image make up many of its proponents. Watching videos and viewing images is the latest thing for people wanting to experience ASMR or as you and I might say, a very nice feeling. Descriptions of ASMR vary in their scope, intensity and effect but they are all positive and nice so what's not to like about it? This Guardian example is a good one as the author describes:
The optometrist explained what the test entailed and asked me questions about how much I watched TV and used computers, all in this incredibly soothing, soft-spoken voice. When she lowered the lights and used the pen torch to see into the backs of my eyes, I experienced this tingling sensation. It began at the crown of my head and trickled over my scalp, down my neck and across my arms and legs. It was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep, though that wouldn't have been conducive to an eye examination.
Of course there are as many scenarios that give people a head orgasm as there are way of feeling ASMR but it got me thinking. If you can get that level of effect from watching a You Tube video of a refraction why not promote the real thing -- for patient kicks. In these days of differentiation all ideas are welcome.
