As an anxiety-ridden introvert, I have so much trouble finding non-prescription solutions for my chaotic and constantly running mind. This quest for legitimate relaxation is a daunting and seemingly eternal task for many people. Just when one thing seems to be working well, its effects seem to deteriorate in quality, and most of this can be blamed on overuse or developing too heavy of a reliance on a certain remedy. To my greatest chagrin, ASMR is one of these forms of slowly deteriorating self-treatment.

ASMR, a phenomenon on which I have written praising article after praising article, is an interesting relaxing or “tingling” sensation triggered differently in everyone who experiences it by certain audio and sometimes visual cues; the resulting feeling is best likened to that of a scalp massage. The community dedicated to triggering ASMR in people is relatively large on YouTube and is thereby easy to access and utilize for those who experience the feeling.

Personally, I discovered ASMR YouTube videos over winter break my freshman year of college. I was honestly astounded by the effects. I recalled feeling short moments of this relaxed feeling all throughout my life, mostly when people read out loud to me during childhood, or even in the way people pronounce certain words. Realization of the mental feeling without a name for it is common for many who experience ASMR, which makes a great case for the typical practice of reading kids bedtime stories, but I digress. Ever since discovering the videos, I have used them to fall asleep almost every day for three years. And up until recently, it had been working so well. It was refreshing not to be up until 2 or 3 in the morning without purpose other than overthinking. I was pretty convinced my anxiety and sort of my insomnia could be relieved for at least a few hours a day.

The downhill slide of ASMR’s effects on me happened quite slowly over the course of the last 9 months. At first, I would just no longer experience the feeling while watching certain videos. Upon doing some light research through the kind people of Reddit, I discovered that it could be possible I had overdone it with ASMR and was using it too frequently. This could sometimes be fixed by watching different ASMRtists, or by taking a short break from the videos in general. So, I looked into some different videos and the issue seemed to be solved, but only for a short time before the feeling disappeared completely once again.

Recently, I have been trying to rely less and less on ASMR videos, just a small experiment for myself and my productivity and sleep schedules for the new year. And rather than using it to achieve sleep, I’ve decided just to use them to take a quick break in my free time and relax. I find that in doing this, and only watching a video or two in the evening, rather than keeping them on play all night, that I actually am sleeping better.

The important thing to remember about systems of relief from anxieties or other issues is that no matter the self-treatment method, it is important to use it sparingly or as directed. This is especially true if you want it to work for you rather than hold you back. Dependencies don’t have to be on regulated substances, and proper moderation on self-medicating, in any form, is key.