Emma WhispersRed - Unwind Your Mind

To my family

M y memory is of a beautiful summer day in our little English village. My friend and I are at the local swing park, chatting away as we go up and down on the seesaw, bikes lying on the ground beside us. We cant have been more than ten years old. Do you get that thing where youre not really here, but you are? And a sort of crinkly and fuzzy feeling in your head? I ask. It is the first time I mention my special thing to anyone else.

I see a confused look appear on her face, I think so... Maybe... Er... No, not really, I dont think. The subject quickly changes to something way more interesting, like who got to sneak a look at the Just Seventeen problem pages or how many penny sweets we can buy ourselves today. I still remember that moment vividly.

Growing up as a sensitive and quiet child was for me, lets say, quite tricky. When your inner world is rich but your confidence to be outwardly expressive is poor, many things are difficult to explain. Maybe my friend did experience what I was asking about, but how do you talk about a feeling that doesnt have a name? Thankfully now we do have a name for the glorious feeling I was trying to describe as a child, and now Iand the millions of people who share this experience with meare more able to express it. Its called ASMRAutonomous Sensory Meridian Responseand in this book I will explain what it is and how you can experience and benefit from it yourself.

My name is Emma Smith. I work full time as an ASMRtist creating content for my three YouTube channels: WhispersRed ASMR, WhispersRed Sleepy Children and My Purple Life. I have been an ASMRtist for the last six years and I film my videos in a mostly soundproof studio at the end of my garden. Its called The Tingle Shed. I am also a qualified sound healing practitioner with the College of Sound Healing in England and reiki practitioner with the Reiki Academy London, which all came about after my discovery of ASMR.

Over the years I seem to have become a sort of Internet Mother to many, which I lovingly and gratefully accept. Its very much an honour as this special ASMR feeling really has become a life mission for me and, you could say, my child. Im a very protective mum and weve been through a lot together. I never felt like a YouTuber in the way I assume most people think of it. The culture of likes, subscribers, tags and views often feels a little odd, though I am very grateful for the platform as a way to reach and connect with so many like-minded people. I feel that the internet should be used wherever possible as a tool for positive connection and for bringing people together, so I work a lot outside of my YouTube channels and see them as a way to build a community, a base from which to explore other possibilities and expand awareness of ASMR in other realms of society.

In 2015 I organised and hosted the first live ASMR event and have since established live ASMR as an accepted concept in several different formats in London, Berlin, San Francisco and New Yorkfrom ASMR sessions in a theatre with wireless headsets to an immersive ASMR Spa, and even an interactive ASMR exhibition in conjunction with a brand.

I am happy to talk about and represent ASMR as much as I can with the press, so have spoken with many news outlets around the world, and by the time you read this I will hopefully be on my way to releasing an ASMR music album. Im also presenting an ASMR podcast for the first time, which is a lot of fun. It is really great to get out there and bring awareness of ASMR to groups of people who may not have come across it otherwise. I like to have the chance to explain it in a way that can be understood and hopefully help someone who may need it.

I aim to support ASMR as a legitimate therapeutic experience for all living beings (yes, animals experience it too) and will continue these activities for as long as I can. My absolute dream is for ASMR to become a recognised complementary therapy available to all, to teach people everywhere and to open an ASMR retreat centre. If you can, please cross all your fingers and toes on my behalf; Id be very grateful. I am crossing all of mine for you to manifest your dreams too.

Now feels like the right time to write a book about this topic and to discuss it on a heart-led level. I do this very humbly with the hope that I can positively support and represent ASMR with all its complexities, not only for the existing community around the world but also for those discovering it for the first time. Perhaps you know what I was trying to explain to my friend when I was little? You may have had similar conversations growing up. Maybe you have already heard about ASMR through a friend, in a news article or hopping around YouTube? Hopefully youre in for a treat and are about to discover a whole new world.

In Unwind your Mind: The Life-Changing Power of ASMR, I explain what ASMR is from my own experiences, its history and how it arrived into popular culture. How you can learn to embrace this sensation to ease stress and anxiety, to improve sleep and how to explore its simple calming effects to support physical and mental wellbeing. Through practical information, tips and simple guided exercises, I will guide you to find your own personal ASMR sensitivity and understand how we can use it to promote self-awareness and self-development. You will also hear my personal story of how I found the ASMR community, how ASMR became a therapy for me, how it completely changed my life and how it changed the way I live and love now. Its been a journey for sure.

The videos I make are with the intention to create a calm and quiet haven for the viewer and a sanctuary. It isnt always the right place for me to discuss the full range of subjects I am interested in surrounding ASMR, my personal thoughts, theories about it and things I have learned so far in depth. My channel is an intuitive place and I try to keep it free of too much thinking. For this reason I am grateful for an opportunity to write at length about a subject that has been close to me my whole life and that I have studied every day for the last six years.

I would also like this book to serve as some assistance for current new ASMRtists and those wishing to take the leap to become one. Either as a step towards their own healing, for that of others or both. To perhaps give them some inspiration from my experiences and thoughts on what our purpose is as facilitators for healing.

The wonderful thing about ASMR is that its totally universal; it transcends everything and brings people together. I am aware that I speak to people of all ages, location, experience, knowledge and background. Some of this information will be preaching to the converted so to speak, to some it will be completely new. I hope there is something in here for everyone.

F or as long as I can remember Ive experienced a warm tingling sensation that starts in the top of my head, spreads like a wave down my spine and lulls me into an almost trance-like state of relaxation. This feeling would emerge at different moments during childhood: when I was getting my feet measured for school shoes, having a teacher explain things carefully, watching my mum brush her hair, and during soft-spoken conversations with friends during sleepovers. Id always assumed that this feeling was an unusual personal quirk. Id asked my sister if she felt the same thing. She didnt and so I kept it to myself. Then, in 2013, I discovered I wasnt the only one.

Im a psychologist and I was at a conference. After listening to a softly spoken talk (I cant even remember what the topic was!), I told a colleague that the speakers voice made me feel tingly and relaxed. She said that what I described sounded similar to something shed seen in the media about a fascination with towel-folding tutorials. When I got home, I immediately searched online. I soon discovered the wonderful world of ASMR and the online community. After Id spent a few hours watching ASMR videos, I started hunting for research on the topic. Surely if this feeling had a name and was something that others also experienced then there must be research on it?