I wish I had ASMR. I wonder if I could learn it via meditation.

I did! The subject is fascinating, and I truly wish I could experience it once in my life. It does seem that although there is clearly nothing sexual about the experience, ASMR folks are so dedicated to a point that verges on the creepy. "Fetish" is the word that sprang to mind.

The stuff they say triggers ASMR always makes me feel like I'm on the edge of having a panic attack.

It's the anti-phenomenon of chalk on a blackboard.

msali, your thoughts mirror mine.

The interesting thing for me is that I know what phenomenon they are talking about - I recognized it instantly, though I've never thought much about it or tried to make it happen or had a name for it. I have had the "starburst" feeling a bunch of times in life, though not from whispering, from tactile sensations. I just thought it was one of those things, like shooting stars or random "someone walked on my grave" chills or 'pins and needles,' that everybody gets from time to time, because physiology is weird.

BUt I think it's one thing to experience it - it's probably not uncommon - and another thing to pursue it in a way that seems obsessive, like the people who did the piece, and some of the people making the videos online (those videos are reallly unsettling to me). It's a nice enough feeling, but whatever makes you chase it around every day and require it to feel relaxed, I don't have. So I came away thinking that it can't just be about whatever nerve response that might be, but also intersects with other stuff, like maybe anxiety and obsession.