[Ahmad Baghaffar]

Ok, since I was a child and until today, I can create this feeling that generally feels strongest in my core, right around where my diaphragm is. But, when I focus on different parts of my body I can "distribute" part of the intensity to that particular area, be it my foot or my hands or my thighs, etc. It is this powerful tingling sensation, it feels really good and if I sustain it for 4 seconds, it can become VERY strong. I can hold it for as long as I please but it gets gradually more difficult the longer I hold it. I tried looking everywhere for an answer but cannot find anything except others speaking of this same feeling, but no answers. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing to myself? Ive seen explanations linked to the nervous system, others to the feeling of dilating veins, and some other less appealing ones like projecting my soul out of my body (which I sincerely doubt, lol).

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

a little more info: the way i create the feeling is hard to explain but ill do my best. Its like trying to expand your heart... like stretching it outwards, or like expanding your chest but not actually doing it. It makes me fidget a little and have minor muscle jolts around my neck and and shoulders after the first 3 seconds. If I prolong the feeling then the minor jerks reach my fingers/hands and my shoulders.

[Phi for All]

I would think this is more of a psychological phenomenon, tied to some sort of self-hypnotic suggestibility. I can almost guarantee it has no biological basis.

If you have no objections, I can move this thread to the Psychiatry and Psychology section where it will gain more practical responses.

[Iggy]

Ahmad Baghaffar, on 7 November 2011 - 01:52 PM, said:

...It is this powerful tingling sensation,... It makes me fidget a little and have minor muscle jolts around my neck and and shoulders after the first 3 seconds. If I prolong the feeling then the minor jerks reach my fingers/hands and my shoulders.

Tingling like you would get with goosebumps?

Jolts like you might feel go up your spine if you are just about to lift something very heavy off the floor?

It sounds like you're describing the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Being startled would give, I think, the same kind of symptoms to the average user.

Actually, there is probably a lot of interesting psychology and physiology here.

Let me ask what might sound weird...

How would you compare your experience to a near-death experience or an out of body experience (if you know). How would you compare it to a feeling of awe, or an 'eerie' feeling... or maybe a religious trance-like state if that is something you could relate to.

Uhhh... less extreme, let me think...

How would you compare it to the goosebumps and the little flutter a person might get in their heart or belly with a first kiss?

Without explaining why, I'm curious if any of that strikes a chord with what you feel.

[Psycho]

Phi for All, on 7 November 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

I would think this is more of a psychological phenomenon, tied to some sort of self-hypnotic suggestibility. I can almost guarantee it has no biological basis.

Though most likely correct, people have been shown to be able to regulate there body temperature and heart rate (to non-dangerous level) at will so there is no reason someone wouldn't be able to control blood flow to their extremities at will given some concentration.

[Ahmad Baghaffar]

Iggy, on 7 November 2011 - 04:48 PM, said:

Tingling like you would get with goosebumps?

Jolts like you might feel go up your spine if you are just about to lift something very heavy off the floor?

It sounds like you're describing the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Being startled would give, I think, the same kind of symptoms to the average user.

Actually, there is probably a lot of interesting psychology and physiology here.

Let me ask what might sound weird...

How would you compare your experience to a near-death experience or an out of body experience (if you know). How would you compare it to a feeling of awe, or an 'eerie' feeling... or maybe a religious trance-like state if that is something you could relate to.

Uhhh... less extreme, let me think...

How would you compare it to the goosebumps and the little flutter a person might get in their heart or belly with a first kiss?

Without explaining why, I'm curious if any of that strikes a chord with what you feel.

No more like the tingling one gets when excited, like a love-struck teenager who rolls around in bed in excitement, who finally musters enough courage to ask the girl he likes to the prom the next morning, that kind of feeling, if I'm making any sense at all. Sorry for the weird examples but its very difficult to explain .

And no I guess I over exaggerated , I believe its more of a twitch or 2-3 twitches combined, almost exactly the kind that one would get from the first kiss. Its not a painful or intense jerk, but like a 1/2 a second shiver, or like a little vibration of the muscle. Another example is when trying to look confident on the poker table while bluffing, sometimes I would get the same kind of twitch. Sounds like it has something to do with the nervous system as well to me, although my knowledge base is fairly limited, I know enough to expect so. The big question is what am I doing to it?


Thanks so much for the help!

Phi for All, on 7 November 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

I would think this is more of a psychological phenomenon, tied to some sort of self-hypnotic suggestibility. I can almost guarantee it has no biological basis.

If you have no objections, I can move this thread to the Psychiatry and Psychology section where it will gain more practical responses.

Oh well ya sure! Since even Iggy suggests it has something to do with the nervous system I guess that would be beneficial. Thanks for your help!

Psycho, on 7 November 2011 - 06:09 PM, said:

Though most likely correct, people have been shown to be able to regulate there body temperature and heart rate (to non-dangerous level) at will so there is no reason someone wouldn't be able to control blood flow to their extremities at will given some concentration.

Coming to think of it I was reading on biofeedback and some techniques that were used to regulate body temperature. When I induce the feeling and focus on my hands or feet, I just think "I want to make them warmer" and when I focus on that, after 1-2 minutes I begin to feel that they actually do get warmer!

I used to do it for 10-15 seconds at a time because I enjoyed the feeling without knowing what it is.

Can the brain by any chance "do" what I'm thinking, even if I do not necessarily know what techniques to use? With regards to the hands and feet warming, I did not read on how patients were told to achieve this, I just kinda brought up the feeling, then focused on my hands, then focused on thinking "I want to make them warmer".

This probably sounds ultimately silly but are there any potential "abilities" to gain from understanding this feeling and how to use it?

[Iggy]

Ahmad Baghaffar, on 8 November 2011 - 04:22 AM, said:

No more like the tingling one gets when excited, like a love-struck teenager who rolls around in bed in excitement, who finally musters enough courage to ask the girl he likes to the prom the next morning, that kind of feeling, if I'm making any sense at all. Sorry for the weird examples but its very difficult to explain .

And no I guess I over exaggerated , I believe its more of a twitch or 2-3 twitches combined, almost exactly the kind that one would get from the first kiss. Its not a painful or intense jerk, but like a 1/2 a second shiver, or like a little vibration of the muscle. Another example is when trying to look confident on the poker table while bluffing, sometimes I would get the same kind of twitch. Sounds like it has something to do with the nervous system as well to me, although my knowledge base is fairly limited, I know enough to expect so. The big question is what am I doing to it?

Yeah... I am really drawn to the idea that you're consciously stimulating your sympathetic nervous system. I'm not a medical expert, so you should probably just take what I'm saying as a suggested area of research or the like.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS.. it's ridiculous to type) is the "something-is-about-to-happen" nervous system. It is the reason some people blush when they lie, the reason your hair stands on end when something doesn't feel right, the reason people in an emergency or a disaster often recount it by saying "I felt like I was outside my body watching things... like I was watching a movie".

As complicated as the SNS is, it is a very evolutionarily fundamental system. It regulates our "fight-or-flight-or-freeze" response. It regulates the opossum's tendency to become completely dissociated (or "feign death" as they say) when in danger... it regulates the chameleon's tendency to change color when it senses a predator nearby, and regulates our human responses to danger and trauma (physiologically based psychology if ever there were a perfect example).


So... that was probably the worst description of the SNS ever -- nonetheless, if you are willfully tapping into it then what is physiologically happening?...

Your brain sends a message to a ganglion at the base of your neck. From there, messages get sent to the rest of your body where its systems are told to start acting very different. Blood vessels near the skin constrict and deeper ones dilate -- blood pressure goes up -- adrenaline levels increase (as do other hormones and neurotransmitters which can have profound psychological effects) -- the digestive tract stops working, sugar is liberated as an energy source, your instinctive reflexes can become more pronounced as the spine stops waiting for the brain to tell it what to do and starts reacting to stimulus on its own.

What exactly happens, and how it feels, depends on your genetics and what specific situation you're in. If you are suddenly trapped -- perhaps your boss catches you in a lie and confronts you -- your SNS reacts. You could panic... you could become dissociated... everybody's different. But, you could perhaps imagine how it would physically feel. You would feel things in your gut, on your skin, with your heart... etc.

Suddenly being frightened -- you might feel a jolt of energy which might be intense enough to make you physically flinch. If the threat is real I can say from experience that very noticeable physical things are felt in the body.

Kissing someone for the first time (or similar activities ) is a dulled down example of the same system. You could blush, skin could tingle, heart start to race, butterflies in the stomach... it really depends on the person but there should be physically noticeable things.

The poker table is absolutely a recipe for SNS overdrive. I've seen the hands of the most professional poker players shake. It is a primary evolutionary response and it is very hard to control.

You say it feels pleasurable and that is understandable. People go bungee jumping and base jumping for the pleasure of it.


So... if you recognize what I mean by all that rambling and you identify it as something very similar to the feeling that you are self-inducing then I would strongly suspect you are consciously aggravating your SNS. I do not mean that you should feel fear or excitement when you do it. I mean that fearful or exciting situations might generate feelings that you recognize as very similar to what you are feeling.


There could be supporting evidence of my hypothesis.

1) does your hair stand on end or do you get goose bumps anywhere on your body when you do this, or... does your skin change color? That would be very good corroboration.

2) if someone touches your arm when you aren't looking at it you wouldn't normally flinch. But, if you are inducing this state and someone touches your arm, might it jerk as a response?

3) do your pupils visibly dilate when you do this?

Those types of things (and other normal SNS responses) would support the idea.

This post has been edited by Iggy: 8 November 2011 - 07:41 AM

[Phi for All]

Ahmad Baghaffar, on 8 November 2011 - 04:22 AM, said:

Oh well ya sure! Since even Iggy suggests it has something to do with the nervous system I guess that would be beneficial. Thanks for your help!

No problem, I'll move the thread and leave a note where it's moved to.

I don't mean to say that there isn't anything biological going on, just that the origins seem related to your consciously thinking about creating these feelings. Even Iggy's suggestion of it being related to the SNS requires your brain to trigger the response.