Warning: The most depressing question that has ever been asked on the Forum

[Freethought]

Do you think a person could get so depressed that the tickling reflex would be altered?

And if not, and the laughing reflex cannot be voluntarily suppressed, then wouldn't tickling actually merit some scientific research for treating mood disorders?

 

[ArchNemesis]

Do you think a person could get so depressed that the tickling reflex would be altered?

And if not, and the laughing reflex cannot be voluntarily suppressed, then wouldn't tickling actually merit some scientific research for treating mood disorders?

No because being ticklish is just that: a physical reflex. It has nothing to do with mood. Just ask a person who hates to be tickled but has to laugh regardless, what it does for their mood when that happens.

 

[Raytheon]

Id say mood plays a big part in tickling. Try tickling someone who's really angry or balling their eyes out over a dead pet. Two great ways to gain a rearranged face! In my opinion part of being a good tickler is being a good judge of character and knowing the right time and place. You'll get a much better tickle out of someone whos happy and tipsy on the couch at a party than say a depressed girl at a funeral.

 

[rhiannon]

And if not, and the laughing reflex cannot be voluntarily suppressed, then wouldn't tickling actually merit some scientific research for treating mood disorders?

No. Try tickling someone who is depressed and try to avoid the fist. There is nothing more annoying than being tickled while in a bad mood.

 

[cutetummy07]

As they say, there's a time & place for everything... Yes, tickling results in laughter, but I wouldn't say that it would change a mood all the time.

 

[ZenTickling]

Depression, no. A knock to the head, maybe. If neurons are rerouted or portions of the brain damaged I could see the tickling sensation disappearing.

 

[jhop220]

No. Try tickling someone who is depressed and try to avoid the fist. There is nothing more annoying than being tickled while in a bad mood.

Always with the spot on points rhiannon....

 

[PhoenixRising]

I think mood is everything. If it's not there, don't even try it.

 

[GEORGIATKLER]

Yeah, I think mood-ring toe-rings should be required equipment for any tickle tool box! If someone is in a bad/sad mood they will ususally be less demonstrably ticklish, especially in laughing. I believe a bad mood makes a person be less ticklish and certainly less willing to be or enjoying being tickled. Thick skulled 'lers have been warned in advance of any bodily or relationship harm caused by "tickling to change a bad/sad mood".

 

[The Last Laugh]

No because being ticklish is just that: a physical reflex.

Utterly untrue.

 

[Mane'o]

Only in the fantasy stories and videos does tickle therapy "work". Laugh therapy is a different thing altogether and does have some traction but that is separate from tickling.

 

[shygirl08]

Only in the fantasy stories and videos does tickle therapy "work". Laugh therapy is a different thing altogether and does have some traction but that is separate from tickling.

How is laugh therapy separate from tickling?

 

[tickledgirls]

Only in the fantasy stories and videos does tickle therapy "work". Laugh therapy is a different thing altogether and does have some traction but that is separate from tickling.

Hmmm, I disagree...it can work... maybe not with adults (>.>) but it can work...

 

[Freethought]

I really don't have a dog in this tickle fight. Tickling depressed people would not be at all enjoyable to me in any context.

But I do know that there is some research that suggests that the act of laughing (i.e. laugh therapy) can stimulate production of the kind of brain chemicals that alleviate depression.

I guess to bring it to a more personal level...for tickle enthusiasts, would the act of tickling or being tickled pull you out of depression? Or as the answers so far indicate, would it only serve at best to pull you only far enough out of depression to get into an ass kicking mood

 

[monstertickles]

Tickling has a good amount to do with someone's mood when it's happening. You cannot simply just tickle someone, and all of the sudden *BAM* the are in a fit of giggles and happy.. It's not simply a physical reflex.

I'll say that I used to LOVE being tickle tortured, but after about almost a year of depression and such, I hate being tickled. Hate it. So speaking fom experience, tickling experiences can differ in an altered state of mind.

 

[rhiannon]

How is laugh therapy separate from tickling?

Tickling doesn't necessarily cause laughter, especially if someone doesn't want to be tickled. And there is a good chance that someone who is depressed doesn't want to be tickled.

 

[BellybTickler]

And there is a good chance that someone who is depressed doesn't want to be tickled.

I doubt that.

 

[voided9]

I think it can be possible. I've known people who, when really sad or upset about something, just aren't ticklish like they normally are.

 

[rhiannon]

I doubt that.

You doubt that a depressed person doesn't want to be tickled?

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

I'm considerably less ticklish when I'm upset or otherwise in a bad mood. I actually have to try to react normally if I don't want the person to know I'm in a bad mood.

 

[shygirl08]

I'm considerably less ticklish when I'm upset or otherwise in a bad mood. I actually have to try to react normally if I don't want the person to know I'm in a bad mood.

How can you try to react normally? I can't fake my laugh when it comes to being tickled. It's either there or it's not.

I think the only times I'm not ticklish are when I'm depressed or a very poor connection with the tickler.

 

[maniactickler]

I think it can be possible. I've known people who, when really sad or upset about something, just aren't ticklish like they normally are.

This scares me! i want a girl thats horribly ticklish 24/7, regardless of mood!

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

How can you try to react normally? I can't fake my laugh when it comes to being tickled. It's either there or it's not.

I think the only times I'm not ticklish are when I'm depressed or a very poor connection with the tickler.

I don't always laugh at first. I naturally just try to hold it in (call it a pride thing, I guess). So I don't fake laughter, I just try to, I dunno, react normally. I don't know how to explain it :/

 

[c7_assassin]

I've found evidence to suggest that ticklishness is completely involuntary for most people...

We may actually be wired differently, since tickling is more than that to us. That is, we might be no more inclined to respond to tickling when we're not in the mood than anyone else would respond to unwanted sexual advances. For the uninitiated? Who knows.