On a related note, I saw on TV or youtube, there was a tickle test. A person would try to carry an egg on a spoon across the room. First, a stranger would try to tickle them to make them drop the egg. Next, their spouse would tickle them. It was much easier for them to resist the stranger. The narrator claimed it was something about trust and intimacy tied to tickling.
When I was a young child, I liked being tickled. Then as an older child, I thought it was too childish, so I developed several techniques. I used to fill myself with pure hatred to stop my ticklishness. I also found I could disconnect my reactions from the tickling sensations. I would feel the tickles, but did not have to respond. It was like watching part of myself from afar. I only had to hold out until the would-be ler would give up. Years later, especially when women at work tried to tickle me, I regretted my automatic anti-tickle response. I actively sought to reverse the automatic control by mental rehearsals and even hypnosis. I finally succeeded, only to change jobs into a tickle-free workplace.
Lee
