Tickling is Actually a Form of #Panic

Have you ever had (or even thought about) a spider crawling up your leg and it….tickled ? Right before you scream bloody murder ? I am definitely guilty as charged.

I’m a very ticklish person but having a spider tickle me doesn’t make me laugh I’d scream!

When a person tickles me, however, I laugh. Even after I cry ‘uncle’, I still laugh to the point where tears stream down my eyes.

Usually, laughter is perceived as a good and ideal thing : it raises mood, lightens the atmosphere, it’s used for therapy, and it sets the premise for a deeper bond or relationship.  

I assumed tickling is the same kind of feel good laughter even if I wanted to violently kick and bite the person in retaliation. I thought it meant I’ll happily kick them away in good humor. I won’t kick a spider in good humor, however, so what’s the difference ?

Research says there is no difference.

Laughter from Tickling is actually a form of panic.

Can we tickle ourselves ?

Initially, many studies have been done to figure out why other people can tickle us and we can’t tickle ourselves.

One of the studies done in Christine R. Harris’s literature, "The Mystery of Ticklish Laughter" involves a tickle machine.
When people believe they are being tickled, they laugh just as hard as they would if a person tickled them, suggesting it doesn’t require interpersonal context (Harris 1999).
But it’s the threat of being tickled that still produces laughter.

Usually, the most sensitive areas are the most vulnerable to tickle sensitivity. Because of that, Harris came to the conclusion that it must be an evolutionary adaption to help children develop skills necessary used in defense and combat. Kids have to learn how to protect their vulnerable areas!

The Fight or Flight Response is Activated

Researchers in Germany find tickling activates a part of our brain that anticipates pain and THAT’S why you incidentally want to lash out at the other person (Nye 2013). It also stimulates the hypothalamus that’s responsible for the fight or flight response, along with temperature, hunger, tiredness, and sexual behavior. It’s a very primal response.

The actual laughter is a part of a defense mechanism that signals submissiveness, which  may be due to evolution.

This is why we RESIST tickling so much. It’s not pleasant as the laughter may suggest.

In fact, it used to be one of the worst Medieval tortures.