An alternative name could be emotion-touch synesthesia
This appears to be a very uncommon type of synesthesia. In Sean Day's study on 1,143 synesthetes none of them reported having it, and it is difficult – although not impossible – to find examples or descriptions of a phenomenon of this kind.
The
people who describe it say they have very specific tactile sensations in
different parts of their bodies in response to various emotions. It
shouldn’t be confused with the physical reactions to emotion experienced by
everyone to a greater or lesser extent and which are not synesthesia, such as
frisson, rapid heartbeat on feeling anxiety, goosebumps in response to certain
types of fear or pins and needles (paresthesia) or blushing accompanying a
feeling of embarrassment.
The examples given below refer to tactile sensations triggered by the synesthete's own emotions. For tactile sensations induced by other people's emotions, see the page on Perceived emotion-to-colour and other concurrents.
Here are some cases that could be emotion-tactile synesthesia:
“Happy is
green little tickles in my forearms, mad is red waves in the centre of my
chest, fear is green waves starting from my chest into my shoulders and down to
my finger tips.”
(Source: This post and comment on the online debate platform Reddit/Synesthesia. 2019.)
“Standard
everyday emotions are fairly easy to ignore. If the emotion is intense though,
the physical sensation ramps up too and often becomes painful. Example, general
happiness feels kind of prickly, like goosebumps sort of. When it gets really
intense it starts feeling more like stinging nettles. Anger is itchy. Love is
like champagne bubbles popping against the skin. Of course emotions often come
mixed together and that can be interesting and distracting.”
(Source: this blog post. 2016.)
“Usually localized to my face but sometimes spreading to my chest or arms, I feel:
• Anticipation of events as narrow
streams of cold like water droplets on the surface of my skin
• Irritation or irritability as a sharp,
acidic dryness like when chlorine water evaporates from your skin
• Joy (satisfaction) as a firm, solid
smoothness like running my hands over a wooden sculpture
• Joy (elation) like the soft flapping
feel of pulling knotted cotton cloth through your hand, but in my spine
• Sadness (short, momentary) as a sudden
lack of sensation, like your forehead after taking a hat off
• Sudden realization as a coldness inside
my fingers, like the bones are cold water
• Tiredness or apathy as grains of sand
or salt on the surface of my skin”
(Source: This post on the online debate platform Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
“I get tactile sensations on my skin, a “pinprick” sensation (strong but not unpleasant) when I feel a sudden, fleeting, specific emotion like contrariness, frustration, surprise, realisation, perceived incongruency, etc. It’s only for those specific mini-emotions, not for general ones like anger, love, happiness etc. It’s one single pinprick only, in a certain body part that can be somewhere on my arm, hand, face or others. It’s sometimes accompanied by a less intense “aftershock” in another different part of my body, usually on the other side. When it isn’t as strong it might take the form of an itch. Sometimes the location or the form of the pinprick imitates those of the visual stimulus or the concept that caused the emotion, where that’s the case (so if what has irked me is an ugly ring someone’s wearing I might feel it in my finger, for example), so it could be related to mirror touch, which I have too. It’s actually very similar to an aspect of my auditory-tactile synesthesia, but the latter type I get symmetrically on both arms, legs, etc. and this is only in one.”
(Source: Pau
365, my own experience)
Related
synesthesia types:
Perceived emotion-to-colour and other concurrents (with other people’s emotions)
Pain empathy (vicarious pain, indirect pain)
This page last updated: 2 February 2022
It’s me I 1000% have this one
ReplyDeletewell, I have perceived emotion- tactile sensation synesthesia, so same thing, but others emotions, not mine. for instance, the blend of emotions that is lying, feels like touching plastic. I feel it in my palms, and the feeling of it on my palms on my tongue. it's hard to imagine, I know, but it's who I am.
ReplyDeleteThis is me too! My own emotions I don't feel as tactical sensations, it's others. Like their aura has a tactical feel to it. Some can see auras as different colors, I feel them as different textures. Discomfort is the hot steam from an iron. Arousal is cheaply made faux fur. Contempt is a cold concrete wall. Anytime I try to explain myself...I get weird looks.
DeleteIt's so cool to hear that I'm not alone! You are one of the 2 other synethetes that I have found to also have this! It's a cool but sensory overloading tipe that i'm glad not to be alone with.
Deletealso wanted to say that it's cool that you see auras! I don't, but ppl have a vibe, that I hear and feel
Delete