An aspect I found interesting was the social pressure to feel phantom sense. People want you to be able to engage more deeply with them, whether that be feeling head pets or cuddling. So intermingled into the crowd of people who play up their phantom sense, there are people who are just saying they have it to make the people around them feel more at ease.
I also mostly get 'visual ASMR' instead of phantom sense and even that took a while for me to feel. Headpats whilst looking at a mirror is great. Hands stroking your face also triggers it. For actual phantom sense though, the easiest way a friend showed me was to get someone to pretend to stroke down your nose. Literally pointer finger, slowly slide from the top of your nose, to the bottom of your nose. After that, I was slowly able to start feeling other small things like if someone pretended to stroke or hold onto my arm. It's still rare but it is pretty cool to be able to feel those things for people who live countries apart from some of their closest friends. It's an extra level of presence that you wouldn't be able to get from voice calls
Hiya Dutchie here, been playing for +-4 years, never had a phantom sense experience not even a little bit, had a bunch of people who "knew how to train it" try and make me feel it and i really did try to gain it for a while because i wanted to experience it. Three years of no luck. But then... Weed. I had some rather strong edibles i usually have but decided i would try combining it with VR. And oh boy... That touched my brain in a funny way and i experienced some of the most insane phantom touch ever, i could feel other people, textures like hair, wood, marble. I could feel temperatures coming from fireplaces and snow. And i felt like it was hard to breathe when i was underwater. And bullet shot at me would sting like needles. When it wore off the next day it was back to nothing at all. Then i had a period where i was fairly regularly getting high and getting in vr. And after each time the phantom sense would get a little stronger even after the effects wore off. Just shows how weed actually physically alters your brain permanently. Just be careful before you try anything yourself tho, drugs are really bad for you and i haven't had anything in the past 5 months. But one hell of an experience for sure
I’ve haven’t played VR Chat yet, but I have gotten phantom sensations more intensely since I have done LSD, Weed enhances further. Even sober now, it is like I can feel what I’m imagining even though I know it is a though. We can generate feeling-sensations through the power of thought. Sometimes a psychoactive substance like Weed or LSD helps us to unlock it I believe.
I am so glad someone else besides me finally realized that "phantom sense" is just ASMR... I've been watching ASMR content loooooooong before I started experiencing "phantom sense" and I can definitively say it is the exact same thing except more immersive
I've tried figuring out how phantom sense gets triggered. I was in such disbelief when I was new to VR, but I just kept feeling it everytime I got into VR and it was very strong. One thing I've noticed is that the subconscious triggering the phantom sense seems to go off of your memories IRL. When it doesn't know, sometimes it'll do a combination of memories. If it has no clue, then you'll get the generic staticy/tingly feeling a lot of people will feel. Here's some things that I've found helps with phantom sense: 1. Smooth computer - Is it possible to get phantom sense with 30, or maybe even 20 fps? sure. However it's significantly harder, and won't be as effective. For me, I need 90+ frames to get consistent phantom sense that is also very strong 2. Full body tracking - Again, smooth tracking is important. I was shocked at how much better phantom sense was when I got it all, and it allowed me to feel stuff in my legs. (Though if you got very sensitive phantom sense, it'll be a bit unpleasant when things move in a way they shouldn't when you lose tracking) 3. Have a fan blowing on you - Dunno where I heard this, but once I did I realized that phantom sense tends to trigger more. Not sure why, but I'm assuming it's like slightly dulling IRL senses, so your mind can fill in the blanks. Sorta like how closing your eyes makes you hear better or vice versa. 4. Slow movements - Gotta give the brain time to recognize what is happening. It can happen with fast movements sure, but a lot of the time I think that's more of people having a reaction to things moving quickly, rather than actually feeling something. 5. Have other people/things initiate the contact on you - Not sure why. Reminds me of how most people cannot tickle themselves. This is probably why some people suggest rain, but I'm sure there's other things that do this. 6. Test on hands/arms, Spend time in front of mirrors for other things - If your brain isn't used to the avatar, it's not going to make the connection where it thinks the avatar is the body. Hands you put out in front of you all the time, but if you want to feel others things, you'll need the mirror more to see it easily. 7. Avatar that is similar to your body - Less work for your brain to do. Humanoid bodies help with that a lot. As for me personally, I can't do the anime avatars unfortunately. Causes strong uncanny valley vibes for me in VR funnily enough because the brain goes all "this is human, but that's not like the humans we are used to!", so it doesn't work. So I used a lot of furry avatars 'cuz friends are furries. I realized that ones that closely resembled the human shape made it easy for my brain to trigger phantom sense in the areas that were humanlike. That said, with enough time in an avatar, my brain just adjusts and gets used to it. So now I can feel phantom sense in any part in any avatar, including parts that don't exist. That said, the ears work fine, but the tail can have troubles. The long/big muzzles some avatars have usually requires me to have been spending too much time in VR to go feel like I do with other areas on the body because it's so vastly different from the human face, and each avatar's face is made so differently. 8. Remove distractions - If you're in a noisy household, and/or constantly have to take the headset off from people talking, alarms, or whatever else, your brain is going to be stuck thinking about the real world. Thus, making you more aware of your real body, and ignore the virtual one more often. 9? Sleeping in VR - Only one I'm listing from my experience that I'm unsure of if this quite effects phantom sense, since most of the time I sleep in VR is during times where I do VR more often (thus phantom sense will be stronger anyways). However, it seems that when you're in a half-awake half asleep mode, the subconscious mind kinda gets used to the avatar you're using faster and stronger. I would have to be ultra-strict with a VR and sleep schedule to truly test this one to know for sure, but I'm not the greatest as keeping a consistent sleep schedule. Now some things I've heard a few other people say helped them feel phantom sense, but I can't really confirm myself so take it with a grain of salt: - Recreating the rubber hand illusion in game by touching the area IRL and in game at the same time (tried it for a couple times, but my phantom sense was so strong that I feel like it was weakening it lol, but it was hard to tell) - Closer the friend, the stronger the phantom sense (either relaxing helps phantom sense, or someone's looking for an excuse) - Focusing on the atmosphere (At a glance, this confused me - Hypnosis (Curious to try this though, could I make it somehow stronger?) - Has to happen naturally (like not drawing attention to it when it happens) - Being tired (Might be some truth to this. When I was new to VR, I learned quickly how sleep deprived I was as I fell asleep in VR accidentally back theen) - Similarly to above, drugs/alcohol (Though at that point, you're just kinda asking for trouble. This combined with lack of sleep makes me wonder if it messes with the mind's ability to remember what oneself looks like, thus adapting to what is presented) Some other notes about phantom sense I felt were interesting: - As long as you can see it, you don't have to be focused on it to feel it. This blew my mind when I first realized it, because I originally thought it was some kind of hypnosis trick that people are doing where they are actively thinking they want something to happen. Over the years I've seen plenty of examples that's not the case. Most extreme case was back when I had massive anxiety (before VR basically exterminated my anxiety), and 2 separate occasions from different people decided to calm me down by headpats. If the heart is pumping, you have a hard time breathing because you are panicking, and you can still feel phantom sense, I feel like that's enough for me to believe that you don't need to focus on it to make it happen. Of course, there's countless times where I'll feel something first, then realize that someone is doing something after becaus e I realize it's happening, most often combined with this next point - It can happen in your peripheral vision. I cannot tell you how many times I'm just talking to someone about something, focusing on the conversation, then someone else comes up and plays with the ears on my avatar and I feel it first, then realize what happened. - Temperature is a thing phantom sense can do. Some people only have phantom sense with temperature involved. - While phantom sense has many wonderful things about it, it forces some of my friends to not play some games, most common example being shooters. Personally, avoid water like the plague 'cuz of a cousin that wasn't being very bright when I was a kid many many times. Though it's mainly going from above water and entering it which makes me feel like I'm gagging on water. If I'm teleported under the water, my brain doesn't care (luckily I can close my eyes for this). Also I tend to avoid sharp things going at me. Swords, needles, claws, etc tend to effect my phantom sense strongly. Also getting stabbed by an antlion makes me realize my subconscious brain is better at determining the size of the impact of damage than my conscious brain because I didn't really notice that in half life alyx, the antlions's legs were that huge when a large portion of my stomache felt the impact. - Reality breaking things can mess with phantom sense. For me the most common is using OVR toolkit, since your avatar disappears instead of having your hand over the menu. Always gives discomfort, but interestingly, the type of discomfort is different depending on the day. - Unsure if it's related, but pain tends to go away or be lessened for me in VR. Unless it's a headache, then it is intensified in VR. This is mostly from 3 years ago, back when I took notes and played VR everyday to go relax before sleep, and asking people about it when it popped up. Still, most of this comes up often whenever I play. Getting back into VR, gonna start taking notes again! It does seem like whatever is causing phantom sense, is probably a complex combination of things.
@FIB-EDITS I mean if you want to believe I'm lying go ahead. I don't believe quite a few people that claim they have phantom sense for various reasons. Some people will say/do anything for attention after all even if it doesn't apply to them. Also I was skeptical because some things with phantom sense didn't seem consistent with people, but now I think it's more of a web of causes of effects, not just some "you have this" sort of thing. Which like many things going on the brain, is going to make it really friggin hard to research and understand Heck, it's kinda funny because I always get skeptical of myself whenever I haven't been in VR for a long time. Hence why I started taking notes on phantom sense for a bit to see if what is consistent. Trying to determine if any of it is placebo effect, how much is correlation and not causation, among other things
How much physical touch do you feel in dreams? I know some peeps that really don't have any sense of touch in dreams and some that have very imaginative dreams where they can feel real weight and even some semi-serious pain that wakes them up.
@@littlemonztergaming8665 Sorry I didn't get to this earlier. RUclips wasn't notifying me of things for some reason. Honestly it seems to depend on the day and what the dream is about: - Some days I feel absolutely nothing. I usually assume this is because something else is distracting me more. Though I do tend to notice I don't feel things as often if I am going through a depressive part in my life (luckily I don't get depressed as much anymore 'cuz all the improvements I've made in life). - Other days I feel nothing unless a character or situation makes me feel something that gets feelings going. - Other days I will feel everything as if I am living it in real life, and since it's a dream world, there can be more sensations & more intense sensations than possible in real life. I don't think I've ever really thought about the connection between dreams and phantom sense before, but dreams definitely do feel better as they have a tendency to change the nuances of whatever to specifically match a particular sensation. Whereas Phantom Sense is more bound by the reality of what you look at, you're not going to change what it looks like by thinking to make it different. Though I do feel like I gotta say a few things about dreams though. When I was younger I used to have daily dreams. Out of curiosity I tried to control them over time. I think it started when I was too tired and was thinking about stuff as I was falling asleep. Over years I got better at it as time went on. I forget when precisely, but probably teenage or early 20s I was able to fully control every aspect of my dreams. Realized that it gets boring real fast when you constantly have everything you want at every second. So I decided to give my dreams a set of rules (so it doesn't turn into incomprehensible chaos like some of my dreams when I was a kid growing up. Like laws of physics do not apply, and you see stuff that seems like they are shapes yet are not shapes at the same time. That kind of weirdness). So it was basically like a new adventure everyday meeting new people and seeing new experiences. Funnily enough, I actually stopped being able to lucid dream for a while because I got a little too attached to a character in a dream, and since it's in the subconscious mind, there's no emotional defenses, sooo it got hard to deal with them dying because we went into a dangerous area. So anytime I tried to dream for a long time after that, my brain was like "no you can't have dreams anymore because this event!". When I do lucid dreaming I do notice that I am feeling things more, but I don't know if that's because I'm generally more aware of everything, or if I'm making it happen. After all I definitely know the less aware I am of the dream I am, the more quickly I forget what literally just happened before. That said though, I've been starting to have dreams a lot more frequently again since it was a long time since the stuff that stopped my lucid dreaming happened. I might actually start to try to guide my dreams to be a certain way and have a dream journal again because I find it interesting. Still going to be a bit. I often feel that once I realize I am dreaming lately I wake up immediately after. So it's annoyingly short, compared to the basically movie length dreams I had in the past. Again I haven't focused on trying to actually dream in a while. Part of that is it seems longer for me to go to sleep when I try to mess with dreams when compared to just getting something relaxing going first. As for pain in dreams I generally don't feel pain. Usually just some discomfort when getting hit because since I'm a gamer, gotta have those epic duels with tough opponents, but ya know, video game fighting does not have the same impact as how horrible real fighting is. Then usually the worst thing that happens in those fights is if I lose and then some villain guy has some monologue as I try to escape from some bindings or whatever so I could kick their butt later. These types of dreams were a lot more common back in my anime days ^_^" That said though, I have had some really horrible pain in dreams in the past, but I generally don't wake up from it for a while. Majority of the time though it's a nightmare where it's basically hellish things happening (sometimes even so bad as experiencing severe body mutilation/limb removing while still being alive kind of thing), and then I wake up and I am extremely overheated. Now whether it's the dreams being stressful warming up the body, me having too many blankets, or both I don't know, but this just gives me an extra reason to always make sure my room is cold when I sleep. Again, since my room is often cold when I sleep, this is extremely rare and I haven't experienced that kind of nastiness in a dream for years. Besides it's supposedly healthy to have your bedroom be in the 60s when you sleep anyways = )
i have been in this same rabit hole of suffering for the last 2 years, i have wanted to feel anything but alas i feel nothing and the worst part is that i have expericed this visual asmr as you have described it in a very basic sense once, other than that the only thing i can say for sure is that when i hug people in vr while i am cold, i start to feel warmth like you with the rain
Cute video, I used to train phantom sense. I hope you do develop some amount of it. And can confirm, while there tends to be some trends, everyone feels it a little different, from the severity to what triggers it, with variation on if they can feel heat, pain, touch, or smell.
I only have, (or had i guess?) phantom sense to a certain degree when i first started playing vr. The only thing I'd feel was if i fell off a cliff or into a void I'd get a really bad sinking feeling or the feeling like im falling, then once i respawn i feel like i had a sudden impact like if someone put something underneath a trampoline and you jump onto it after expecting a full bouncy jump. I dont have that feeling much if at all anymore, but oh man what I'd give to have phantom sense! It'd make vr so much more immersive, and at the end of the day, that's what i truly want. To be as close to immersion as possible.
I purposely keep boundaries between reality and VR. I am never truly immersed. Sometimes something may happen that does trick my brain, but it's not frequent. To me VR is a game, and I would like to keep it that way.
Oh, hello there. I wonder why I was recommended this.. 3 months late. I've been making VR phantom touch videos for 4 years now. :p Your section conflating the ASMR and phantom sense is very similar to something I tell people about being a possibilty when I go through my typical speaking routine when people ask me questions on the how and why
I have phantom sense, the way i feel it is like when wind passes by but only in the areas im being touched, and if my avi has body parts i do not have, its a tingling feeling when they move or are touched, its certainly not fun being passed through aswell lol
Heya I have a rather specific question, at 7:37 in the video, I absolutely adored the avatar you where wearing, any chance I could get the name and where to purchase it. Also love the vids by the way, always capturing the truest and realist areas of vrchat 😂
Phantom touch is definitely real. The first time I ever used VR I played a demo where a butterfly landed on my finger and I could feel it. I had never heard of phantom touch before, and I had a friend who reported the same thing after trying the demo. It definitely varies person to person though, and for me phantom touch wore down over time.
the only times ive ever gotten phantom sense is when someone brings their face or hands really close to my face in vrchat, for some really i tend to feel a weird warmth around my nose and upper lip - usually feeling like i can feel someone breathing on me if it happens to be the persons face. i dont get anything from headpats, touching, pass-throughs, slaps or anything like that. i like giving hatpats, hugs, and all that fun stuff just because its fun do it to my friends to show my affection because in real life, as an autistic person, i HATE being touched or touching people, vr lets me not feel it so its nice to think im getting a workaround for something i wouldnt normally be able to do.
Yeah, I started with Phantom Touch and discovered it during one of my first-ever sessions in VR. I discovered it suddenly and violently after putting my brain into a catatonic state when attempting to see if the game would allow me to stab myself with a sword I was holding. It was originally only felt on my head but, (much to my own horror) spread against my will to my entire body. I know that getting better smoother full body tracking, a wide field of view headset, and being willing to "go with the flow" and give up my agency: have all been factors that made the sensation much more intense. I can't say it is as great as it is coughed up to be, not for me. It seems to be different for everyone but for me: a lot of things "work" that I strongly wish did not; and many things that I wish did, do nothing at all. The fact that I can feel my drunk people poking my toes but not hugs really really sucks. Whatever though, it still absolutely fascinates me and I hope to continue to test the limits of it. Regardless, Good luck in your pursuit.
I didn't play VR chat in vr but, I had this friend that just bought a Q2 and he was playing VR chat, and he was the closest person that i knew that had a VR since it isn't a thing here in Brazil, and I asked for him to stream his vision for me and then asked ir he could headpat himself and touch his cat ears, it was weird I Felt like if it was me, many times i feel it watching VR videos, and I think I have it
I play VRChat since 3y now , and I got the first experience of phantom senses around 100h , was incredible , and by the time passed , I wanted it to be a lot stronger , 'cause mine wasn't rlly strong , I was only , feeling thing , a lil bit or a lot depending on the areas on my body ( I feel a lot on my arms but not a lot on my neck ). And , by time passes , my phantom senses just got brocken , I was feeling weird thing at some places , like , when people touched my neck , I'll have the impression that I'm getting chocked , when I receive headpats , it isn't soft , it's kinda like a brick caress my hair. I tried hypnosis with a friend of mine to , changes my phantom senses , I've done training and all , but yet I'm still stuck with my wrecked phantom senses
Is this like a real world phenomenon (without missing limbs) because I'm thinking of my fingers being broken and they hurt. Then again I do the same thing when I actually get hurt and the pain moves to were I'm thinking.
I have some bits of phantom sense but it's mostly when someone touch/stabs me but some other time are like in world with rain I feel wet (that's what she said) and cold even tho I check my clothes and skin and there dryer than a desert
I do have some weird uncomfortable feelings when people in VRChat swing knives or swords near me and when people put fingers into my mouth. But I also don't think that it is an actual phantom sense - again, it feels more like ASMR, it is a feeling but it doesn't feel like actual touch or pain, more like weird tingles. I also never felt smell in VR, though even in real world I don't think about smell much - I do feel it, but I rarely take my attention to it and similarly I never feel smell in my dreams I do have, however, an example of phantom sense that I feel, though not in VRChat. I have a simple infrared thermometer - not even a thermal camera, just a thermometer, you point it at anything and get rough approximation of its surface temperature. And for some reason, when I point it at my head and turn it on, I feel genuine headache, despite knowing that there's literally nothing in this device that can in any way affect me - it's just a thing that senses IR
I don't believe in phantom sense all that much but I recall one time my friend snuck up behind me and started heavily breathing. I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck. I've also felt liquids but only on my neck. As of recent I haven't been able to replicate it.
It's funny because while i was watching this video every time visual or auditory asmr was on screen or even when something was described that would have some feeling to it I felt it. I mean I got phantom sense day one of vrchat in a headset so that tracks but like still. I think what could be affecting it is that im a trans woman and don't associate my mind with my body so my brain will grapple onto any other form or reality when given the option to perceive a new possible reality. Also good video editing!
Phantom sense doesn't really work without a real-life copy triggering that feeling that you're seeing in game a few times. Like, holding your hands out in the rain world, you would want to also have your hands in the shower or real rain the first time, and then that brain association with your virtual limbs becomes stronger. Same with being stroked by someone or whatever. (though obviously, if you can't see it happening in game, then there's no possibility of "feeling" it. Probably part of why so many people like to sit in front of the mirrors, as it helps those feelings come forth.)
honestly i kinda think phantom sense or visual asmr (whatever it is) it's weird i felt it once and it made me stop playing vr for a couple of months lol
My phantom takes the form of ‘paralysis’ in most situations involving injury, yet I don’t feel pain too strongly. I wonder if that could be ‘visual asmr’ so to speak.
Ah if only, PC player only and as much as I try since I have another friend who has alot of phantom sense but also plays pc The only phantom sense I accidentally got was while im eating and chatting with someone else before they shoved their robot hand into my avatars mouth while I had a spoon in my real mouth so now whenever a robot would but their hand in my mouth for whatever reason I just taste *S P O O N*
Why a month? It doesn't take that much time. In my experience, the way I did it, I just need my eyes to see an object touch me, then I imagine that I'm being touch, then there you go, Phantom Sense.
Funny story is it took me a while to realize not everyone can feel touch through the lens. Thats because from the first time i put on the headset ive had the ghostly touch sensation. I guess i should count myself lucky that its only touch, because i 100% dont want to smell any vrchat lobby... Sword goin through me, just sorta feel it's there. Someone waving in front of my face, i can feel the presence of that hand. Etc etc. Even when its behind me, sometimes... that one confuses people (me included). Though i wouldnt say you're really missing out if you cant quite get it. Its not a very strong sensation most of the time (only in the face for me is it super real) and it feels a bit silly when you think about it. On the level of a party trick. "Ooo you can tickle me, isnt that dope" "Wow, you can brush up against me and I will notice" Groundbreaking stuff, i know. I feel like just knowing there is a brick on your face showing you this stuff is enough to tell your brain to tone it back a bit, and nobody feeling phantom sense is actually getting that real feeling of touch. My floor is still an old carpet, no amount of hd dirt texture is going to change that. Tl;dr all this serves to say that i have phantom touch and it aint allat tbh But hey, extra tip from me if youre still interested, i tend to think of the vr space as just an extension of my room. I consider it part of reality rather than seperate, therefore i have a self-imposed immersion that i always tackle vr with. Maybe thats why i get phantom touch? Idk im not a neuroscientist, but it couldnt hurt
I get like a warm, fuzzy feeling when hugging ord headpatting. But less in a "I feel this" way and more in a "Yay, platonic physical affection I could get in RL from this person!" way. Tho I do get a tingly sensation when I *see* someone touching me. But pretty much only when I want to, if I am spaced out, nothing happens at all x3
99% of the people who say they have this are just full of shit. only time i have felt even the slightest is when i'm completely fkd up on weed and drinking lol if u saying u have this and u sober, stop the cap. u look silly.
It actually makes perfect sense that phantom sense would be a type of ASMR. Just with that added layer of a person subconsciously convincing themselves the ASMR response is something more than it is, and I'd wager especially sensitive people that are especially good at convincing their subconscious of things that aren't actually there have those reactions of actually "feeling" something toughing them, walking through them, ect.
![22 min Deep Sleep Hypnosis ASMR [For Beginners] | VRChat Virtual Hypnosis](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eZANL7epYfU/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Why are we still here? Just for headpats?
I exist for the snuggles
Yes! Gimme headpats now!
We are for the headpats as we are for the friends made along the way
I get the reference
You feel it too...???
Kaz...im already a Dmon 👹
An aspect I found interesting was the social pressure to feel phantom sense. People want you to be able to engage more deeply with them, whether that be feeling head pets or cuddling. So intermingled into the crowd of people who play up their phantom sense, there are people who are just saying they have it to make the people around them feel more at ease.
hmmm
I also mostly get 'visual ASMR' instead of phantom sense and even that took a while for me to feel. Headpats whilst looking at a mirror is great. Hands stroking your face also triggers it. For actual phantom sense though, the easiest way a friend showed me was to get someone to pretend to stroke down your nose. Literally pointer finger, slowly slide from the top of your nose, to the bottom of your nose. After that, I was slowly able to start feeling other small things like if someone pretended to stroke or hold onto my arm. It's still rare but it is pretty cool to be able to feel those things for people who live countries apart from some of their closest friends. It's an extra level of presence that you wouldn't be able to get from voice calls
Hiya Dutchie here, been playing for +-4 years, never had a phantom sense experience not even a little bit, had a bunch of people who "knew how to train it" try and make me feel it and i really did try to gain it for a while because i wanted to experience it. Three years of no luck. But then... Weed.
I had some rather strong edibles i usually have but decided i would try combining it with VR. And oh boy... That touched my brain in a funny way and i experienced some of the most insane phantom touch ever, i could feel other people, textures like hair, wood, marble. I could feel temperatures coming from fireplaces and snow. And i felt like it was hard to breathe when i was underwater. And bullet shot at me would sting like needles.
When it wore off the next day it was back to nothing at all. Then i had a period where i was fairly regularly getting high and getting in vr. And after each time the phantom sense would get a little stronger even after the effects wore off. Just shows how weed actually physically alters your brain permanently.
Just be careful before you try anything yourself tho, drugs are really bad for you and i haven't had anything in the past 5 months. But one hell of an experience for sure
Weed being an hallucinogenic substance, this makes sense.
I’ve haven’t played VR Chat yet, but I have gotten phantom sensations more intensely since I have done LSD, Weed enhances further. Even sober now, it is like I can feel what I’m imagining even though I know it is a though. We can generate feeling-sensations through the power of thought. Sometimes a psychoactive substance like Weed or LSD helps us to unlock it I believe.
I am so glad someone else besides me finally realized that "phantom sense" is just ASMR... I've been watching ASMR content loooooooong before I started experiencing "phantom sense" and I can definitively say it is the exact same thing except more immersive
I had phantom sense when I first started vr now the closest thing I have to it is when I sense an enemy standing behind me
the most intense "cuddling and headpats" I've ever heard.
I've tried figuring out how phantom sense gets triggered. I was in such disbelief when I was new to VR, but I just kept feeling it everytime I got into VR and it was very strong. One thing I've noticed is that the subconscious triggering the phantom sense seems to go off of your memories IRL. When it doesn't know, sometimes it'll do a combination of memories. If it has no clue, then you'll get the generic staticy/tingly feeling a lot of people will feel.
Here's some things that I've found helps with phantom sense:
1. Smooth computer - Is it possible to get phantom sense with 30, or maybe even 20 fps? sure. However it's significantly harder, and won't be as effective. For me, I need 90+ frames to get consistent phantom sense that is also very strong
2. Full body tracking - Again, smooth tracking is important. I was shocked at how much better phantom sense was when I got it all, and it allowed me to feel stuff in my legs. (Though if you got very sensitive phantom sense, it'll be a bit unpleasant when things move in a way they shouldn't when you lose tracking)
3. Have a fan blowing on you - Dunno where I heard this, but once I did I realized that phantom sense tends to trigger more. Not sure why, but I'm assuming it's like slightly dulling IRL senses, so your mind can fill in the blanks. Sorta like how closing your eyes makes you hear better or vice versa.
4. Slow movements - Gotta give the brain time to recognize what is happening. It can happen with fast movements sure, but a lot of the time I think that's more of people having a reaction to things moving quickly, rather than actually feeling something.
5. Have other people/things initiate the contact on you - Not sure why. Reminds me of how most people cannot tickle themselves. This is probably why some people suggest rain, but I'm sure there's other things that do this.
6. Test on hands/arms, Spend time in front of mirrors for other things - If your brain isn't used to the avatar, it's not going to make the connection where it thinks the avatar is the body. Hands you put out in front of you all the time, but if you want to feel others things, you'll need the mirror more to see it easily.
7. Avatar that is similar to your body - Less work for your brain to do. Humanoid bodies help with that a lot. As for me personally, I can't do the anime avatars unfortunately. Causes strong uncanny valley vibes for me in VR funnily enough because the brain goes all "this is human, but that's not like the humans we are used to!", so it doesn't work. So I used a lot of furry avatars 'cuz friends are furries. I realized that ones that closely resembled the human shape made it easy for my brain to trigger phantom sense in the areas that were humanlike. That said, with enough time in an avatar, my brain just adjusts and gets used to it. So now I can feel phantom sense in any part in any avatar, including parts that don't exist. That said, the ears work fine, but the tail can have troubles. The long/big muzzles some avatars have usually requires me to have been spending too much time in VR to go feel like I do with other areas on the body because it's so vastly different from the human face, and each avatar's face is made so differently.
8. Remove distractions - If you're in a noisy household, and/or constantly have to take the headset off from people talking, alarms, or whatever else, your brain is going to be stuck thinking about the real world. Thus, making you more aware of your real body, and ignore the virtual one more often.
9? Sleeping in VR - Only one I'm listing from my experience that I'm unsure of if this quite effects phantom sense, since most of the time I sleep in VR is during times where I do VR more often (thus phantom sense will be stronger anyways). However, it seems that when you're in a half-awake half asleep mode, the subconscious mind kinda gets used to the avatar you're using faster and stronger. I would have to be ultra-strict with a VR and sleep schedule to truly test this one to know for sure, but I'm not the greatest as keeping a consistent sleep schedule.
Now some things I've heard a few other people say helped them feel phantom sense, but I can't really confirm myself so take it with a grain of salt:
- Recreating the rubber hand illusion in game by touching the area IRL and in game at the same time (tried it for a couple times, but my phantom sense was so strong that I feel like it was weakening it lol, but it was hard to tell)
- Closer the friend, the stronger the phantom sense (either relaxing helps phantom sense, or someone's looking for an excuse)
- Focusing on the atmosphere (At a glance, this confused me
- Hypnosis (Curious to try this though, could I make it somehow stronger?)
- Has to happen naturally (like not drawing attention to it when it happens)
- Being tired (Might be some truth to this. When I was new to VR, I learned quickly how sleep deprived I was as I fell asleep in VR accidentally back theen)
- Similarly to above, drugs/alcohol (Though at that point, you're just kinda asking for trouble. This combined with lack of sleep makes me wonder if it messes with the mind's ability to remember what oneself looks like, thus adapting to what is presented)
Some other notes about phantom sense I felt were interesting:
- As long as you can see it, you don't have to be focused on it to feel it. This blew my mind when I first realized it, because I originally thought it was some kind of hypnosis trick that people are doing where they are actively thinking they want something to happen. Over the years I've seen plenty of examples that's not the case. Most extreme case was back when I had massive anxiety (before VR basically exterminated my anxiety), and 2 separate occasions from different people decided to calm me down by headpats. If the heart is pumping, you have a hard time breathing because you are panicking, and you can still feel phantom sense, I feel like that's enough for me to believe that you don't need to focus on it to make it happen. Of course, there's countless times where I'll feel something first, then realize that someone is doing something after becaus
e I realize it's happening, most often combined with this next point
- It can happen in your peripheral vision. I cannot tell you how many times I'm just talking to someone about something, focusing on the conversation, then someone else comes up and plays with the ears on my avatar and I feel it first, then realize what happened.
- Temperature is a thing phantom sense can do. Some people only have phantom sense with temperature involved.
- While phantom sense has many wonderful things about it, it forces some of my friends to not play some games, most common example being shooters. Personally, avoid water like the plague 'cuz of a cousin that wasn't being very bright when I was a kid many many times. Though it's mainly going from above water and entering it which makes me feel like I'm gagging on water. If I'm teleported under the water, my brain doesn't care (luckily I can close my eyes for this). Also I tend to avoid sharp things going at me. Swords, needles, claws, etc tend to effect my phantom sense strongly. Also getting stabbed by an antlion makes me realize my subconscious brain is better at determining the size of the impact of damage than my conscious brain because I didn't really notice that in half life alyx, the antlions's legs were that huge when a large portion of my stomache felt the impact.
- Reality breaking things can mess with phantom sense. For me the most common is using OVR toolkit, since your avatar disappears instead of having your hand over the menu. Always gives discomfort, but interestingly, the type of discomfort is different depending on the day.
- Unsure if it's related, but pain tends to go away or be lessened for me in VR. Unless it's a headache, then it is intensified in VR.
This is mostly from 3 years ago, back when I took notes and played VR everyday to go relax before sleep, and asking people about it when it popped up. Still, most of this comes up often whenever I play. Getting back into VR, gonna start taking notes again! It does seem like whatever is causing phantom sense, is probably a complex combination of things.
tl;dr
@FIB-EDITS I mean if you want to believe I'm lying go ahead. I don't believe quite a few people that claim they have phantom sense for various reasons. Some people will say/do anything for attention after all even if it doesn't apply to them. Also I was skeptical because some things with phantom sense didn't seem consistent with people, but now I think it's more of a web of causes of effects, not just some "you have this" sort of thing. Which like many things going on the brain, is going to make it really friggin hard to research and understand
Heck, it's kinda funny because I always get skeptical of myself whenever I haven't been in VR for a long time. Hence why I started taking notes on phantom sense for a bit to see if what is consistent. Trying to determine if any of it is placebo effect, how much is correlation and not causation, among other things
How much physical touch do you feel in dreams?
I know some peeps that really don't have any sense of touch in dreams and some that have very imaginative dreams where they can feel real weight and even some semi-serious pain that wakes them up.
@@littlemonztergaming8665 Sorry I didn't get to this earlier. RUclips wasn't notifying me of things for some reason.
Honestly it seems to depend on the day and what the dream is about:
- Some days I feel absolutely nothing. I usually assume this is because something else is distracting me more. Though I do tend to notice I don't feel things as often if I am going through a depressive part in my life (luckily I don't get depressed as much anymore 'cuz all the improvements I've made in life).
- Other days I feel nothing unless a character or situation makes me feel something that gets feelings going.
- Other days I will feel everything as if I am living it in real life, and since it's a dream world, there can be more sensations & more intense sensations than possible in real life. I don't think I've ever really thought about the connection between dreams and phantom sense before, but dreams definitely do feel better as they have a tendency to change the nuances of whatever to specifically match a particular sensation. Whereas Phantom Sense is more bound by the reality of what you look at, you're not going to change what it looks like by thinking to make it different.
Though I do feel like I gotta say a few things about dreams though. When I was younger I used to have daily dreams. Out of curiosity I tried to control them over time. I think it started when I was too tired and was thinking about stuff as I was falling asleep. Over years I got better at it as time went on. I forget when precisely, but probably teenage or early 20s I was able to fully control every aspect of my dreams. Realized that it gets boring real fast when you constantly have everything you want at every second. So I decided to give my dreams a set of rules (so it doesn't turn into incomprehensible chaos like some of my dreams when I was a kid growing up. Like laws of physics do not apply, and you see stuff that seems like they are shapes yet are not shapes at the same time. That kind of weirdness). So it was basically like a new adventure everyday meeting new people and seeing new experiences. Funnily enough, I actually stopped being able to lucid dream for a while because I got a little too attached to a character in a dream, and since it's in the subconscious mind, there's no emotional defenses, sooo it got hard to deal with them dying because we went into a dangerous area. So anytime I tried to dream for a long time after that, my brain was like "no you can't have dreams anymore because this event!".
When I do lucid dreaming I do notice that I am feeling things more, but I don't know if that's because I'm generally more aware of everything, or if I'm making it happen. After all I definitely know the less aware I am of the dream I am, the more quickly I forget what literally just happened before.
That said though, I've been starting to have dreams a lot more frequently again since it was a long time since the stuff that stopped my lucid dreaming happened. I might actually start to try to guide my dreams to be a certain way and have a dream journal again because I find it interesting. Still going to be a bit. I often feel that once I realize I am dreaming lately I wake up immediately after. So it's annoyingly short, compared to the basically movie length dreams I had in the past. Again I haven't focused on trying to actually dream in a while. Part of that is it seems longer for me to go to sleep when I try to mess with dreams when compared to just getting something relaxing going first.
As for pain in dreams I generally don't feel pain. Usually just some discomfort when getting hit because since I'm a gamer, gotta have those epic duels with tough opponents, but ya know, video game fighting does not have the same impact as how horrible real fighting is. Then usually the worst thing that happens in those fights is if I lose and then some villain guy has some monologue as I try to escape from some bindings or whatever so I could kick their butt later. These types of dreams were a lot more common back in my anime days ^_^"
That said though, I have had some really horrible pain in dreams in the past, but I generally don't wake up from it for a while. Majority of the time though it's a nightmare where it's basically hellish things happening (sometimes even so bad as experiencing severe body mutilation/limb removing while still being alive kind of thing), and then I wake up and I am extremely overheated. Now whether it's the dreams being stressful warming up the body, me having too many blankets, or both I don't know, but this just gives me an extra reason to always make sure my room is cold when I sleep. Again, since my room is often cold when I sleep, this is extremely rare and I haven't experienced that kind of nastiness in a dream for years. Besides it's supposedly healthy to have your bedroom be in the 60s when you sleep anyways = )
i have been in this same rabit hole of suffering for the last 2 years, i have wanted to feel anything but alas i feel nothing and the worst part is that i have expericed this visual asmr as you have described it in a very basic sense once, other than that the only thing i can say for sure is that when i hug people in vr while i am cold, i start to feel warmth like you with the rain
Cute video, I used to train phantom sense. I hope you do develop some amount of it. And can confirm, while there tends to be some trends, everyone feels it a little different, from the severity to what triggers it, with variation on if they can feel heat, pain, touch, or smell.
The one thing I can consistently feel in all my years in vrc is warmth from the space heater in Karl Kroenen's "One World Linker"
Conclusion: I felt nothing XD
7:56 I like it when it takes you a few moments to process your own words.
very funny and well edited video + guide so I can avoid ever feeling like this in vr! thanks man!
For me if I get shot and I know I'm about to be shot I feel a tightness/pain plus the scent of burnt/sulfur. Lots of scents w/ my phantom sense
I only have, (or had i guess?) phantom sense to a certain degree when i first started playing vr. The only thing I'd feel was if i fell off a cliff or into a void I'd get a really bad sinking feeling or the feeling like im falling, then once i respawn i feel like i had a sudden impact like if someone put something underneath a trampoline and you jump onto it after expecting a full bouncy jump. I dont have that feeling much if at all anymore, but oh man what I'd give to have phantom sense! It'd make vr so much more immersive, and at the end of the day, that's what i truly want. To be as close to immersion as possible.
I purposely keep boundaries between reality and VR. I am never truly immersed. Sometimes something may happen that does trick my brain, but it's not frequent. To me VR is a game, and I would like to keep it that way.
Oh, hello there. I wonder why I was recommended this.. 3 months late.
I've been making VR phantom touch videos for 4 years now.
:p Your section conflating the ASMR and phantom sense is very similar to something I tell people about being a possibilty when I go through my typical speaking routine when people ask me questions on the how and why
3:12 ayo 😂
This was really well done, i dig the editing style and the delivery, def checking out more!
I have phantom sense, the way i feel it is like when wind passes by but only in the areas im being touched, and if my avi has body parts i do not have, its a tingling feeling when they move or are touched, its certainly not fun being passed through aswell lol
Heya I have a rather specific question, at 7:37 in the video, I absolutely adored the avatar you where wearing, any chance I could get the name and where to purchase it. Also love the vids by the way, always capturing the truest and realist areas of vrchat 😂
One time I got wayyyy to high in a world that had rain and yeah I ended up feeling that shit it was WEIRD
Actually really good video tho, script, editing, speed, very nice
Dera Donald Ducking during his journey to acquire fantom touch is a bit sus.
i love this channel
Phantom touch is definitely real. The first time I ever used VR I played a demo where a butterfly landed on my finger and I could feel it. I had never heard of phantom touch before, and I had a friend who reported the same thing after trying the demo. It definitely varies person to person though, and for me phantom touch wore down over time.
The redhead at the end was worth watching this video.
for me its only a few spots for my phantom sense like my hands and neck but i also feel real cold in the snow worlds its very strange
This is content
the only times ive ever gotten phantom sense is when someone brings their face or hands really close to my face in vrchat, for some really i tend to feel a weird warmth around my nose and upper lip - usually feeling like i can feel someone breathing on me if it happens to be the persons face. i dont get anything from headpats, touching, pass-throughs, slaps or anything like that. i like giving hatpats, hugs, and all that fun stuff just because its fun do it to my friends to show my affection because in real life, as an autistic person, i HATE being touched or touching people, vr lets me not feel it so its nice to think im getting a workaround for something i wouldnt normally be able to do.
Yeah, I started with Phantom Touch and discovered it during one of my first-ever sessions in VR. I discovered it suddenly and violently after putting my brain into a catatonic state when attempting to see if the game would allow me to stab myself with a sword I was holding. It was originally only felt on my head but, (much to my own horror) spread against my will to my entire body. I know that getting better smoother full body tracking, a wide field of view headset, and being willing to "go with the flow" and give up my agency: have all been factors that made the sensation much more intense. I can't say it is as great as it is coughed up to be, not for me. It seems to be different for everyone but for me: a lot of things "work" that I strongly wish did not; and many things that I wish did, do nothing at all. The fact that I can feel my drunk people poking my toes but not hugs really really sucks. Whatever though, it still absolutely fascinates me and I hope to continue to test the limits of it. Regardless, Good luck in your pursuit.
I didn't play VR chat in vr but, I had this friend that just bought a Q2 and he was playing VR chat, and he was the closest person that i knew that had a VR since it isn't a thing here in Brazil, and I asked for him to stream his vision for me and then asked ir he could headpat himself and touch his cat ears, it was weird I Felt like if it was me, many times i feel it watching VR videos, and I think I have it
I play VRChat since 3y now , and I got the first experience of phantom senses around 100h , was incredible , and by the time passed , I wanted it to be a lot stronger , 'cause mine wasn't rlly strong , I was only , feeling thing , a lil bit or a lot depending on the areas on my body ( I feel a lot on my arms but not a lot on my neck ). And , by time passes , my phantom senses just got brocken , I was feeling weird thing at some places , like , when people touched my neck , I'll have the impression that I'm getting chocked , when I receive headpats , it isn't soft , it's kinda like a brick caress my hair. I tried hypnosis with a friend of mine to , changes my phantom senses , I've done training and all , but yet I'm still stuck with my wrecked phantom senses
bro everything you did throughout this video i could feel through a 2d fucking screen.
Is this like a real world phenomenon (without missing limbs) because I'm thinking of my fingers being broken and they hurt. Then again I do the same thing when I actually get hurt and the pain moves to were I'm thinking.
my first taste of phantom sense was a month into owning VR when i hugged Barney in HL2
I have some bits of phantom sense but it's mostly when someone touch/stabs me but some other time are like in world with rain I feel wet (that's what she said) and cold even tho I check my clothes and skin and there dryer than a desert
I do have some weird uncomfortable feelings when people in VRChat swing knives or swords near me and when people put fingers into my mouth. But I also don't think that it is an actual phantom sense - again, it feels more like ASMR, it is a feeling but it doesn't feel like actual touch or pain, more like weird tingles. I also never felt smell in VR, though even in real world I don't think about smell much - I do feel it, but I rarely take my attention to it and similarly I never feel smell in my dreams
I do have, however, an example of phantom sense that I feel, though not in VRChat. I have a simple infrared thermometer - not even a thermal camera, just a thermometer, you point it at anything and get rough approximation of its surface temperature. And for some reason, when I point it at my head and turn it on, I feel genuine headache, despite knowing that there's literally nothing in this device that can in any way affect me - it's just a thing that senses IR
bruh i got that as soon that i got into vr for the first time, it was a weird feeling at first, ig that ppl are rlly different
If this happens my eyes usually just cross out of nowhere 7:48
I find it hard to believe people who say they can feel things in this game but I just have to take their word for it.
i remember one time my friend shot me with gun and i felt it for a sec.(i was playing for 8 hours so....)
I don't believe in phantom sense all that much but I recall one time my friend snuck up behind me and started heavily breathing. I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck. I've also felt liquids but only on my neck. As of recent I haven't been able to replicate it.
I have it, badly.
It sucks, also badly.
world name at 3:10? with the water
I need to try this with my own VR setup lol
It's funny because while i was watching this video every time visual or auditory asmr was on screen or even when something was described that would have some feeling to it I felt it. I mean I got phantom sense day one of vrchat in a headset so that tracks but like still. I think what could be affecting it is that im a trans woman and don't associate my mind with my body so my brain will grapple onto any other form or reality when given the option to perceive a new possible reality. Also good video editing!
Help I can still feel the big berley man
Phantom sense doesn't really work without a real-life copy triggering that feeling that you're seeing in game a few times. Like, holding your hands out in the rain world, you would want to also have your hands in the shower or real rain the first time, and then that brain association with your virtual limbs becomes stronger. Same with being stroked by someone or whatever. (though obviously, if you can't see it happening in game, then there's no possibility of "feeling" it. Probably part of why so many people like to sit in front of the mirrors, as it helps those feelings come forth.)
idk I seem to occasionally be able to actually feel something. it's surprising at times. no clue what makes it happen though
You know what's funny? I could feel everything you were trying to feel but couldn't (rain in hands example comes to mind) except for pain
I get a phantom sense in my nose since so many people poke my nose because of my boop counter. Also hot tubs, vr hot tubs make me feel warmer
I have phantom sense BUT ONLY on my nose
honestly i kinda think phantom sense or visual asmr (whatever it is) it's weird i felt it once and it made me stop playing vr for a couple of months lol
My phantom takes the form of ‘paralysis’ in most situations involving injury, yet I don’t feel pain too strongly. I wonder if that could be ‘visual asmr’ so to speak.
The world at 3min what is it called and is it quest or just pc
Yeah I have thousands of hours in vr with full body and never got phantom sense… but who needs that noise when the lovense gush exists:P
only time I've ever felt it was while i was geekin off a 300MG gummy
30 dollars plus!? God im so glad of being in Europe where a haircut is around 7 bucks 🤯
I have had Phantom Sense since I entered VRChat, after years I can say that if you don't have it, you can't develop it.
Ah if only, PC player only and as much as I try since I have another friend who has alot of phantom sense but also plays pc
The only phantom sense I accidentally got was while im eating and chatting with someone else before they shoved their robot hand into my avatars mouth while I had a spoon in my real mouth so now whenever a robot would but their hand in my mouth for whatever reason I just taste *S P O O N*
Aye come to BC mayne! I moved there last year. I would rather buy a haptic vest and really feel what's going on in VR then just use imagination.
I'm from BC, so that's where I'll be going back 😌
cute hotdog visual asmr video when?
👁️👄👁️ at 10k likes
🦍
I'll give you phantom sense.
easiest subscribe of my life
The yes sexment?😂😂
beautiful video, lots of cute girls, I like
Why a month? It doesn't take that much time. In my experience, the way I did it, I just need my eyes to see an object touch me, then I imagine that I'm being touch, then there you go, Phantom Sense.
Funny story is it took me a while to realize not everyone can feel touch through the lens.
Thats because from the first time i put on the headset ive had the ghostly touch sensation. I guess i should count myself lucky that its only touch, because i 100% dont want to smell any vrchat lobby...
Sword goin through me, just sorta feel it's there. Someone waving in front of my face, i can feel the presence of that hand. Etc etc.
Even when its behind me, sometimes... that one confuses people (me included).
Though i wouldnt say you're really missing out if you cant quite get it. Its not a very strong sensation most of the time (only in the face for me is it super real) and it feels a bit silly when you think about it. On the level of a party trick.
"Ooo you can tickle me, isnt that dope"
"Wow, you can brush up against me and I will notice"
Groundbreaking stuff, i know.
I feel like just knowing there is a brick on your face showing you this stuff is enough to tell your brain to tone it back a bit, and nobody feeling phantom sense is actually getting that real feeling of touch.
My floor is still an old carpet, no amount of hd dirt texture is going to change that.
Tl;dr
all this serves to say that i have phantom touch and it aint allat tbh
But hey, extra tip from me if youre still interested, i tend to think of the vr space as just an extension of my room. I consider it part of reality rather than seperate, therefore i have a self-imposed immersion that i always tackle vr with. Maybe thats why i get phantom touch? Idk im not a neuroscientist, but it couldnt hurt
I get like a warm, fuzzy feeling when hugging ord headpatting. But less in a "I feel this" way and more in a "Yay, platonic physical affection I could get in RL from this person!" way.
Tho I do get a tingly sensation when I *see* someone touching me. But pretty much only when I want to, if I am spaced out, nothing happens at all x3
99% of the people who say they have this are just full of shit. only time i have felt even the slightest is when i'm completely fkd up on weed and drinking lol if u saying u have this and u sober, stop the cap. u look silly.
It actually makes perfect sense that phantom sense would be a type of ASMR. Just with that added layer of a person subconsciously convincing themselves the ASMR response is something more than it is, and I'd wager especially sensitive people that are especially good at convincing their subconscious of things that aren't actually there have those reactions of actually "feeling" something toughing them, walking through them, ect.