ELi5: Why do certain sensations like chalk on a chalkboard or rubbing styrofoam together cause your skin to crawl?

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ELi5: Why do certain sensations like chalk on a chalkboard or rubbing styrofoam together cause your skin to crawl?

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29 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I wish I fully understood this, I suffer from Misophonia and experience legitimate physical pain from certain noises but chalkboard doesn’t bother me and Styrofoam squeaking is actually quite fun/pleasant. I know many of my Misophonia triggers are tied to negative emotions/experiences, I wonder if stuff like chalkboard is similar to where ppl learn certain noises as annoying/agonizing/negative.

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I can do nails on a chalk board, but my skin crawls when the serrated part of a butter knife slides against a glass jar.

Anonymous 0 Comments

For me it’s metal against metal , or porcelain against porcelain. Like I hate putting forks away cuz they always get stuck together and I have to unstick ( ugh my skins crawling just picturing it ) them, so i avoid and just use chop sticks

Anonymous 0 Comments

Pretty sure it’s the sounds just cause micro vibrations in your skull. Like how certain sounds can shatter glass but in your head. Skull shape and size can determine if the sounds bother you or not.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Just want to say I’m feeling particularly validated right now… I have always had a severe cringe response to styrofoam (even fingers brushing against it), and have never met or heard of anyone else with this response. Finally someone understands me! 🙂

Anonymous 0 Comments

What about if it doesn’t sound bad but it only feels bad if you do it.
Like the noise is whatever. But the feeling of scaping my nails on a chaökbboard or scratching the metal part of a pencil that hols the eraser.

Anonymous 0 Comments

This is anecdotal but I’ve noticed a pattern that those who react most to chalkboard noise are anxious, high strung, and irritable generally. Not my favorite people tbh. Good proxy test for relationships?

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s not so much the sound but I feel sick and shivery at people putting wood in their mouth. Like ice creams with the stick and then sucking, scraping the stick after. 😩. Or holding a pencil in their mouth. My daughter is even worse and can’t even stand touching balsa wood or cardboard

Anonymous 0 Comments

Only one i hate is when a pencil eraser is used down to the metal. I scrape chalkboards for kicks