Why can't you tickle yourself (but others can) ?

Answer 1

Element of surprise?

Answer 2

You can tickle yourself with a little exercise...
First touch your hands in the palm and on the outside. You feel both hands. Now close your eyes and try to think about only one hand, either the one that does the touching or the other one. Shortly you will start to notice a weird feeling as if you are touching somebody else's hand. When you master this exercise, then you can move to other parts of the body where you are ticklish and you will see taht you can tickle yourself.
Enjoy! :)

Answer 3

You can't tickle yourself because your brain keeps a constant check of where your body parts are in relation to one-another. If you brush your face with your hand your brain will expect the sensation from the nerves from the skin on your face and also from your hand. If the two signals from the nerves match then the brain 'numbs' the sensation and less attention is paid to the signals from your skin. However, if someone else was to touch your face then you would 'feel' the sensation a lot more because your brain allocates more attentional resources to it. This is why it is also harder to inflict pain onto yourself compared when others inflict pain onto you.

Answer 4

when a person touches “ticklish” body parts on their own bodies, most people measure no tickling sensation. it is thought that the tickling requires a certain amount of surprise, and because tickling one’s self produces no unexpected motion on the skin, the response is not activated.

a recent analysis of the “self-tickle” response has been address using MRI technology. it shows how the brain distinguishes between sensations we create for ourselves and sensations others create for us and it suggests that when a person tries to tickle him or herself, the brain sends to an information on the position of the tickling target and therefore what sensation to expect therefore decrease the mechanism of body or inhibits the tickling sensation.

Answer 5

you can tickle yourself, but its not the same as when someone else does it.
From my understanding of ticklish people, they are apparently sensuous, the more tickly u are, the more sensuous you are likely to be...i am extremely ticklish.
Where I am from in South Africa, they say that u are only ticklish if you havent had sex, or havent had enough of it...??
So if ticklishness relates to sex, does that mean you are frigid if you absolutely cannot tickle yourself? or does it mean that masturbation is not as good as the real thing, same as when you're being tickled...its got to be done by / with someone else?

Answer 6

Even if I know another person is about to tickle me it still tickles but not if I do it myself? so the theory that your expecting it cant be right.

Answer 7

A tickle works either through suprise or guessed anticipation, as you know exactly when you are going to start doing it the suprise is lost.

Answer 8

I have been told this time and time again...

BUT I CAN TICKLE MYSELF !!

Its awful ! I hate being tickled but I can do it. Am I the ONLY one out here that can?? I can't even itch my foot without tickleing it... Its annoying!

AM I ALONE HERE ?!!

Answer 9

Try a finger really gentley between the knuckles of your index and middle finger for a while then move up the back of your hand. that tickles me.

Answer 10

Because you expect it. However in experiments, they found you can tickle yourself if there's a time delay built in (eg robotic arm etc). But not if that arm is instant.

Answer 11

Tickiling from others works because your nervous system cannot anticipate it, but if you decide to say, tickle your own feet, your nervous system gets a head start!