Anne-Marie Snider’s research while affiliated with University of California, Santa Cruz and other places

For this study, 40 people with a diagnosis of depression were interviewed about their conceptualisations of spirituality and religion, and whether or not this had an effect on their personal recovery from depression. The aim of the study was to explore the meanings of spirituality in the context of depression. Using a thematic analysis guided by a multi-perspective approach, this paper adds two novel qualities to the meanings of spirituality in the context of depression: ‘detachment’ and ‘comfort’. These are discussed in relation to research on the effects of spirituality on depression, and to current thematic research on experiences of spirituality among adults diagnosed with depression. The findings of this study are speculative and exploratory in nature.

Purpose This paper aims to respond to the following question: What does ongoing recovery from depression look like, and what role might spirituality have for individuals’ meanings of recovery if it has any meaning at all? Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors reconceptualize recovery from depression as ritual, as ongoing recovery, or recovery as a process, resonated with many of the 40 participants (all ages) from the study, and much of the sociological literature on recovery from depression (Fullagar and O’Brien, 2012; Garrett, 1997, 1998; Karp, 1994, 1996, 2016; O’Brien, 2012). To explore the interplay between participants’ accounts of recovery as ongoing, and the meanings of spirituality, the authors used a ritual analysis inspired by Collins (2004). Findings From the accounts presented in this paper, the authors suggest that participants are, if subconsciously, using objects with a special or spiritual significance to filter through their thoughts and memories as a way to create what Collins (2004) calls an emotional charge. The authors argue that these emotional charges assist people with lived experiences of depression in distancing from, and reconnecting to, certain social ties, including a particular family member, friend or social group, as part of their recovery. The authors are calling this process, ritual distancing. Originality/value Recovery from depression includes a process of reconnection to the self and others, and this process sometimes includes a self-defined spirituality (in objects and social connections).

ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) is the pseudo-scientific term used to describe a ‘tingly’ physical response that viewers of ASMR videos may experience from watching a combination of auditory, visual and tactile triggers. To explore how this might happen, we examine the experience of ASMR as a technologically-mediated, affective experience, using examples from prominent ASMR artists. We seek to understand this community of ASMR viewers through the disjuncture that exists between the embodied experience of tingles and deep relaxation, and its technologically-mediated delivery. In this paper, we explore ASMR as a mediated affective experience – uniquely shaped by online spaces and their affordances. After providing a brief overview of ASMR videos and creators, we explore how ASMR artists engage in boundary work through the definitions of ASMR that they produce to support a quest for cultural and scientific legitimacy. The practice of naming and defining ASMR creates a site affective 'stickiness’, where affective experiences are intentionally constructed and strategically heightened. Finally, we examine the provocations that research into ASMR may bring an understanding of the senses, affect and technologically-mediated intimacy.