Torturous Tickling

How tickling can actually torture someone

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By: Raina Gullo, Journalist

Tickle torture is the use of tickling to abuse, dominate, harass, humiliate, or interrogate an individual. In a consensual form, tickle torture may be part of a mutually fulfilling, physically intimate act between partners. However, forced tickle torture can cause real physical and mental distress in a victim, which is why it has been used as an interrogation method or to simply show dominance over another person. There are articles about European tortures. They describe a method of tickle torture in which a goat was compelled to lick the victim’s feet because they had been dipped in salt water.  The goat licking the tied up person’s feet would tickle them, but they can’t do anything about it because they’re immobilized. It may seem like a funny scenario, but it is said to get more painful the longer it is done. When a person is tickled, the initial response is to laugh, but the scenario of not being in control of what’s happening also brings panic and can be a mentally torturous experience.

Tickling was used as a form or torture as early as A.D. 206 during the Chinese Han Dynasty. Back then, it was a punishment used for criminals as tickling does not leave evidence of torture on the body and the person being tickled recovers quickly as opposed to other forms of torture. When the deed is done, there’s no evidence that it even happened. It is often said that laughter is the best medicine, but just like everything, too much laughing can be a bad thing. One of the consequences of this happens when the person being tickled suffers a brain aneurysm, wherein the brain’s artery fills up with blood and bursts. In some cases, extreme emotions can result in an asthma attack, which prevents a person from breathing properly.

Some people also believe that even tickling between family and young children can mess with a child’s mind. Have you ever considered that your child may not be having as much fun as you believe? They may laugh because they can’t help themselves and have no way of telling you to stop. Or if they do ask you to stop, they do it amid laughter and you assume they are enjoying it. Tickling a child against their will can have a lasting impact on children, and many may not equate tickling with a happy experience. The child may not think consent is important because you are touching them intimately without their consent, no matter your intent.

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