by IAcurious » January 8th, 2012, 9:15 am
Thanks for asking a fun question. Doing the research was interesting. And the important thing I learned is that the shivering you've described is a confirmation your subconscious mind is paying attention. Nice!
Doing the research was interesting because trance is known to suppress the shivering response caused by cold temperatures - but that's the opposite of what's happening for y'all.
There's also a phenomenon with onset of the hypnosis response called catalepsy... muscle movements that are usually smooth and fluid become somewhat jerky as trance takes hold. But that doesn't match-up with the circumstances y'all have described, does it? Both of you (winters10102003 & winbb2) say it begins during text trance and instant message (text). That's different from "my arm shakes when I raise it", isn't it?
We already know that shivering is involuntary. It's a reflex your body does automatically. And we know the circumstances that usually trigger the shivering reflex are cold, fear and excitement.
And that's the non-technical answer. I leave it to you to decide whether you're feeling cold ;-)
If you're interested in the technical side, here's what I learned:
The optic nerve carries information from the eye to the pineal gland. The pineal gland manages endocrine hormonal levels, sensory processing and organization of body metabolism (among other things). When fear or excitement occur, the pineal gland causes signals to travel to the hypothalamus which responds by triggering rapid heartbeat, faster breathing, pupils widening and increased flow of blood - SHIVERING!
It's a confirmation your subconscious is paying attention as you read.
Go do it some more.