What does it mean when you get goosebumps?

I have been watching a documentary about the ocean, was a really great nature documentary, really colorful, really beautiful, really educational, with great narration but it wasn't until the last half hour of the show that I got goosebumps just watching it.<br><br>The documentary was shot in cinematic 8k and features a realistic ocean soundscape. I could really focus my attention on the visuals and the sounds and it really felt like I was on the boat, seeing the ocean from a completely new perspective. It felt like I was working with the crew to get the footage of the ocean and the wildlife within it, really interesting. <br><br>I've had goosebumps before but maybe not to this degree. I felt goosebumps before watching a beautiful sunset, watching a really great movie, but not quite like this. And I found myself wondering more, what does it mean when we get goosebumps? <br><br>So I started to search for answers... Apparently goosebumps are a leftover from our ancestors. It was a way for our ancestors to show that they were a threat by making themselves look bigger and more intimidating. Makes sense right? <br><br>Apparently when your brain experiences a strong emotional response, it thinks that it's in a life or death situation. It sends the same signals that it would if you were about to be attacked by a bear, right? So your body says "oh okay, it's dangerous, time to release the adrenaline, it's fight or flight time."<br><br>I read a really interesting article titled "Why do we get goosebumps when we are not threatened?" from Psychology Today. Have you heard of the concept of "frisson?" It's a French word for "aesthetic chills." It's that feeling when a part of your body gets cold, usually when you watch a really good movie, listen to beautiful music, or watching a beautiful sunset. The author says that "it's an intense alteration of a sensory, emotional, and physiological nature, usually caused by an aesthetic experience." The brain experiences a strong emotional response and again, is signaling a release of adrenaline and dopamine, but not because it's threatened, but rather it's appreciating its surroundings. <br><br>The author says that this frisson is a distinct emotion. Not sadness, not anger, but awe. Or how about the mix of multiple emotions at once, "positive emotions such as happiness, pride, or amusement, with negative emotions such as sadness, anger or fear." The brain is super stimulated and says "oh, time to release some dopamine!" The author says that "a strong emotional response gives the frisson its extraordinary nature, with physiological responses that are usually associated with fear: goosebumps, tears, a cold sensation, a lump in the throat."<br><br>Someone in the comments said that "I think it's the moment your brain realizes that there's something much bigger than you out there." That's kind of true. Have you ever had a really spiritual experience? Maybe you felt something that you can't explain, you felt something tangible, you felt a different consciousness or energy. The brain is super stimulated and says "oh, time to release some dopamine!" <br><br>I feel like there is something deeper, something that science can't quite explain. Like what even is consciousness? What is energy? What is this "thing" that is inside of us, that makes us experience emotions? Makes us experience sensations in our body? <br><br>So yeah, I feel like goosebumps are an interesting topic, and I wondered if you had any thoughts, do you ever get goosebumps? Do you ever feel a really intense emotional response to something that you can't quite explain? Feel free to share!