To have a fetish for tickling is, by definition, to be passionate about it, whether it's your main sexual interest or one of many, whether you think about it hourly or annually. We celebrate this and feel that life is nothing without a little passion (especially a passion for tickling, but then again, we may be slightly biased). It's healthy to play and fantasise, and you're in good company here at Tickle Brits!

Members of the tickling community will often describe themselves as not merely interested in or even passionate about tickling, but obsessed with it. Some brag about their obsession and wear it like a badge of honour while others worry that it's taking over their lives.

People in the ‘bragging’ category tend to be those who believe the way to get the tickling community's respect and admiration is to constantly talk about their hundreds of sessions, to post only about how skilled at tickling or tickle-hungry they are, and to treat all chats, posts and conversations as purely wank fodder. These people may in fact be well-rounded individuals with fascinating histories, jobs and hobbies apart from tickling, but others may never get to see this, and they can come across as obsessed and single-minded. What's more, it can give the impression that they want the people they talk to to be one-dimensional as well, which can be offensive. By all means take from the community what you will - look at pictures and clips, ask questions, share stories and talk to people about tickling to your heart's content, but please have respect for others at all times and understand that no one exists purely to cyber-tickle and post enticing pictures of themselves being tickled.

Those who worry, meanwhile, can take heart in knowing that an interest only becomes an obsession if it distracts someone to such an extent that they can't function properly at work, school or with friends and family, when it disrupts their sleeping and eating patterns, and when they literally cannot focus on anything else. We'll hazard a guess and say that this characterises very few people. If you truly feel you're one of them, try making a conscious effort to focus on other activities - take a course, play some football, phone your mum - and this should help restore tickling to its rightful place in your life as one of the many quirks, talents, passtimes and passions that make you who you are.

Feeding a passion for tickling can be as simple and visceral as seeing a quick tickle in a mainstream movie and knowing that it's secretly igniting a spark inside you, or as sophisticated as designing and building a custom-made x-frame for your lee to writhe upon, or anything in between. Above all, take pride in and have fun with your tickling passion, and let it enrich your life, however you indulge in it.

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