Why can’t we tickle ourselves?

The skin, as a sense organ, perceives all kinds of touch sensations as signals. These signals are sent to the brain, are interpreted, and the body reacts accordingly. The brain can differentiate between the touch stimuli that we create ourselves and the stimuli given by others. If we try to tickle ourselves, our brain anticipates this type of touch from our hands and prepares itself for it. Since the element of unexpectedness is missing, the body does not respond the same way as it would if someone else were to tickle us.