We use our senses of vision and hearing more
than we do our sense of touch, but humans may have a very real need for
physical touch every day. Touch is a part of the physical closeness of two
people that we cannot achieve at a distance. For this reason, touch gives us
the sense of connectedness with people and with our environment.
Children require loving touch in order to
develop socially and physically. Depriving a child of loving touch is seen as
neglectful. Psychologist Harry Harlow famously studied baby monkeys who were deprived of both food and the touch of a mother and then had the choice of food
or touch. The poor, lonely, baby monkeys chose touch over food. Humans are no
different in our need for touch.
THE FUTURE OF PHYSICAL TOUCH
Technological advances have enabled even people at a distance to experience the touch of a loved one over the internet.
This is possible through ‘haptic’ feedback connections. The receiver wears a
device that mimics sensations on the skin. When the message sender starts a
haptic conversation, the receiver can feel the touch from the sender with the
help of the device that they wear.
In the future, you might not need a touchy
partner to get your fill of positive feelings from physical touch daily. But
until haptic devices become more common, you need to find a willing friend to
let you enjoy their physical touch. Here are 5 reasons you need to have
physical touch every day.
5 REASONS YOU NEED TO HAVE PHYSICAL TOUCH
EVERY DAY
01: YOU NEED PHYSICAL TOUCH EVERY DAY TO
COMMUNICATE
Humans are social beings and touch is a
natural part of how we communicate with each other. Touch is usually used to
communicate a shared meaning between two people. Think about the last time you
put a hand on someone’s arm or shoulder. Were you sharing a joke?
The use of touch communicates a mutual bond
over your communication and it usually happens when you use language to mean
something other than its intended use. When we use innuendo, tell a white lie,
exaggerate or joke around, we use words as a symbol of a different meaning.
These are the usual times, other than when we are showing affection, that we
use touch.
02: YOU NEED PHYSICAL TOUCH EVERY DAY TO
CONNECT YOU TO OTHER PEOPLE
Our sense of our physical being is what gives
us emotions. That tightness in your gut is anxiety, the feeling of chills down
your spine that you call fear, etc. The sensations we feel inside and on the
surface of our own bodies help us to connect to people and the world around us.
Think about a great date that you might go
on. If you spent the entire time smiling and having a great conversation but
there was absolutely zero attempt at touching your knee, hand, or more, you
would feel pretty certain that they weren’t interested in you because they did
not initiate touch. Touch tells us that you like us.
Researchers in the journal Virtual Reality
studying the future of human touch say ‘A short touch by another person can
elicit strong emotional experiences; from the comforting experience of being
touched by one’s spouse, to the experience of anxiety when touched by a
stranger. Indeed, human touch bears the capacity for very personal and very
intimate interpersonal interaction, and can potentially evoke a sense of
”proximity and establish the human connection.”
03: YOU NEED PHYSICAL TOUCH EVERY DAY TO GET
WHAT YOU NEED
Touch is an effective tool to convince people
to do what you need them to do. Touch communicates the importance of your words
and commands the other person’s attention. You are basically saying ‘Pay very
close attention to me right now’ as you touch someone’s arm and speak to them.
04: YOU NEED PHYSICAL TOUCH EVERY DAY TO GIVE
AND RECEIVE POSITIVE ENERGY
Your touch is powerful and it can be thought
of as a way to transmit and receive energy from one person to another. When
your touch conveys affection or happiness, you give positive energy to the
person you touch. You can also feel the positive energy coming from another
person who touches you when they give love and happiness to you.
05: YOU NEED PHYSICAL TOUCH EVERY DAY TO HEAL
YOUR WOUNDS
Therapeutic touch has been used for centuries
with acupressure, massage, chiropractic practices and such. These types of
touch therapies focus on healing our bodies, but therapeutic touch can also be
used to heal our minds.
Licensed psychologists can work with people to provide a variety of types of therapeutic touch. Therapists use touch to help de-condition people
who have experienced physical abuse, to communicate caring and calm energy to
people during a suicidal crisis, to guide partners during sex therapy, to
facilitate bonding during group therapy sessions, and more.
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