Touch...

The hands and fingers are very powerful transmitters of our emotional state.   Touch matters, and how we touch is crucial to relationships.

 We learn the power of touch from the moment we are born. Mothers will gently touch their child using the full palm of their hand, which is warm and relaxed, rich with blood-flow due to vaso-dilation. This is called “palmar touching” and it contributes to the bonding process and the comfort of the child. The child will touch back in kind.

For both mother and child, this mutual caressing releases a cascade of chemicals, including oxytocin, which serves to solidify the connection between them. Oxytocin, usually released during touch or caress, as well as sex, also helps to solidify the relationship between adults.

The act of touching is a highly effective pacifier, which is why we do it to others (children crying) and to ourselves as combing or stroking hair, rubbing hands, touching our noses, massaging our foreheads and neck. It is also a highly effective way to say I care and I love. Touch is so powerful that it is essential for good physical health and mental well being.

            In relationships, touching becomes very important as a medium of expression, especially for communicating comfort and discomfort, which in essence is a report on our emotions and feelings at any moment.

 When  we touch someone we care about, subconsciously we do so with our full palms. The hands are relaxed, fingers are spread; the touch communicates positive emotions. The frequency of touch, the duration of touch, and the intensity of touch, also communicate how we feel. These behaviors are governed by our limbic brain, which regulates emotions, sexuality, and whether or not we are comfortable or uncomfortable around others. Just a touchy thought.