From: "Con Menezes" Subject: [Goanet] The Importance of Touch.
https://www.amhc.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=54518&cn=1434 ---------------- GL responds: Excellent article. To this article I would add: Due to a variety of recent social incidents and their legal consequences, human touching has assumed several negative and cautionary connotations. In hospitals, due to the possibility of transmission of infection from one patient to another, the physical contact between care-giver and patient is discouraged. However, patients who do not get touched by their family members, friends, and healthcare professionals may feel further isolated to a point that some falsely believe that their illness is communicable, adding to their distress and difficulty to recover. It goes without saying that a patient in "isolation" or "reverse isolation" should have the appropriate precautions taken prior to contact. A study of animal-behavior when they are in a group, such as a pride of lions, a herd of elephants, or family of primate species like apes and baboons helps us to understand social behavior in animals and how it relates to human relationships. Touching begins at infancy when animals and human beings caress, cuddle, or carry a baby. The act of touching and the need for it continues into adulthood. In higher mammals, grooming is part of daily activity which establishes bonds and reinforces the hierarchy pattern. Grooming is also practiced in many traditional societies. In humans, a category of primates, the behavioral need for "Touch and Contact" (physically or through voice and other vibrations) has been built into our genes over the course of millions of years. However, grooming in the Western world is associated with predatory behavior and has a totally different concept and connotation. As adults, our brain cortex may and can override our emotions. Yet, at times of illness, fear, or emotional stress, the in-built defense mechanisms within our genes are on full display. Much of the therapeutic benefits of massage, for example, may be through the sense of touch, similar to the science of "Healing Through Touch." Modern western society may have substituted contact with pets as a source of providing therapeutic benefits in place of human contact. It has been noted that the more the number of terms used to describe an object or situation, the more importance society attaches to it. For example, there are 50 Eskimo words to describe snow. Similarly, the need for touching in human relationships is so important, that society has established an entire lexicon to describe various types of touching - cuddle, embrace, various types of high and low fives, handshake, endearment, feel, fist-bump, fondle, hug, kiss, pat, pet, snuggle, squeeze, hand-hold, stroke, etc. While such a large repertoire of choices, there is obviously a time and place to display each type of emoji and human contact. Regards, GL
