When you don't get enough physical touch, you can become stressed, anxious, or depressed. As a response to stress, your body makes a hormone called cortisol. This can cause your heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rate to go up, with bad effects for your immune and digestive systems.
The effects of touch starvation can be widespread and may include increased symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, and even physical health conditions. For example, heightened stress levels result in the release of cortisol in the body which can raise heart rate and blood pressure.
Touch deprivation, or skin hunger as it's sometimes known, is a condition that arises when we have little or no physical contact with others. This condition appears to be more prevalent in western countries, as we tend to engage in friendly touch less often than in other parts of the world.
Hugging and other forms of nonsexual touching cause your brain to release oxytocin, known as the "bonding hormone." This stimulates the release of other feel-good hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin, while reducing stress hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine.
It has been found that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat. Human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol, our stress hormone. It also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone known for promoting emotional bonding to others.
People who don't get their dose of affectionate touch seem less happy, more lonely, and have a higher likelihood of suffering from depression, mood and anxiety disorders, as well as secondary immune disorder.
Haphephobia is the fear of being touched. For some people, the fear is specific to being touched by people of one gender. For others, the fear extends to all people. People with haphephobia often experience physical symptoms of intense distress when they are touched.
It is perfectly normal not to feel comfortable with certain kinds of physical contact. You might be more sensitive to certain types of touch, like tickling or an unexpected hug, and it is entirely okay to set boundaries and ask people to respect your wishes.
“People who have higher levels of social anxiety, in general, may be hesitant to engage in affectionate touches with others, including friends.” And the fear of someone 'reaching out'—literally and figuratively—can make that discomfort even worse, she warns. There's also a cultural component to being hug avoidant.
Research shows that social connection is essential to overall well-being and physical health. Some individuals may be more outgoing than others. However, humans require love and affection from others, whether in close relationships or with a larger group of people.
It is in the class of phobias known as specific phobias, which are fears of a specific object or situation. If you have haphephobia, you fear being touched by anyone, although some people are only afraid of being touched by those of a different gender.
Not experiencing physical affection while growing up can lead to an underdeveloped oxytocin system, which leads to individuals not learning to appreciate cuddles, Darcia Narvaez, a professor of psychology at University of Notre Dame, explained to Time. Social anxiety, can also play a role in people being hug-avoidant.
Touch starvation occurs when you go without skin-to-skin contact for long periods. Over time, it can impact your mental health and well-being. Being touch starved — aka touch deprived or skin hungry — can happen when you have had little to no touch from other living things. As humans, we're wired to crave touch.
Touch is essential because of the ways it communicates emotions to others and because it stimulates the production of oxytocin, sometimes known as the love hormone. Touch can be a powerful way of communicating emotions non-verbally.
Physical intimacy may play a significant role in creating a loving connection between people in a relationship. However, emotional intimacy may also exist in a connection, with or without physical intimacy. People in relationships can show affection in different ways and at different frequencies.
Feeling Unhappy or Unmotivated
People lacking love therefore feel more depressed. This triggers a range of core beliefs such as worthlessness, or a negative outlook on life. Overtime, we become less motivated to complete tasks, set goals or prioritize our self-care.
For example, talking to a partner excessively about work, being away from home, having little time or energy after working long hours, or work interfering in 'personal time' (like checking work emails in bed) can all contribute to a lack of intimacy in a relationship.
Our bodies are designed to respond to touch, and not just to sense the environment around us. We actually have a network of dedicated nerve fibers in our skin that detect and emotionally respond to the touch of another person — affirming our relationships, our social connections and even our sense of self.
Research has shown that it takes 8 to 10 meaningful touches a day to maintain physical and emotional health. Studies show that “touch signals safety and trust, it soothes” (source). Physical touch not only benefits you as an individual, but it also increases the level of intimacy in your marriage as well.
When you don't get enough physical touch, you can become stressed, anxious, or depressed. As a response to stress, your body makes a hormone called cortisol. This can cause your heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rate to go up, with bad effects for your immune and digestive systems.
Your stress levels can go up
—your brain also starts to release more of the stress hormone, which is called cortisol, Dr. Jackson says. As time goes on and you don't receive physical touch to relieve it, you will start to feel wound up.
As author and family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth”.