In fact, it's a human
Vivienne Lewis, a clinical psychologist at the University of Canberra, humans are “hardwired to seek out human touch.” “When we hug someone, that physical contact releases a hormone in the body called oxytocin,” she told the ABC. “Oxytocin makes us feel warm and nice. It makes us feel relaxed, feel positive.
The need for affection solidifies our desire to know we are compatible with another human being, even if the relationship is on the friendship or familial level. It creates a sense of harmony in a relationship, especially when it is an intimate one, according to about.com.
Craving affection is a perfectly normal thing. In fact, physical touch has countless health benefits. And not just physically, either. It's really for mental and emotional health.
Yes, it is possible to become addicted to spending time with someone. This is a pretty common thing, and many people experience this situation when they fall in love. It's fine to feel that sense of addiction to your lover's touch or think that it's too long to be with them throughout the day.
Women often express a desire to engage in sexual intimacy as a means to get closer to their partners, to increase emotional closeness, commitment, tenderness, tolerance and to express their appreciation for their partner both physically and/or emotionally.
The signs of obsessive love disorder vary from person to person, and the condition can look very different in two people who are living with it: A constant need for validation from the person you are in love with. Obsessively keeping in contact with the subject of your affection.
With obsessive love disorder, the desire to see your loved one thrive turns into something else — a fixation on protecting them, or even controlling them. That sense of love turns into an obsession, and sometimes you start to view the person you love as more of an object you possess than an independent human being.
Touch starvation refers to a sense of longing for physical contact. Humans are social creatures, and touch plays an important role in development and communication. For some people, the deprivation of human touch may result in negative mental health effects.
Some of the symptoms of being touch starved from skin hunger can include: Overwhelming feelings of loneliness and isolation. Experiencing bouts of depression or anxiety. Feeling “stressed out” and under-appreciated.
Deep feelings of loneliness: A person may isolate themselves from others for a variety of reasons, such as not knowing how to make friends. Either way, if they notice increased loneliness after a lack of human interaction, they may be experiencing touch starvation.
Touch starvation is a condition that happens when you don't get as much physical touch as you're used to -- or any at all. You crave contact but can't interact with others for some reason. It's also known as touch deprivation or skin hunger.
Being around the one you love and getting to kiss or cuddle them releases oxytocin. Oxytocin, which has been called the "love hormone," is the thing that makes you feel all lovely inside about your partner and can make you want to invade their personal space even more.
There are several reasons for this. You weren't given enough affection growing up and it makes you uncomfortable. You were given too much affection; so much that it felt smothering, and now when someone tries to show you affection, it makes you feel like you're being smothered.
Abstract. Emophilia is defined by a tendency to fall in love quickly and often, which is associated with rapid romantic involvement. However, questions linger as to how it is different from anxious attachment, which also predicts rapid romantic involvement.
Feelings of overwhelming desire or attraction to another person. Obsessing about another person for extended periods. Neglecting personal and societal responsibilities due to the obsession. Keeping obsessive behavior secret from close friends or family members.
Love, especially the excitement of new love, triggers the release of these neurotransmitters, stimulating the brain's reward system. The result is feelings of pleasure and excitement, which propel a person to seek more of that pleasure, eventually leading to addiction in some.
No, it is not "needy" to want affection in a relationship. Simply craving affection is different than being needy. When in love with someone or in a close relationship, it can be normal to want some level of affection to be shown, whether that's through cuddling, kissing, holding hands, or making love.
Every time we seek out reassurance, we teach the brain that we only survived the “threat” because of that behaviour. Thus, the behaviour itself gets reinforced. In this sense, reassurance can become addictive. We feel anxious, and so we seek out reassurance.
In the end, it's not selfish to want another person to appreciate, value, or desire you (no matter how you might feel about yourself). In a certain sense, desires themselves are never selfish—but how we act on them can be.
An intimacy disorder involves problems developing, maintaining, and expressing appropriate kinds and levels of intimacy. Sex addiction is a form of intimacy disorder where an individual compulsively engages in destructive, risky, and self-degrading sexual behaviors that provide no true pleasure or intimacy of any kind.
Never be embarrassed for craving physical intimacy.
It is absolutely normal to want it but this is where you need to place your bets smartly. Don't put yourself in situations you would rather avoid and no hearts will be broken, including your own.
Touch can strongly transmit a sense of being accepted and cared for — the emotional benefits. Touch also confers physiological benefits. In one study, partners were found to have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, on days when they enjoyed higher levels of physical touch like hand holding or hugging.
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.