Successful Relationships Reading Corner

In this week’s blog, we discussed why touch is so important in your relationships. There is so much to say to this topic that we chose to pick four articles this week that cover different aspects.

Why Physical Touch Is So Important in Relationships “Scientific studies have shown that touch can be decoded as a form of nonverbal communication across a diversity of developed countries. Touch can communicate tenderness, compassion, anger, love, gratitude, happiness and fear within mere seconds. … We feel more connected to someone if they touch us. Just the physical act of a kind and warm touch lowers one’s blood pressure and releases the ‘love hormone,’ oxytocin.”

The Power of Touch “Yet until recently, the idea that people can impart and interpret emotional content via another nonverbal modality—touch—seemed iffy, even to researchers … [who] demonstrated that we have an innate ability to decode emotions via touch alone.”

The Importance of Physical Touch Why some of us need cuddle therapy “After Laura’s 30 year marriage ended, she realized that she too was touch deprived. This is what led her to train as a cuddle professional at the Cuddle Sanctuary in Los Angeles. The training gave her language in areas around contact, boundaries, consent, and being able to say ‘no’ and ‘yes’ to different kinds of contact.”

Physical Contact in Different Cultures “…many of us travel to foreign countries and suddenly find out that even the smallest habits they are accustomed to might not be recognized for what they are. The meaning of actions, body language, expressions or the boundaries of personal space change from culture to culture and the impact of our interactions goes beyond our intentions.”

Tell your friends!