We were told to practice social distancing to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. However, this precautionary practice came with its monster called touch deprivation. It is not yet socially discussed, but the effects of it are quite visible among people.
You may think that you are not among that population, but if loneliness has ever bothered you in the digital age. Where everyone is digitally connected but no one is connected in real life. You may want to reconsider.
Below are some big signs that indicate that you might be touch-starved. You will be surprised to see some of these on the list.
You feel extremely lonely.
Loneliness is a known epidemic now. A majority of the population from Britain, European Countries, and America have reported feeling lonely during the last few years. These are also the countries where the community is not an imbibed virtue in the culture.
But emotional loneliness has begun to make headlines across the globe. Touch deprivation is still not discussed that prominently. But it comes with loneliness. At times, you may feel lonely, but in reality, you can be touch-deprived.
Loneliness and touch deprivation may or may not go hand in hand. However, you may be surrounded by different individuals and still be touch-starved. You may be living with your family and loved ones and still feel skin hunger. Just because you are not alone, that does not mean you are not deprived.
You crave touch.
A big sign of a touch-starved individual is that they simply crave touch. A Canadian prisoner, Peter Collins, who is the author of the book A Fly on the Ointment, described his experience of solitary confinement in his book.
He wrote that one day, he felt the touch of his wife’s fingers on his legs. When he looked, it was a fly on his skin. He remained still, closed his eyes, and imagined his wife’s fingers. Later, he rubbed blood on his skin to attract flies so that he could feel the same sensation again.
However, your cravings might not look like this. But you will realize that you have been touch starved for a while now when you start having the cravings. It can be like sleep, hunger, and emotional bonding. The more you ignore it, the more you will crave.
A slight touch affects you deeply.
Ever felt like an electricity bolt ran down your body when you brushed against someone on the street or while on public transport? It is another sign that you are touch-deprived. When you are lacking this feeling, and you get it even by mistake, your body will react to it in this manner.
When you shake hands with someone professionally, you just don’t want to let go. Your skin craves the touch of another skin. But you don’t understand the reason behind it, you just feel this way.
You crave a warm embrace or a gentle touch from humans but have not received it in a long, long time. So, every time you witness someone, whether in real life or on screen, you feel you want it too but can’t do anything about it.
Low immunity
Did you know that touch starvation can cause low immunity? When a child is born, it is suggested to give the baby the warmth of its mother’s body for a certain time. It helps in regulating blood pressure, breathing patterns, and the heart-rate of the baby. That eventually makes the baby’s immunity stronger.
But as humans, gentle warmth at birth is not enough. We need it more over the years, regularly or at least at given intervals. The absence of this can cause lower immunity and other immunity-related conditions.
Hence, touch starvation is another big reason for lesser immunity. You may suffer from heart-related conditions and other ailments because of anxiety. But if touch can lessen your anxiety and make you feel good about yourself, it is a sign that you were touch starved.
Seeking comforts from objects.
Do you want to hug your pillow and cry in it? According to a documentary, a guy hugs the clothes hung in his closet to feel the touch of a human. Like them, if you seek comfort from objects, it may be a sign that you are touch-deprived.
These objects can range from plush toys to clay that feels good as it grows between the fingers when you press through it. You want to run your fingers through plants, or grains, anything that reciprocates through your touch.
But unfortunately, it is an object, and it can never replace the touch, warmth, or embrace of a human being. Seeking comfort is good, but you still need a human because the more you are dependent on these objects, the more you will crave human feelings.
Getting irritated/ frustrated easily.
In today’s lifestyle, getting irritated or frustrated about something is a common norm. Most people are not healthy, sleep deprived, or running on the last amount of dopamine because they exhaust their supply through doom scrolling. None of those is healthy.
But if none of that is a reason, then probably your touch needs are not being met accordingly. Since there are so many reasons that can cause irritation or frustration, it is hard to single out touch starvation as the sole reason for such behaviour. But at times, it could be a contributing factor.
Hence, if you think that your touch needs are not being met considering your lifestyle. You need to try a way to meet the needs and see if that created any difference in your frustration levels. I am sure it can bring a major change.
Anxiety in forming connections.
The more you isolate yourself and the more you become touch-deprived, the harder it will be for you to make social connections once again. And I am not talking about your social media presence and how many connections you have online.
I am talking about the frequency with which you meet people in real life. After the pandemic, with the rise of digital job markets, there are many avenues through which you can earn money and not meet people at all. This led to a major gap in forming social connections in real life.
So, when you try to come out of it and form real connections, you may feel a spike in anxiety. You may want to be in contact with everyone and feel that you don’t want to bother them at the same time. This anxiousness in forming connections could be a sign that you are touch-deprived.
Depression or low mood.
Parallel to frustration or irritation, you may feel depressed due to lack of touch. When your body does not have enough energy to feel angry or frustrated, you may feel low on energy or fall into depression. Isolation can be one of the many causes that can lead to this.
However, touch deprivation can be a contributing factor. As a lack of touch comes with loneliness or isolation, it can have a huge impact on your hormones as well. A gentle, warm touch or embrace can create a dramatic change in your mood. It can vastly affect your dopamine and serotonin levels.
Therefore, lack of touch can make you run low on those hormones. Consequentially, it affects your mood and your energy. You will not only feel physically low, but you will feel an emotional rut that you can’t escape.
Having difficulty sleeping.
Insomnia, or the inability to sleep, has become a common phenomenon nowadays. The growing changes in lifestyle and lack of work-life balance can impact sleeping patterns. Sleep deprivation further leads to frustration and the inability to do one’s job efficiently. Hence, being stuck in a toxic cycle.
Apart from work-life balance, our stress levels have increased so much that even though we follow a definite sleeping routine, sometimes, it is hard to sleep on time. Laying in bed with open eyes until you hear birds chirping outside has become a habit. If, according to you, nothing else is contributing to it, you may be craving a warm embrace while you sleep.
Many people use heavy blankets to sleep well. They wear more clothing or prefer warmer and softer beds to make them sleep soundly. But all of these can just be a replacement for human touch starvation. A lack of sleep can be a huge sign that you are touch-deprived.
Require self-soothing.
When you tell yourself that you will be okay even though it hurts, it is called self-soothing. This behaviour is a coping mechanism for the absence of an emotional support system.
But it is not restricted to emotional soothing. Physical soothing is also something that people do when they crave touch and warmth but are unable to find it. It can look like sitting and rocking, rubbing the hands or legs. Constantly trying to warm yourself when you feel cold. Shivering or jittering are some other signs.
In this case, if they are immediately treated with a warm hug, a warm embrace or blanket, or at least a gentle touch, it can help them calm down for a bit. If you need to self-soothe now and again, you may have skin hunger.
Conclusion
Touch deprivation is something that you cannot point to. But there are always signs that you can recognize if you are mindful enough to know that you need someone’s warm embrace.
In a world that is suffering from loneliness, touch starvation is a lesser-discussed topic, but it is certainly an after-effect.
For your emotional, mental, and physical well-being, it is not ideal to ignore the signs. You need to immediately take measures to fight against it.
Panache 
Leave a comment