The Power of Touch – As seen in Guild News magazine
There are many occasions when we feel disconnected and in desperate need of comfort, yet something as simple as a hug can engulf us with reassurance and feelings of warmth.
At the times when we experience low moods, anxiety, loneliness and depression, the stress hormone cortisol is being produced in elevated quantities, increasing blood pressure and leading to those twitchy, irritable and upset feelings.
When we experience hugging or other tactile contact, our sensory nerve endings are stimulated and register messages in the brain through the central nervous system. This leads to a torrent of hormones and ‘feel good’ chemicals such as endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin being released throughout our body, bringing about a multitude of benefits that include relieving stress, boosting wellbeing and inducing a feeling of contentment.
Whilst each of these hormones offers necessary benefits to the body, oxytocin produces profound effects above and beyond the others. It is regarded as the archenemy of cortisol, directly opposing its counterpart by neutralising its negative effects – just like a seesaw, when one side goes up, the other has no choice but to go down. Blood pressure is reduced, stress responses are lowered, anxiety is improved, and most of all, a feeling of trust and connection is created.
Human instinct
As human beings, we crave touch from the moment we are born. In fact, it is essential for healthy development, with oxytocin playing an important role in this process. In 1906, Sir Henry Dale discovered that oxytocin was produced in abundance by the body during and following childbirth. The name for these hormones was derived from the Greek words ‘oksys’, meaning ‘swift’, and ‘tokos’, meaning ‘birth’.
When mothers breastfeed their babies, oxytocin release is stimulated, which in turn stimulates further milk secretion and an added desire to be with the baby. In fact, it is well documented that breastfed babies have a strong emotional bond with their mother through this tactile contact. Touch is essential for babies within their initial development stage; it is the first of the five senses to develop, and is essential for their physical and emotional health. Babies naturally grasp their mother’s finger, proving that the instinctive need for nurturing contact is written within our DNA.
Recent studies also discovered that adolescents who spend less time touching or hugging their peers displayed higher levels of aggressive verbal and physical behaviour compared to their more tactile counterparts. However, when adolescents with anger management issues were provided with body massage treatments, they showed increased empathy and decreased levels of violent behaviour. While this may be attributed to an increase of serotonin levels as well as oxytocin, it still demonstrates how
powerful touch can be.
Get connected
Throughout our lives, touch plays a fundamental role in social bonding and interaction, integrating into our lives in any way it can. On a daily basis, we shake hands with colleagues, hug our friends and cuddle our loved ones. As a non-verbal form of communication, it can convey feelings of anger, compassion, fear, gratitude and happiness within seconds.
Even when physical contact isn’t taking place, tactile references are ingrained into the fabric of our language; we ask our clients ‘how they are feeling’ and to ‘keep in touch’, or we offer them a ‘warm welcome’ and ‘make them feel at home’.
Moreover, it goes without saying that physical contact within our intimate relationships is the key to longevity. Relationships are longer-lasting and more secure when we touch the ones we love, acknowledging their presence and reinforcing our desire for them through this form of non-verbal communication.
We feel far more connected to our partners when they touch us, giving us a feeling of relationship satisfaction in return.
Moreover, whilst we must acknowledge that sexual contact also plays an important role within our relationships, the benefits of tactile contact between partners greatly outweigh those of sexual intimacy.
Out of touch
If touch is so important and beneficial, why aren’t we doing it more? In today’s technological age, we are becoming more ‘connected’ than ever, yet fail to replicate this in terms of actual physical contact. Whilst we obscure ourselves behind our phone screens, we are experiencing the decline of tactile interaction and a sharp increase of social anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, all of which are not unconnected.
Even the most tactile of us are beginning to shy away from physical contact with strangers, friends and colleagues, as we fear that we are invading personal space, are portraying the wrong kind of message or may cross the line between appropriate/inappropriate conduct.
As a result, we are becoming increasingly touch deprived. However, as therapists, we are in the key position to help our clients’ wellbeing by providing them with the touch they crave.
Whether a beauty therapist, massage therapist or nail technician, we all get to touch our clients’ bare skin without fear of repercussions; this is because our industry is one of the only sectors in which touch is absolutely acceptable and welcomed.
Consider your own client base, thinking about the range of clients you treat on a regular basis, as well as their motives for visiting you.
That seemingly confident 20-something may be battling severe social anxiety and body image issues fuelled by a negative relationship with her partner; that elderly client may be experiencing severe loneliness after losing her husband, with you being one of the only people she will interact with all week, and that working mum is spending every hour she can looking after her family, yet receiving no caring physical contact in return.
Whilst many of our facial clients request their treatment solely for the noticeable effects, a proportion of them do actually visit us for our touch alone.
They trust and feel safe with us, and our touch throughout the duration of their treatment time impacts them in more ways than we can ever realise. So, next time a client visits for their appointment, challenge yourself to consider the motives for their visit, thinking about your own sincerity and the intention you are performing the treatment with.
Do it with meaning – don’t rush through the facial massage or skimp on the amount of hand on skin contact, and most of all, never underestimate the power we hold, quite literally, in our hands.
