The Healing Touch

The idea of the healing touch has a very long history. The New Testament recounts stories of miracles of healing resulting from touch. Pop psychology trumpets the necessity for “group hugs”. Mother infant bonding is enhanced by skin to skin “touch”. Different cultures have different approaches to “touch”, some celebrate it and some fear it. Metaphorically we are told to “reach out and touch somebody” and about a decade ago, a pseudo-science initiative called “therapeutic touch” caused all sorts of enthusiasm until controlled research studies showed that not touching someone was not the same as actually touching someone. And who has not felt the complex meaning of touch from a loved one? Few types of human interaction have been so well understood or so much misunderstood as “touch”.

As a recent news article has noted:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128795325&ps=cprs, human touch is an essential component of the human condition. This is because we touch with our brains. Every touch is a perception that has meaning – and that meaning is created and applied in our brain. We no more touch with our fingers or skin than we see with our eyes or hear with our ears. And the meaning of touch results in the activation of specific brain areas, areas that can lead to a host of positive or negative emotions and cognitions. Basically put, touch is a key component of human connection. And, as I have often said: human connection is the key to improving the human condition.

As human beings we live in complex family and community settings. How we navigate those settings depends on many things. Hope and connection are fundamental to health. Touch is fundamental to healing. So why are we so afraid to give someone a hug?