The Importance of Touch to Well-Being

The Importance of Touch to Well-Being

Elizabeth Handy

The “right” kind of touch is critical to the emotional, psychological and physical health of every individual…but why? In this interview, David Linden discusses why touch matters, how it helps and hurts, and why some people don’t feel pain at all.

If a child is born into a situation where social touch is deprived because there are not enough caregivers around, then that child will develop terrible psychiatric problems, attachment disorders, mood disorders, and also physical problems — problems with the digestive system and immune system, higher incidences of diabetes. And, amazingly, these problems are not just problems of childhood, but persist throughout life.

Read more about the important, powerful role of touch in the human experience in Linden’s interview: Fingertips To Hair Follicles: Why ‘Touch’ Triggers Pleasure And Pain