Skin hunger is a relatively new term that has been applied to the emotional response engendered by the loss of touch in our society. During WW II babies in orphanages failed to thrive and even died when deprived of human contact. In a classic study by Harry Harlow, newborn monkeys were taken from their biological mothers and given surrogates made of either wire or soft terry cloth. The baby monkeys consistently chose the soft mother even when deprived of nourishment. The need for bonding outweighed even the basic necessity of food. [iv] The hunger for touch is a real human need. [v] And though touch is physical, the need provides sustenance and anchoring for our emotional, mental and spiritual selves which all need to feel securely anchored in a world of love. This is totally true for babies and only slightly less so for adults even thought they have gotten used to a world and life of cutaneous deprivation.
The hunger for touch is a real human need almost as important as food. And just as intimacy can be seen differently from love and sex, though we often combine the two, touch also is an activity in itself and can be a wholly satisfying experience as people who give and receive massage well know. The most important way we give love to a baby is through touch. For babies, and the rest of us, love is equated deeply with touch. The problem for adults though comes in with the intense association we make between touch and sex. Just like we fear intimacy many fear touch because sexual issues intervene in our consciousness. Any kind of attitude problem with sexuality will have a bearing on the person's experiencial world of touch. Beings in union love each other, touch each other, from the book: Therapeutic Healing Touch |