Do you ever feel like the boy in the plastic bubble (remember that movie with John Travolta?), surrounded on all sides by people but never touched?
We live in a manic world, rushing from home to work to practices to events back to home to flop into bed exhausted. Sometimes (for some of us) we can go for long periods of time without touching or being touched by others.
While you might not consciously notice the effects of not being touched, it can negatively affect your mood, your confidence and even your health. Touching and being touched is vital to our wellbeing so here are some ways that you can get that touch in your life to make you feel beautiful, calm, and confident!
Get Touched!
Who doesn’t love a good massage? Splurge and get yourself to a spa! Hands-on treatments (as opposed to saunas or steam rooms) are just a fabulous way to boost your mood. The human touch (yes even from a stranger) releases “happy” endorphins that can physically help reduce blood pressure, stress, and anxiety.
Oxytocin is a hormone that does everything from making you feel good to helping you feel connected to others. Oxytocin is scientifically known to be released when we touch, which naturally makes us feel more connected and more beautiful. This feel-good hormone makes you feel like you’re invincible – which is an amazing benefit! It also increases hormones that help fight infection.
Being touched can arouse a network of neural chemicals and hormones that lower blood pressure, block pain, increase happiness, and help fight the flu. Now research shows touch can even turn sour to sweet. Ten minutes of massaging makes a person more generous and trusting. All those benefits come to the person being touched and to the person doing the touching.
Touch for beauty!
If being touched (and touching others) leads to positive feelings and happiness, then touching yourself will direct those same positive emotions inward. You can take every day mundane rituals and turn them into soothing and positive ways to make yourself feel amazing.
In just minutes, applying makeup can become one of the most gratifying activities of your day. You can ‘touch yourself beautiful’ by learning to gracefully apply your makeup.
- Get brushes that are soft and feel good to your skin. Sweep the brush in a gentle motion all over your face in a circular pattern to soothe those lovely facial muscles. This action relieves tension and creates calm. Use that very same motion to apply your makeup. Smaller circles for foundation, larger circles for blush.
- Tap yourself pretty. Tapotement is a technique used in Swedish massage, it involves rhythmic tapping, pounding or patting which increases your
skin’s receptors. You can do this (lightly) whilst applying your makeup. Use your fingers to tap concealer under eyes or lightly tap on your lipstick and you’ll stimulate sensual areas that make you feel good.
Treat yourself right – You deserve it!
Indulge yourself with a luxurious bath followed by slowly applying your favorite scented lotion. Not only will it stimulate your scent senses but the physical feel will make you feel pampered and cared for as well. Truly, you deserve some pampering. Would love to hear your comments about touch in the comments below!
