Another very effective stress release technique is touch.  We do it naturally.  If you have a pain somewhere in your body, you’re pretty much guaranteed to hold it at some point.  How many times have you touched your forehead when you had a headache?  If you’ve had a sore spot, you’ve quite likely rubbed it a bit.  If you see someone else looking down (and you feel comfortable doing so), you might put a hand on his back or shoulder and ask “Are you all right?”  If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of this, perhaps you noticed that it brought you comfort, even though it didn’t alleviate the problem.  And who doesn’t love a good hug from someone we want to hug us?  Touching releases the feel-good hormones, like oxytocin and serotonin.

In a 2015 article[1], Eric Barker (“Barking Up The Wrong Tree”) wrote:

“Touching is incredibly powerful.  We just don’t give it enough credit.  It makes you more persuasive, increases team performance, improves your flirting, it even boosts math skills.  Touching someone you love actually reduces pain.  In fact, when studies were done on married couples, the stronger the marriage, the more powerful the effect.”

In the article, Barker cites the study that was done to verify the statement about how touch reduces pain.  It involved married couples being administered an electric shock when they were alone and again when holding the hand of their beloved spouse.  Participants registered lower levels of pain while holding the hand of someone they loved even though the shock administered was just as intense.

Now, depending on where you are at any given moment, it may not be entirely appropriate for you to go around touching others.  You can hug your loved ones when you get home, however, and non-human loved ones certainly count.  Make it a mindful touch, not just a cursory, ordinary, return-from-the-grind type of hug.  Some sources say it should last at least twenty seconds.  If you don’t happen to live with anyone, perhaps there are others in your life you can think of to hug.  They can be family, friends, non-human animals, people you know. 

If you enjoy massages, make it more of a priority to get them regularly.  Massage is very healing.  (More on that in the section on massage.)  Until you can get that hug or massage, however, there are a few things you can do to make use of the healing quality of touch.

[1]   Barker, E. (2015, September). New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy.