The Sense of Touch: Between Societal Issues, Polyvagal Theory, and Restorative Support
Touch: A Fundamental Imprint
The sense of touch is the first to emerge in utero during our embryonic development. Inside the mother's womb, the embryo primarily receives tactile information throughout its growth.
Later, it is through touch that babies explore the world, placing objects in their mouths and handling them with deep concentration to make sense of their surroundings.
Touch also regulates our emotions and well-being through the comforting sensation of appropriate contact. In recent years, collective awareness of touch has been challenged, often clouded by social and health-related concerns. The absence of touch or its inappropriate contexts has highlighted its significance and the power it holds over ourselves and others.
Polyvagal Theory: A Framework for Understanding Touch
Beyond the physiological aspects of touch, Stephen Porges, through his Polyvagal Theory, highlights the link between the autonomic and social nervous systems. He explains how touch can activate the vagus nerve, promoting a state of safety and emotional regulation. According to this theory, gentle and respectful contact stimulates the ventral branch of the vagus nerve, creating a sense of calm and holistic connection throughout the body. Injured body parts can regain vitality through a mirror effect and attachment memory. This process is particularly relevant in contexts of stress or trauma, where touch can act as a catalyst for emerging from defensive states (fight, flight, or freeze).
Steve Haines, in his book Touch is Really Strange (2016), explores these dynamics, demonstrating how touch shapes our bodily perception and ability to feel present. He also emphasizes the role of manual therapists in supporting individuals who have experienced trauma, using touch as a tool for reorganizing and repairing the nervous system.
COVID-19: Reconsidering the Importance of Touch
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted our relationship with touch on a global scale. Social distancing measures exacerbated feelings of isolation, depriving many of physical contact. Collectively, there were multiple dialogues around the concept of "necessary and vital touch." From a health perspective, touch was deemed non-essential during a period of crisis. This period illuminated the paradox of touch: while it can provide comfort, it was also perceived as a source of contagion. This dilemma underscored the need to rehabilitate conscious and respectful touch in our lives to address the lingering psychosocial effects of the crisis.
#MeToo Movement: Between Threat and Repair
The #MeToo movement exposed the harm of non-consensual touch, revealing its destructive potential when used abusively, even decades later. Cellular memory remains a real, albeit intangible, phenomenon: the body remembers even when the mind suppresses. However, this reality also opens a space for exploring touch's reparative power. In a therapeutic setting, touch becomes a means of bodily rehabilitation, enabling individuals to reconnect with their bodies in a safe environment. Through this sense of safety, the body can rediscover the memory of nurturing attachment experienced in early life, when survival depended entirely on others.
Thus, touch can be a key to rebuilding healthy social engagement and fostering a positive relationship with oneself and others. It is not merely a gesture but a powerful tool for soothing, repairing, boosting self-esteem, and restoring self-confidence.
A Catalyst for Healing and Holistic Care
In public health and caregiving practices, touch holds a vital role when paired with psychosocial support. Manual therapists, such as craniosacral practitioners and therapeutic massage therapists, are central to this approach. They offer tactile support that complements psychological interventions by facilitating self-regulation and reinforcing a sense of internal safety.
Steve Haines and other authors highlight that when practiced in a caring framework, touch can be a catalyst for overcoming trauma, reducing chronic stress, and restoring holistic balance. Such practices promote an integrative approach to care, addressing body and mind as an inseparable whole.
Challenges and Future Directions
In a society marked by isolation and social tensions, rehabilitating touch as a restorative experience deserves recognition. Developing specialized training for manual therapy professionals, alongside greater awareness of consent and ethical touch, offers promising paths forward.
In Conclusion: The sense of touch is far more than a simple sense; it is an essential tool for strengthening social bonds, healing trauma, and fostering holistic well-being. Integrating bodily approaches into care practices could offer innovative solutions to contemporary psychosocial challenges.
Selected Bibliography:
- Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. Norton & Company.
- Levine, P. (2020). Healing Trauma Beyond Words. Interéditions.
- Haines, S. (2023). Touch Is Really Strange. Editions Eyrolles.
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