Last update: December 03, 2015
Numerous studies on child rearing and affection have highlighted theimportance of physical contact from birth.
Caresses and hugs have a special power, the power to communicate affection and feelings that, even as a child, the child is able to understand, receive and internalize.
For this reason, many hospitals practice skin-to-skin contact between the newborn and the mother from birth, to transmit to the child the mammalian imprint of affection and the recognition of its main referent.
Communication without interference
There are several ways of communicating. On the one hand there is verbal communication, transmitted through words, and on the other the non-verbal one, which is expressed through gestures, body positions, tone of voice, timbre, etc.
We could also say that there is another way to communicate: it is about emotional communication, the one that transmits emotions, feelings and desires. Undoubtedly, it is that which is transmitted through physical contact.
In our culture, as in many others, the kiss is used as part of the cordial greeting between two acquaintances, and this social habit has favored the loss of the emotional component that constitutes its essence, when this gesture is used in a public context. and social.
In reverse, when we kiss a loved one or our partner, the emotional component comes to the surface, since it is a gesture taken on the most intimate level.
Even caresses can take on a more affective and sensual sense when they are carried out in intimacy and in the private sphere, since they represent an excellent means of emotional communication.
Finally, hugs are the only gesture that transcends the social and public context, since they always manage to maintain that affective component and the manifestation of a desire.
Personal zones
In interpersonal relationships, there are different spaces or zones in which we can interact.
First of all, the public area, the one that allows us to interact with several people at the same time. For example, this is the case of conferences, where we talk to the audience at a distance of approximately 3,5 to 7 meters.
Then there is the social zone, within which we interact with one or two unknown people, which usually lie between 1,2 and 3,5 meters apart.
There is personal zone, i.e. the distance we keep when we shake hands or when we have a conversation in public, and ranging from 45 centimeters to 1,20 meters.
Finally, there is the intimate area, which only a few have access to, is an area reserved for people with whom we have a closer relationship. Our relationship with them is also based on physical contact, at a distance of 45 centimeters or less.
It is in this intimate area that the different options of emotional communication through physical contact; sometimes they can take place in a social and public context, others in a private context, as in the case of love affairs.
Without a doubt, having physical contact means entering the intimate area, the one in which we are all most vulnerable. If a person we have not given access to intrudes on this area, he will make us feel invaded, attacked and disrespected.
It is precisely for fear of this happening that we raise a wall that prevents access to unwanted people, relegating them to the personal area, the one in which there is no physical contact.
Physical contact: source of knowledge and empathy
Emotional communication through physical contact has a strong potential for interpersonal relationships, as it helps us to feel closer to the other person. In this way, we increase our empathy towards her / him, and her respect for her emotions and feelings.
Opening our intimate area more often will allow us to know the most sensitive, emotional and human level of people, breaking the barriers and screens that sometimes do not allow us to understand, respect or feel loved.
Living the experience of physical contact with receptive people helps us to go deeper to discover the meaning of life and human relationships.
A simple gesture, without the need for words, can convey much more than an entire speech. Thanks to it, it only takes us a moment to understand that we are part of another person's life, and that we are not alone.
