I am grateful to the editors of such a fine online media outlet such as Thrive Global for publishing another article of mine, entitled The Power of Touch. Working where I work and doing what I do–I’ve made it a point to continue to write about my experiences during this pandemic. Having Thrive Global as another source to host my work is beefing up my “writer’s resume'” and I am incredibly excited about this fact.
Of all the things Coronavirus, COVID-19 has stripped away from us, touch is what I miss most. Being an affectionate person has its downsides, especially during a global pandemic. If you’re a single person and live alone as I do, the comfort of your home and all that’s within it is what you have—it’s all you have. I am grateful to have a small dog who allows me to pour my love into her and returns every ounce of affection I need. All I have to do is beckon her to me and my requests for kisses, loving paw-taps, and lap naps are eagerly given without protest.
While I appreciate my precious little four-legged fur-baby and her ability to connect with me on this level, she cannot replace the power of a human’s touch. As living—breathing sentient beings, we need touch. It is important for our overall health and well-being, and being forced to not take part in something that can sustain us is a hard blow to the heart and mind.
According to Maria Cohut, Ph.D., “Touching, and being touched, activate particular areas of our brain, thus influencing our thought processes, reactions, and even physiological responses.”
Medical News Today, September 2018.
As a healthcare worker, a few things that allowed me to connect with our patients was to shake a hand, offer a hug, or lightly pat someone on the back if they were afraid, grieving, in pain, or simply needed someone to recognize that void and seal it up with a small dose of affection. Now, within my six feet of social distance, while wearing a face mask, gloves, goggles, and sometimes other forms of PPE, I cannot offer the one thing I grew accustomed to providing—human touch.
I have not seen my mother since March of this year. I have endured none of her long hugs, cheek kisses, or hand-holding in moments of being uplifted. I do, however, call her every day after my shift. I do this to give her the gift of my voice—to let her know I am okay, that I made it through another day. I appreciate having this mode of connection with her—that she can hear me, but it does not come close to what we established between mother and daughter: a bond that grew because of touch, because of affection. There is something about being able to lean into the comfort of one’s mother and gain a sense of relief from having done so.
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
Our fur baby does help with the lack of touch, but will never replace contact with a human. Great post.
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Nope, they simply cannot replace that. Thank you for reading.
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How such a simple gesture can bring a wealth of emotions…
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That is very beautiful Tre. Sending warm wishes. I am now missing my own mother! But remembering fondly x
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💙 Thank you, Andi.
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Congratulations on this article. After reading this I want to hug my mom more than ever before. It is so hard not to hug the people I love.
trE you did a beautiful job sharing your experience. It made me realize the loss of touch in a deeper way than I had before. The loss of support from caregivers, doctors, nurses and for those providing care to connect with those they serve. It must be so challenging for all involved. Please hang in there and keep sharing your voice.
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Thank you, Ali, and I definitely will.
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This is wonderful, Tre. And SOOOOOO true. Everyone on the planet can relate to Your article. I’m like You and touch is a huge part of my life. I can’t imagine having to go without it for so very long on every level. As it is I miss my family. Hugging them. Hugging my friends. It’s like vitamins. I have a few friends who are single and this whole thing has been particularly hard on them for the reasons You name. Isolating on a profound level. And to have that component of Your caregiving removed HAS got to be difficult. I’m certain Your energy/Spirit floods out and comforts people in torrents. I find myself wrapped up in Your beautiful words online. I hope You know You gift/heal/touch profoundly even though the physical is on hold. I hope that doesn’t sound trite. I am being very sincere. I think a world-wide HUG party needs to happen when this finally passes. And CONGRATULATIONS on getting published again! Cheers!!! And HUGE hugs Your way!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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Thank you, Katy. Really, thank you.
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You are so very welcome. 🤗❤️🌀💕😊
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Congrats again trE! You’re on fire girl!
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Haha! Hey, Kathy! Thank you very much! I am trying, that’s for sure!
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I spoke to mine on the phone today and she said how much she appreciates it – its nice to hear her voice too. 🙂 ❤
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💙
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An insightful post. Here’s hoping the power to touch returns sometime soon.
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💙
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This is so true – however much we love our dogs, there’s still a distance to be covered by the human touch.
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Exactly, Jane. Exactly. Thank you for reading.
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A pleasure, as ever. I have been busy at work and home, so haven’t had time to comment as I would have liked on other posts – but I always enjoy reading your work. This one struck a chord with me!
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I am glad you connected with it. And I am always happy to see and read you too. 💙
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