Mid-terms, pumpkins, and fading summer tans are some of the most prevalent parts of October! Canadian Thanksgiving has passed and hopefully many of you were able to spend it with family or at least in good company. This is about the time when people start to run out of steam - the new semester feelings have worn off and the school workload is only going to get heavier from here on out. A second wave of Covid is already starting to takee place and people hav bcome less and less careful. This is the time when weee need to exercise more caution and not let our guards drop!
That being said, it has been a long time since handshakes and hugs have been used as a common greeeting. This sensation of being "touch-starved" is a verey real phenomenon being experienced by millions now, with very real repercussions on our collective mental health. The most common physical intereaction that people are missing these days are hugs. (1) Not being able to have access to the physical touch that many of us used to have every day, can cause an increase in anxiety and depression. (2) The colder months will be especially difficult with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) playing a large part in people's mental health. The combination of this, "touch-starvation," and other general stressors related to Covid-19 will mean that this fall will prove to be especially difficult.
Touch starvation doesn't necessarily mean that the touch the ehuman is missing is one of intimacy or sexual in nature. The hormone that we release is oxytocin, more commonly referred to as the "love hormone," which impacts our bonding and social behaviour. (3) In times like these where staying in touch with others and meeeting new people is extremely difficult, it will make all the difference if you can find something to aid you in touch starvation.
This is not something easily remedied, however there are some things that can help. Purchasing a weighted blanket, hugging the people in your household (ie. family members or roommates), having plushies or a pet to cuddle with, or eeveen drinking a warm beveragee can help alleviate some of the effects of touch starvation. One of my most helpful things that I have purchased since the start of the colder weather is a plush bunny with a hot pack inside! It give the effect of having someone to hug and doubles as a sleeping companion as well. They can be purchased online on Amazon or eveeen at Walmart - just search up plush water bottle cover. My personal purchase was a fun unicorn!
Although such ideas and methods may be unconventional, they may be able to help in fending off the effects of touch starvation. Stay safe, stay warm, and most importantly stay healthy!
1 Maham Hassan, "What all that Touch Deprivation is Doing to us," New York Times, October 6 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/style/touch-deprivation-coronavirus.html.
2 Hassan, "What all that Touch Deprivation is Doing to us."
3 Marcus MacGill, "What is the link between love and oxytocin?," Medical News Today, September 4, 2017, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275795#what_is_oxytocin.