Satisfying skin hunger may be key to overcoming depression and loneliness
Often the skin hunger is misdiagnosed or completely ignored. Not only by the individual himself, but also by others in their lives and even by the medical sector. What seems like depression may be something as simple as not having enough contact or human interaction.
Maybe that's why a healthy marriage depends on sexual interaction. It's not so much about the benefits of sex, although there are many, but more about the need for people to touch and be touched.
When people who experience skin hunger are massaged into clinical settings, their depression decreases and their vagal brain activity increases. It doesn't matter if you are touched by people you know and love; it is the need for the touch of another human being that matters to reduce their loneliness, anxiety and depression.
Skin hunger is particularly prevalent among the elderly in Western society
The greatest signs of skin hunger are among the older population. Skin hunger creates a feeling of loneliness that can lead to significant chronic mental health conditions.
The over-50s are twice as likely to die of loneliness literally as among those who are touched and have significant human relationships. The risk of succumbing to the effects of loneliness, depression, and physical illness through lack of touch increases with age.
Western society generally does less well than the rest of the world when it comes to skin hunger. When surveyed, many in Western societies felt, through lack of touch, that they could confide in only about 10 to 20 percent of the people they knew. Some scientists blame this on the innovation of technology and how it has replaced human interaction.
If you think about it, the more connected we are worldwide through the internet, the more lonely and hostile we have become. There is nothing that can replace human feeling and touch. In general, we spend more time alone and are touched less than ever before.
How to overcome your skin hunger ... a hug can be really powerful
What do we do with skin hunger? The only way to overcome skin hunger is to connect with others. It can feel a bit uncomfortable to be cuddled because it happens less often, but this doesn't mean we don't need it. Even the most distant among us needs human touch.
A hug, picking up someone or even touching someone can make all the difference in our world.
If you're feeling lonely and depressed, of course looking for a medical evaluation is very important. But in addition to counseling, it might be worth just giving a hug to those around you to relieve your skin hunger!
