The Healing Power Of Tenderness
Sometimes tenderness works better than any medicine. Skin contact makes you feel loved and strengthened, sadness and depressive moments can be alleviated.
The power of caresses. There are two parts of our body that we always have around us: it is these two restless companions with whom we work, wash and express ourselves …
The hands with which we speak the magical language of caressing, with which we communicate and heal. That is the healing power of tenderness.
The healing power of tenderness
According to a study by the American Journal Psychiatry , caressing is a therapeutic and meaningful gesture that affects us much more than any other drug.
A hug or a hand that gently runs over our face then triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin. This hormone creates a feeling of inner calm in the body, making it a great antidote for sadness and depression.
These positive impulses that we receive from our fellow human beings are of great importance. They should be perceived as such by us. They determine our emotional maturity and even our personal development.
Let’s see an example. There are various reports of boys and girls who have no families. And who have to grow up in orphanages due to their tragic personal situation.
Where poverty, lack of caring for them and isolation has negatively affected their development and maturity. These are children who have stopped crying. They know that despite the crying, no one would take care of them.
These are children who often develop neurosis during puberty and are therefore unable to adapt well to their environment. And also have serious personality problems.
This takes on an even bigger dimension when we compare these children with other people who enjoyed a childhood characterized by physical contact and caressing.
Raising babies and bringing their own skin into contact with the baby’s skin is essential for emotional and social development.
This is something we should not forget as expressing tenderness such as hugs or contact with a hand above us causes the release of shared feelings.
In addition, small caresses give us self-confidence and not only express affection, but also devotion.
The power of tenderness to counteract stress
The interpersonal contact has a calming effect and is a kind of balm through which we feel integrated and confirmed. If a person does not experience an expression of tenderness, they can experience sadness and exclusion, which can then also lead to depression.
This can then be applied to all ages. Children who feel abandoned, couples who then show little physical affection for one another. And gradually lose social ties, older people who experience no discernible kind of affection …
There are really many examples and they all have something in common. People develop thanks to interpersonal contact, affection, compassion, gentleness and the game between give and take.
Sometimes even the animals show us how to treat one another. Let us think of our pets, such as dogs and cats, that are always waiting for us. They seek our closeness and sit on our lap.
Somehow they always get us to put our hand over them. And they give us their affection without asking questions or asking for explanations … As if the most important thing in the world was to feel loved. Or simply to feel a caress.
