Communication through touch is one of our most primitive modes. Touch can make you calmer, safer, happier. It can also convey feelings of sympathy, love and gratitude.
Touch is at the heart of everything we all do.
Yet, for very good reason, we are currently restricted in this most natural of human instincts. So what to do instead to satisfy this basic human need?
If you live with others and you all feel well, try these simple ways of adding a little more tactility into your lifestyle.
Children do it all the time. Adults need to do it more. Especially right now.
Affective physical contact is fundamental to good mental health. Discover more on how touch positively affects mental wellbeing by clicking the picture at the top.
Times like these can be much harder for those who live alone. Regular virtual contact can help but a total lack of direct physical contact with others can start to take its toll.
Focusing the mind on favourite hobbies, practising mindfulness when outdoors and even eating with fingers instead of cutlery can all help a bit.
Having faith in a return to normality helps a lot.
If you know someone that lives alone, consider sending them a gift of touch. If you live alone, you can even send one to yourself.
Either way, you'll create a moment of sanity to look forward to again.
You can send someone a personalised gift via text or a WhatsApp message like this:
The receiver will get a fully personalised gift certificate delivered to their phone directly from you.
Delivering compassion and empathy through professional touch is our strength. You can give someone who is currently alone the gift of strength to look forward to receiving empathy through touch again soon.
Use our suggested wording:
A little something for you
to look forward to ...
for when we’re allowed
to touch others again!
or write your own.
To make things even easier for you, we've made the following changes to the terms for gift certificates purchased during London’s social distancing restrictions:
- certificates can be used at any time through to 31 December 2021 next year
- unused certificates can be returned for a full refund any time before 31 December 2021, no questions asked
Just click here to create and send your own personalised gift of touch.
Hopefully things will soon look and feel brighter for all of us and we'll be able to return to a more tactile way of life again.