walker

Human touch. Research has shown it is that is needed throughout our lives because of the many benefits such as its ability to lower blood pressure and reduce the production of stress hormones. There are also some emotional benefits from non-sexual touch. A reassuring or comforting touch can help with anxiety.

Human touch plays its biggest role in our lives as newborns but this isnt about newborns it is about one adult and how touch has been something hard to accept at first then just gone without.

Growing up I was fat. I have always been so. Growing up touch was a bad thing. Touch meant someone was trying to harm me in some way. It was known that I had an anger issue but I tried my best to keep control. When the words didnt work they moved on to throwing small toys or small rocks. Someone would poke me with sticks, and in the later part of elementary school there were those that would try and poke me with thumb tacks and safety pins so they could in their words See if I would pop like a balloon..

In middle school the safety pins were at least gone but the kicking and punching picked up. I was in a the martial arts but schools had a zero tolerance and I didnt like getting in trouble so I just took the abuse and went about my day, doing my best to maintain control of my anger. Well All emotions really. I was in summer school I would be going in to my freshmen year in the fall when I finally lost control. Up till that point physical touch meant pain for me. I had been in fights before but there were always those around me to help keep me back before going to far. This time though they did not hold me back because they did not like what they saw. After I was punched in the face and saw blood I lost all control. I was kicked out of summer school and I remember the principle saying I could have killed the kid. After that day I went even more out of my way to avoid physical contact with people. It no longer meant pain for me but it meant I could hurt someone else badly.

I almost made it out of high school without incident. There were no punches and no kicks. I thought things might be getting a bit better till someone who loved to make me suffer from years before was in some of my classes. He had a new game he liked to play. When we would pass he would reach out and grab my chest and say hey boobs. Now being that I was over 300 pounds there was lots to grab. Sadly there was nothing I could do to have this end without bad things happening and going to the school was useless as he was the start athlete so I was shit out of luck. I once again reached my breaking point. This time I was at least able to mostly control my emotions. His routine ended that day as I got him in an arm bar and told him if he ever touched me again I would snap his arm then while he is in pain and his arm is hanging there bend in the wrong direction I would do the same to the other.

The rest of the school year went well after that at least as far as people touching me went. My last year of high school I went someplace new. A school filled with the rejects. I kept to myself. I kept my emotions in check trying to never show any outside of very few places. And I avoided touch.

High school and college are the times in our lives where major events take place for a lot of people. You learn to drive, maybe get a first job. You kiss for the first time, maybe fool around a bit and also lose your virginity.

Well I never did any of those in high school and I never went to college. I started working full time the day after I got out of school. 50 - 70 weeks and I never really did much outside of work and going right home. My friends the few I had did start to bug me more to go out with them to movies and to a Dennys after and I made the time for such things, it was just once a week. They all went to college and they started having parties though nothing big till I turned 21 since I was the first to do so then I became their supplier.

It was during this time that people started hugging me more as a greeting. While not fond of it at first I accepted it. I started to have a change in the way I thought of human touch. I even started to want it. But I still had done none of the things most people had done before they even left high school. I had a couple of online things only one of them was serious but the distance was great. It was during this time that I learned to love human touch but having it was so extremely rare. I could lay in that bed with her all day if I had the chance. But things go the way things go. I was 27 when I had my first kiss and it wasnt even what most would call a real kiss. My shyness and awkwardness kind of made sure of that.

So my ramblings bring me to today. It has now been over a year since I have even had a handshake. I am not even sure why I have tried to stay away from contact. I cant use the excuse that I dont go out for it because if simple contact of any kind is what I need I could simple go up to my mom and ask for a hug. It should be an easy thing to do. But I seem unable to. I just cant.

Hmm when I started typing this, I never expected it to be this long.