网爆门 member Natasha Page was on BBC Radio 4鈥檚 Woman鈥檚 Hour to talk about how people display affection.
Natasha joined blogger Njilan Morris-Jarra and presenter Jane Garvey for a discussion on how it can impact on wellbeing and relationships.
鈥淧hysical affection is a concrete way of showing someone that you care,鈥� Natasha said. 鈥淚t helps our emotional health and wellbeing.
鈥淲e know from research that there are detrimental effects on people from lack of interaction and physical affection.鈥�
The feature followed an in which she wrote about her experiences about physical contact.
Physical affection
Njilan told : 鈥淚 think generally in romantic relationships I behave quite differently to how I might in platonic or family relationships. I am much more open to physical affection in those.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a burden to put on a romantic partner, that they are the only source of physical affection. It鈥檚 something that I have recently, maybe in the last year or so, noticed.
鈥淚 was in quite a long-term relationship and after the break-up I just didn鈥檛 date at all. Venturing back onto the dating scene and receiving physical affection had an effect on me because I didn鈥檛 realise what I had been missing.
鈥淚 got home from a date and I thought 鈥榳ow, when was the last time you had a hug?鈥�
鈥淚t was kind of disturbing to me at that point and that is when I started to think about it more and look into the benefits of physical contact on a science and wellbeing basis.鈥�
Small steps
Natasha, of This Is Me Counselling in Nottinghamshire, said there are small steps that people can take if they normally shy away from physical affection.
鈥淚 have worked with parents who have struggled with that for various reasons,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t could be past trauma, family upbringing, fear of rejection.
鈥淚 have tried to encourage them to find ways of showing affection that are comfortable to them and building on that.
鈥淔or example, it could be you sit closely together and watch a film together. It may be that you play a game that involves some kind of physical touch. It may be brushing hair, painting nails or a head massage.
鈥淭here can be ways that feel less scary for the individuals.鈥�
Natasha suggested relationship counselling for couples where one of the partners was not at ease with shows of affection while the other was.
鈥淭hey can have an arena to talk safely about how they are both feeling and try to overcome those differences,鈥� she said.
To find a counsellor, coach or therapist to help with any of the issues mentioned in this article, visit our聽Therapist directory.