Yesterday I saw an old friend at the store; a man I've known since elementary school. Usually whenever we see each other, we share a brief hug. Yesterday he was cordial and smiling, but he made it clear he didn't want a hug. I understand it's because of the coronavirus rule concerning social distancing. People are a little anxious now about touching/personal contact. But---it still hurt my feelings. Am I being too sensitive? How do you all feel about social distancing?
Of course you are being to sensitive. We should ALL be social distancing as much as possible please listen to the CDC and NIH instead of your feelings.
Nobody knows if they are/aren't a carrier. If we knew, this would be easy. If someone sends a signal that says, "Hey, let's not take a chance we get each other sick, k?" you should feel grateful, not hurt. I'd be upset if someone DID want to hug me right now. It tells me they don't care if I catch this thing.
If everyone stayed 6 feet away from everyone else for 2-3 weeks, the virus would be over. About the only place someone might hug me or shake my hand is at Friday happy hour and I'm not going to happy hour for the next several weeks...or anywhere else that isn't necessary.
two sides of this coin. This is unsustainable in the long run without society losing its interconnectedness and compassion for stangers https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-surprising-psychological-value-of-human-touch/ The CNN post notes that holding hands produces a calming response. James Coan, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, administered MRIs to 16 married women, relaying that they may experience a mild shock. The anxiety illustrated various brain activity, but when the women held hands with one of the experimenters, their stress dissipated — when they held hands with their husbands, stress decreased even further. Coan observed that there was a “qualitative shift in the number of regions in the brain that just weren’t reacting anymore to the threat cue.” The article continues to state that, interestingly enough, hand clasping in happy relationships reduces stress-related activity in the hypothalamus region of the brain, which lowers cortisol levels throughout the system, as well as the area in the brain that registers pain. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/hands_on_research “To touch can be to give life,” said Michelangelo, and he was absolutely right. From this frontier of touch research, we know thanks to neuroscientist Edmund Rolls that touch activates the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex, which is linked to feelings of reward and compassion. We also know that touch builds up cooperative relationships—it reinforces reciprocity between our primate relatives, who use grooming to build up cooperative alliances. There are studies showing that touch signals safety and trust, it soothes. Basic warm touch calms cardiovascular stress. It activates the body’s vagus nerve, which is intimately involved with our compassionate response, and a simple touch can trigger release of oxytocin, aka “the love hormone.”
One more step to a more distant and apathetic society. The distancing will likely outlive the panic...
You once told me not to take PF too seriously. So believe me when I say; shush. Just shush. You are literally posting online to people who you have known for years. So shush! You have a close nit and notably apathetic but caring society here on PF. Now shush and get drunk with me later tonight.
It was an observation. Don't get your panty's in a twist. The rise of the internet and social media were already beginning to cause some distancing. This country is tribalizing and this just pushes it further in that direction. If people are constantly caught up in emotions of the moment they are not observing what's going on. Then they are shocked when something happens and revert right back to panicked emotionalism. It's self-defeating for the greater society at large...
Yes. He smiled and asked how I was doing. He was nice to me. It's just that he was kind of stand-offish.
This is true. I have experienced this while caring for my patients. Nothing takes the place of the human touch.
Yes...you're being too sensitive. Especially since you have a good idea as to the possible cause...an understandable cause that has nothing to do with you personally. As several people I know say..... pull up your big girl/boy pants and get over it.
