Vitamin T – How Important Is Touch For You?

Touch.  Vitamin “T”.  Something your body craves.  Needs.

A long time ago a “research project” was undertaken by a king.  I think it was in Germany.

The ruler wanted to know what language babies would speak if no one ever talked to them.  What would naturally come from their mouths?

The babies were taken from their mothers.  They were provided only the necessities of food and cleanliness.  No one talked to them.  No one touched them.

Guess what language they began speaking?

None at all.

They all died.  They were lacking Vitamin T.

Rat pups who are deprived of the touch of the mother’s tongue grooming them will die.  Rat pups who are “groomed” with a wet paint brush (like mother rat’s tongue) live and thrive.

Massage.

Touch.

What should you expect from your health care provider–your doctor, physical therapist, nurse or massage therapist?  You should expect to feel comfortable in their presence and with their touch.

If they cannot give you some type of comfort–even if the treatment hurts–here is my suggestion:

Find a new one.

A study done in Canada indicated that doctors who touched their patients had patients who got better more quickly.  I thought perhaps they were doing some type of massage or touch therapy so I read the article in the journal with interest.

But that was not the case.

The doctors were simply placing a hand on the shoulder or hand of their patient.  They greeted them and acknowledged them.  That tiny small amount of touch was enough to help patients heal faster.

Sometimes health care practitioners become hardened.  They lose compassion.  Or maybe they never had it.

It may be hard to see pain and suffering so often and be unable to stop it.  Or perhaps they were too involved with a patient and too saddened when treatment failed.

Regardless.

You deserve to be touched with compassion and care.  It’s your body.  Demand what you deserve.

Here is the link to an article about a woman who didn’t receive the compassionate touch she deserved.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Professional-Touch&id=4213246

And if no one touches you today, then you reach out and touch them.  Don’t let it hurt your feelings if they say ‘no.’  Maybe they are afraid or think they are not good enough.

In a study at the University of Florida Miami School of Medicine, Touch Research Institute senior citizen volunteers who provided massage experienced many of the same health benefits of those whom they massaged.

Vitamin T.  A touching experience.