Touching and empathy: Does it bother you?

[Aleannah]

I was just wondering if you are the sort of person that enjoys being touched, or does touching send your senses into overdrive?

[Silvana]

It bothers me sometimes. If I'm sick, upset, unhappy, pissed off, or any of the negative emotions I don't want to be touched at all. Just get the hell away from me! But when I'm happy I love to be touched, hugged, and all those good things. Being touched actually makes me feel like I can't breathe when I'm in a negative mood while it energizes me when I'm in a positive mood. Inbetween things vary.

[Jenne]

If I'm not grounded properly, it's like a shockwave. It's pretty hard to explain. Random touches are really hard for me. Especially if I'm on edge already.

I sense moods just walking into rooms...I feel energy off of people. So if someone else is grounded and neutral, it's ok. But if they're not and I'm unprepared...it's sorta bad.

[Zoey]

Maybe that's why I don't like to be touched usually...huh. Never thought about it. It really varies by person for me. Some people I can touch, hug or whatever without any problem, others, I just don't like touching. Ever.

[Gwenhwyfar]

I dont like it so much. I really hate handshakes, I really really hate handshakes when the other person uses both hands...Its hard to explain though because theres some people who it hasnt bothered me with. Its people who are angry, jelous, mad, sad or just plain crazy inside....those are the ones that I dont like touching.

Touching from my family doesnt bother me though, unless Im just in a pissy mood. lol

[Caitrin SilverWolf]

I'm like Zoey - it entirely depends on the person. There are some people I love getting hugs from, and suprise suprise, its usually the positive ones, its like a ball of energy bouncing between us. Then there are people I prefer to stear well clear of, usually because touching them feels very draining on me, they're sucking my energy out. This applies to one person in particular who always hugs me at least twice whenever we meet up, whether I asked for it or not. I always feel really grumpy after seeing her.

[Dale Ivarie]

for me it's all about the situation..
I am a massage therapist and former massage therpey instructor..so I touch people and get touched all the time..
I am also a martail arts coach...so I get touched all the time (sometimes it leaves a mark:)

touching for me is about appropriateness...If I don't know you and just met you at a pagan gathering ritual...don't hug me...I don't know you...it creeps me out...
If I've known you for years ehh hug away...

The level of touch or contact I am comfortable with has to to with the situation and the individual...

What really bugs me is when people I just met get offended if I don't hug them...It doesn't mean I have a problem with touch or need to open up...just means I don't know you yet..

Dale

[Lunacie]

Sometimes it's the people, sometimes it's the mood a person is in, sometimes it's me and whether I'm already on the edge and any touch or emotion is going to shove me right over. I'm also a Super-Sensitive so if I'm wearing something that rubs me the wrong way I don't want anything else or anyone else touching me. Sometimes my allergies make the Sensitivity worse.

[Semele]

I generally prefere a good two to three feet bubble of space between me and all other folks. Not that it ever really happens, but that would be my ideal comfort zone. I like touching on certain terms, like hugs from my kids, one at a time, which also never happens, and really I just like to not be suprised by any physical touching because that really annoys me. I need to mentaly prepar myself for it. LOL. I need therapy.

Its funny at work because I am perfectly fine touching the patient when I am doing my assessment but as soon as I am done I back away from the bed to talk to the parents from a distance away. Several times I have backed into my nurse aide. LOL! She keeps asking me if I am afraid they are going to jump out of bed and kiss me and make me sick.

[Tanya]

Touching is an intimicy. If it is wanted it is extremely healing. If it is foisted upon you it is extremely rude.

Personally I would rather touch and be touched more than less, and am generally not offended when touched more than stictly required....

But we have a right to our bodies, and making the boundry calls about them.

[Contra Mundum]

I'm having mayor problems with it.

[Aleannah]

I don't usually have problems just touching someone...hugging is only for close friends and family. I can sense emotions walking into a room as well. I just can't stand to to be rubbed. It sounds weird, but things like massages just seem to overstimulate my senses and I get agitated. I try to explain this to hubby, and he says "but you're just so irresistible". I try to tell him it's me not him, but I don't think he believes me.

[Astara Seague]

it bothers me sometimes..
especilly when the person doing the touching is negitive or overwhelming sad

[sweetfairy]

at times yes it can bug me.. i enjoy my hair being touched or getting a massage from a special some one..their energy is postive but for a stranger to touch me...
that is like a lighting bolt that zaps through me i feel everything..
there are time i just want to not be touched and have a normal conversation with eye contact.. if this makes sense.

[Autumn-Forest]

I love to be touched. If I am sad or unhappy, I enjoy being held. If i'm pissed off, I don't like to be touched too much. I really do like being held though If I am sad or depressed, it comforts me, someone to grab on to and cry off all my eyeliner. lol :D Its comforting to me, if I'm happy, of course it makes me happy. I love hugging!! But thats just me...:)

blessings and peace,
Autumn

[WitchJezebel]

Depends on the person really but for the most part keep your meathooks off me.

[Katss]

I really dont like touching.. hehe I feel like my cat sometimes.. he lets very few people touch him.. and when hes had enough he will snap at them.. I can only tolerate close people.. like certain friends and close family.. even then I try to grin and bear alot of it.. just is too much for me ;)

[Twinkle]

I need touch. I'm one of those people who will hug a stranger. I pick up emotions off people...and touching is the way that I do that.....

It is difficult when there are negative or strong emotions, but it's how I relate to people....so I work on shielding.....

[sweetfairy]

today i worked on shielding while at college.. it was kinda hard but the lights almost did me in.uggg you can feel the vibration going through you...grr
. but otherwise i was more calmer but quieter
and people seemed to smile more..
interesting....

[Lunacie]

Quite a while back I tried setting the filters on my shield to minimize UV rays. Can't say it ever occured to me to try setting the filters to minimize sound or light vibrations. Hmmm, interesting idea.

[Philosophia]

Yes it bothers me a bit, but I do accept some touching (i.e. handshakes and hugging) from very close friends of a limited amount.
Otherwise, I can't stand being touched. I feel it too much.

[Johnathan Brisby]

It depends upon the person, I don't like some people even sitting next to me let alone touching. The worst part is basically being strong-armed into handshakes or even eye contact with people who already make me uncomfortable under the guise of "good manners".

[asheir]

It bothers me sometimes... I don't like being touched by staragers... That includes Hand Shaking... I would always like to yell for wipes if somebody that i don't know touched my hand... Yuck...

People that I know - I don't mind it...

Now, if it's the person that I love - I'm like a sponge - I soak it up and can't get enough. In return I consider myself a "toucher" because I love to touch and feel - but only with "that" special person... Period!

[SidneyCozzoi]

I don't like to be touched in most cases. I am very sensitive to people. I know who can be trusted and who can't. I've never liked to be touched. Just by a certain few. I don't do hugs. And girl friends who hang all over each other has never been a place I want to be. I prefer the company of men, they understand the meaning of the words 'Buffer Zone'

[wolfjan1]

I'm like Zoey - it entirely depends on the person. There are some people I love getting hugs from, and suprise suprise, its usually the positive ones, its like a ball of energy bouncing between us. Then there are people I prefer to stear well clear of, usually because touching them feels very draining on me, they're sucking my energy out. This applies to one person in particular who always hugs me at least twice whenever we meet up, whether I asked for it or not. I always feel really grumpy after seeing her.
This sounds like one of those psychic vampires. I found out too late because my Ex is one of those. looking for an open person to suck just enough life out of you to continue feeding for as long as possible. There are a great deal of them out there. Psychiatrists call them Narcissists. Most family members, to those of us lucky people, give us strength and happiness. There is an aunt or an uncle in there that just gives us the chills and we avoid them.
Our true friends, the family we have chosen, give us the same good energy.
But sometimes our defenses are down and meeting strange people who want to shake your hand or give you one of those superficial seeking hugs just send me up a wall. While trying to learn protective practices, I do not feel educated enough to protect myself properly. So I am hoping to join a self defense class here. Please PM me if you are starting one soon.
Bless you all

[Johnathan Brisby]

I prefer the company of men, they understand the meaning of the words 'Buffer Zone'

I disagree, the guys just don't want you to think they want to sleep with you, they can be just as invasive- in fact more so sometimes when they don't have the stigma of revealing emotions holding them at bay.

[MankyCat]

Touching me is a privelege. Not a right.

That applies to everyone.

I have been known to deftily dodge hugs.

No touchie unless invited... or unless you want me to have a connection to you that might tell me too much. Hell, I might know enough just from how you talk or look at something or stand. It doesn't matter. I've had too many dealings with leaches (psychic vampires, etc).

I don't consider myself empathic. I've just learned to be pretty darned observant of certain things with maybe a touch of something more. I prefer that anyways, given the problems some of my empathic friends have on a regular basis. Empaths seem gravitate towards me... Leaches used to, but not so much anymore... I think they don't like what they get from me (heh heh). I've learned to shield myself to a degree from both (leaches also get the no touchie buffer zones and backlashes when they intrude). Protect my empathic friends from getting to much stuff from me, and protect myself from getting drained by the leaches.

But from those I care about and consider as part of my closest circle... well... I don't mind touches, hugs, and so forth at all. They are welcome and freely given.

[covenofkeys]

dont like to be touched-body contact with me is a rarety.

[Johnathan Brisby]

When you're sensitive to vibrations a person doesn't have to touch you physically to make you feel uncomfortable

[Aleannah]

I don't know if I said this earlier, but I am sensitive to vibrations in a room as well...and there are certain people that I can't stand to be in the room with, let alone have them touch me. I have never been a hugger, and resented it when I was small and told to give people hugs against my will, simply because it would have been viewed as disrespectful. We have some friends that have an acquaintance that they enjoy being around that just absolutely gives me the heebie jeebies to be around him. He stares at me constantly and just gives off this weird vibe. When I mentioned it to them, they said "oh, he's okay - one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." Yeah, right. If they could see and feel what I see and feel, they may not be so sure. So, I just avoid the situation if he's over there and I make myself very scarce.

[Johnathan Brisby]

I don't know if I said this earlier, but I am sensitive to vibrations in a room as well...and there are certain people that I can't stand to be in the room with, let alone have them touch me. I have never been a hugger, and resented it when I was small and told to give people hugs against my will, simply because it would have been viewed as disrespectful. We have some friends that have an acquaintance that they enjoy being around that just absolutely gives me the heebie jeebies to be around him. He stares at me constantly and just gives off this weird vibe. When I mentioned it to them, they said "oh, he's okay - one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." Yeah, right. If they could see and feel what I see and feel, they may not be so sure. So, I just avoid the situation if he's over there and I make myself very scarce.

I know exactly what you mean. It will drive you crazy if you keep bringing it up to people only to hear them tell you you're "crazy". Some people are simply not o.k., period- and if other people can't sense it because they don't have the gift oh well. The way I like to look at it is the spirit world is like a big spider web, and sensitives, like spiders, can sense vibrations on the web through energy transmission.

A spider knows exactly what goes on in its web without even looking- just by the feel of the vibration. I think I already brought this up in either this or another thread recently, but cats do this with their whiskers. Cats have whiskers in other places other than their faces that sense vibrations. Cats aren'tSKITTISH, they just have another sense- they can literally tell the distance of an object from the air current and vibrational signature of it.

Cats are also good at telling when somebody's NOT OKAY, and they don't have someone without an extra sense second-guessing them at every turn making them doubt what they feel and know so their gift is allowed to grow. For a sensitive person the spirit and material world are superimposed upon one another- so even if people in the "real" world can't tell if a person isn't o.k. we can still feel it- sometimes even painfully.

[Lunacie]

J.B. I think you make a lot of sense and have some good insights, but I can't tell for sure because I'm so distracted by the changes in color, fonts, etc, in your posts. http://mysticwicks.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[MankyCat]

I know exactly what you mean. It will drive you crazy if you keep bringing it up to people only to hear them tell you you're "crazy". Some people are simply not o.k., period- and if other people can't sense it because they don't have the gift oh well. The way I like to look at it is the spirit world is like a big spider web, and sensitives, like spiders, can sense vibrations on the web through energy transmission.

A spider knows exactly what goes on in its web without even looking- just by the feel of the vibration. I think I already brought this up in either this or another thread recently, but cats do this with their whiskers. Cats have whiskers in other places other than their faces that sense vibrations. Cats aren'tSKITTISH, they just have another sense- they can literally tell the distance of an object from the air current and vibrational signature of it.

Cats are also good at telling when somebody's NOT OKAY, and they don't have someone without an extra sense second-guessing them at every turn making them doubt what they feel and know so their gift is allowed to grow. For a sensitive person the spirit and material world are superimposed upon one another- so even if people in the "real" world can't tell if a person isn't o.k. we can still feel it- sometimes even painfully.


Excellent post and very informative. Thank you for sharing.

[stella01904]

Family and friends, people I know well, I don't mind. Other than that, I loathe it. We do a high volume where I work and sometimes people I hardly know, or don't me know at all, will walk up and touch my hair or pat me, when I tell them not to put their hands on me they often seem offended. This tells me there was an agenda, maybe not sexual but an agenda of some kind nonetheless. People are always pissed when they're guilty.

The exceptions would be certain ethnic groups, different cultural boundaries regarding touching. I am always startled when it happens but I try to take the cultural stuff into consideration.

[nianda]

I thrive on touch...touching or being touched. To me, touch has always been a very important part of healing, for you or another person. The depth of compassion inwhich I hold is felt from my hands. My hands will crave to touch someone. (that may sound totally off the wall). But there are times when I shrink back, cringe or get very irratated when someone tries to touch me. I've not really thought about the reasons for it, but now that I do, it is when I'm hurting, when I'm wanting to be alone, running from emotions that are just to overwhelming for me at the time. It's like being on overload and the thought of being touched, whether physically, mentally or emotionally will just push me over the edge. At these times, I seriously want to run away...and to some extents I do in various manors.

[Lunacie]

I thrive on touch...touching or being touched. To me, touch has always been a very important part of healing, for you or another person. The depth of compassion inwhich I hold is felt from my hands. My hands will crave to touch someone. (that may sound totally off the wall). But there are times when I shrink back, cringe or get very irratated when someone tries to touch me. I've not really thought about the reasons for it, but now that I do, it is when I'm hurting, when I'm wanting to be alone, running from emotions that are just to overwhelming for me at the time. It's like being on overload and the thought of being touched, whether physically, mentally or emotionally will just push me over the edge. At these times, I seriously want to run away...and to some extents I do in various manors.


Hello niada and welcome to the Bunker. I agree that touch can be an aid to healing, but there are also times when touch can be intrusive and we need to "lick our wounds" in private. Seems strange that when we're hurting our animal companions can sense that and stay close to us, comforting and healing us, but when they're hurting they often find a dim and quiet place to go and be alone.

All those years when I felt so overloaded without any idea of the reasons for those feelings, I felt so weird for just needing to go off into my dark bedroom and be alone. But that was what I NEEDED. Now that I know at least some of the reasons that I felt so overwhelmed, and still do at times, so I have some idea how to prevent that and to deal with it when it does happen. And one of my ways of dealing with it is still to go off into my bedroom and be alone for a little while while I "decompress".

[Lunacie]

today i worked on shielding while at college.. it was kinda hard but the lights almost did me in.uggg you can feel the vibration going through you...grr
. but otherwise i was more calmer but quieter
and people seemed to smile more..
interesting....

Some information on the vibration in electrical appliances - including florescent lighting: http://www.holisticmed.com/toxic/#electrical

...still reading, will be back to comment later...

[WiccanGoddess]

Touching doesn't bother me.

[Johnathan Brisby]

Just some links, this isn't necessarily my opinion but I like this girl's website:

http://www.lipstickmystic.com/articles/bad_reactions_to_reiki_healing.html

http://www.lipstickmystic.com/articles/why_reiki_is_dangerous_reiki_is_bad.html

http://www.lipstickmystic.com/articles/warning_reiki_what_is_reiki_hado.html

[Phenyxxfire]

I can't give a definitive yes or no answer to this. It really depends on who I'm touching, how close we are and what they're feeling at the time. It also depends a lot on how good or bad they are at sheilding their own emotions.

Some people feel really good to touch no matter what they're feeling my husband, daughter and a friend in Texas are like that. Some people feel really awful all the time because there's so much negativity and emotional poison running through them. That would be my mother. Her negativity is so strong its like a cloud of toxic sludge that surrounds her to a distance of about 3 feet.

I've applied some new tweaks to my shields that have helped a lot with blocking out the negativity and the unwanted emotions.

[Johnathan Brisby]

Touching doesn't bother me.

After looking at your picture it doesn't bother me either- is that you?:hahugh:

[WiccanGoddess]

After looking at your picture it doesn't bother me either- is that you?:hahugh:

*snorts*

Johnathan, I wish. It's Amy Jo Johnson, celebrity. lol.

[Johnathan Brisby]

*snorts*

Johnathan, I wish. It's Amy Jo Johnson, celebrity. lol.

We can still pretend you didn't tell me that... _travolta_

[Twinkle]

*****Gagging Sounds******:yayah:

[Lunacie]

Yeah, isn't there a whole 'nother thread for people who want to hook up?

[CassiaMoon]

I would shrivel up and die if I didnt get to hug my kids and husband on a daily basis...but Id rather not be touched by anyone else. I dont even like people coming over to my house without calling first. There are alot of times that I didnt even want certain people to stand near me. There used to be a family member of mine who was like overly affectionate when it came to that, and he wasnt even an actual blood relative of mine he was just sorta hippie-ish inlaw of an inlaw. Although he meant no harm and was a genuinely great man, it just put me off in such a weird way.

[stella01904]

Yeah, isn't there a whole 'nother thread for people who want to hook up?
Or maybe M-Wad?

[WiccanGoddess]

Or maybe M-Wad?

Not an option for those of us without the fundings/credit cards. ;)

[Lunacie]

Not an option for those of us without the fundings/credit cards. ;)

I guess getting a motel room isn't an option either then? :lol:

We're so far off-topic we're going to need a guide-dog to lead us back. ;)

[Johnathan Brisby]

I'm just playing around- my real life keeps me fairly busy. I've always felt internet hookups were kinda sad. That's just me though.... :lol:

Please feel free to inform me of any other message board faux pas I commit such as colors, flirting, my ethnicity, or anything else which might accidentally offend someone for no apparent reason.

[Dawa Lhamo]

Lol. I wouldn't really consider myself empathic or anything, but I *really* don't like to be touched. Most of the time. It just creeps me out. Rarely, I'll be in a place where I'm feeling relaxed and open to touch (generally there's alcohol involved, or *very* old friends)... and very rarely will that coincide with someone wanting to touch me. ^_^

Not that it's all that rare that people want to touch me or anything... in fact, I tend to attract touchy-feely and clingy people... People who thrive on being touched. It's not fun. ^_^ Generally, I'll let people touch me or hug me if I feel that they need it. But that doesn't mean I like it.

Sometimes it makes me so uncomfortable I'll start shaking.

Weird, I know. And it's not like I have terrible things in my past or anything. It's just that touching *for the most part* really creeps me out. ^_^

[Johnathan Brisby]

Lol. I wouldn't really consider myself empathic or anything, but I *really* don't like to be touched. Most of the time. It just creeps me out. Rarely, I'll be in a place where I'm feeling relaxed and open to touch (generally there's alcohol involved, or *very* old friends)... and very rarely will that coincide with someone wanting to touch me. ^_^

Not that it's all that rare that people want to touch me or anything... in fact, I tend to attract touchy-feely and clingy people... People who thrive on being touched. It's not fun. ^_^ Generally, I'll let people touch me or hug me if I feel that they need it. But that doesn't mean I like it.

Sometimes it makes me so uncomfortable I'll start shaking.

Weird, I know. And it's not like I have terrible things in my past or anything. It's just that touching *for the most part* really creeps me out. ^_^

Not so weird at all- opposites attract :yikess:

[Johnathan Brisby]

Not an option for those of us without the fundings/credit cards. ;)

You don't have to explain yourself to her, Goddess :fpraise:

[Lunacie]

Sheesh, we were kidding with each other. Lighten up okay?

[Kaija]

Even just the thought of people touching me feels horrible.. It almost feels like an electric shock.. (and no, it isn't really.. not like the shock you get from running on a carpet.. like throwing a hair dryer (that is running) in the tub.. I have not found a way to get around it, though I'm trying.. I can feel what they are feeling anyway, the touch just makes it too immediate.

[Johnathan Brisby]

Sheesh, we were kidding with each other. Lighten up okay?

I'm kidding too, hey I changed that stuff for you like you asked..._tomatoe_

By the way for the record everybody, Lunacie PM'd me trying to hook up which makes her a HYPOCRITE- she thinly diguised it as a motherly scolding but I saw right through that game_happydanc

[TseMoana]

I'm no Empath but I'm very, well... touchy, about touching. I love a hug from my mother and to hug her as well. It's a bit more awkward from my dad as we've never been overly physical but still enjoyable when we hug. Family/Friends' hugs are acceptable for certain occasions, birthdays or whatever. Strangers better not even try, I'll do what I can to evade any hugs or touches that are more extensive than maybe a small pat on the arm or so to call attention. And even to that I can react touchy.

I don't touch people easily, and don't like huggy-huggy kinda people either. And, like said earlier in this thread, I also like it better when people call ahead that they're coming so I can mentally prepare myself for that. The only exceptions to that are my parents and some of my friends.

[WiccanGoddess]

Wow, and to the topic of this thread: I said touching didn't bother me? Wrong. Today, I touched someone by mere accident, and I felt like I was being drained. That's never happened before.

[Lunacie]

I'm kidding too, hey I changed that stuff for you like you asked..._tomatoe_

By the way for the record everybody, Lunacie PM'd me trying to hook up which makes her a HYPOCRITE- she thinly diguised it as a motherly scolding but I saw right through that game_happydanc

Are you sure that wouldn't be grandmotherly?

I had a guy follow me back to my tent once at Ren Fest... when I asked him how old he was the same age as my daughter. :lol: Not the first or last time that happened, some guys sure do like a woman who carries a whip around. ;)


Wow, and to the topic of this thread: I said touching didn't bother me? Wrong. Today, I touched someone by mere accident, and I felt like I was being drained. That's never happened before.

Yeah, that's the flip side from picking up stuff - having someone take stuff from us. Do you know how to check for attachments and make sure that person didn't try to keep a permanent link to you? Sounds like it wasn't intentional, but I'd check to be sure.


ETA: thanks for your consideration, J.B.

[Tranquility]

Oh god.. I'm a Taurus (And Aries..) but also an empath. So anything sensual / touchy feely will make me go nuts.

[Tarbh Nathroch]

I voted it bothers me…It did. My biggest culture shock when I moved to CA was the touching. I grew up where a hand shake was it so having people put their hands on my shoulders, hug and try to do the social side kiss thing creeped me way the heck out. It still bothers me but I’ve learned to control my reaction to it…as in I don’t recoil in horror anymore but now I’m back on the east coast again where people are mostly a-holes so I have my personal space again.

[Darkest Eve]

Yes, it bothers me. I'm big on having my personal space (like 2 feet) between me and other people. Only the people that I'm close to emotionally are really ok to touch. :lol:

[Lunacie]

Hello Darkest Eve, welcome to the Bunker.

Read through the last few posts again and thought about this some more, and I realize that as an Empath it's as much about whether the other person is comfortable with being touched as whether I am. I can often sense when someone doesn't want to be touched or hugged, especially if it's because they are hurting. And this distinction is really just within the last few years since I began to be able to distinguish between my own "stuff" and the "stuff" I get from others around me.

[WhoseLineBabygirl]

as long as i know you then you can touch me(where its appropreite of course) but if i dont know you and you grab my hand or something it really bothers me i'm not exactly sure why, especially if i'm in a grumpy mood i dont like to be touched anywhere

[FaeSpirit39]

OOPS

I said Yes, it does bother me ... I meant to put No it doesn't bother me.

It doesn't matter how I am feeling sick or otherwise, I need to be touched and I need to touch others. For me skin to skin is the best.

[Solya]

I mainly don't like to be touched by strangers or by people I don't trust, because their energies often feel very foreign and intruding to me. However, I also have phases in which I don't even want to be touched by people I love... something that has been really hard on my parents, for instance, because we're a very cuddly family... because I often feel very overwhelmed with emotions when somebody touches me.

I easily go into overdrive when I'm overwhelmed, responding in a hysterical manner to any kind of touch whatsoever, and it's better if people leave me alone so I can regain some sense of balance. Touch usually has to happen on my own terms and not on those of someone else.

If I feel comfortable with people and trust them, however, I go to them for quite a lot of hugs. I need the hugs and the warmth from them on a daily basis, but it's usually my choice as to who gives me the hugs and when they're given. I can get really annoyed with people who cross my boundaries when it comes to this. Nothing sets me off faster than someone touching me without my explicit permission.

[Anthony41671]

If I know you...if you're my friend...someone I care about or love...fine, touch me...

If I don't know you, don't like you, etc...stay away.

When my daugher died in 2002, I had people that wanted to touch or hug me that I had never met, and it was all I could do to not KILL them where they stood. Even to this day, if someone new hears the story, or I allude to the fact that I have a dead child, they want to touch me and I'd like to rip their damn hands off and shove them down their throats.

I don't touch people I don't know or care about...please give me the same courtesy! It's only respectful.

[Amanda Mitchell]

I only like being touched by my husband.

[Chaos Hawk]

I don't like to be touched as a general rule. There are very few people who I am comfortable with touching me and even less who I am comfortable reaching out and touching. However, with those who I am comfortable with, I'm very very affectionate.

[Mitsuko]

It gives me a kind of shock. I mean...I can aready feel people when they walk into a room, if someone unexpectedly touches me, I get more than just the "passing" emotion. Icky feelings have a tendency of leeching into me, but strangely it makes that person feel better.

[Against The Tide]

I love being touched but for me it is a very powerful experience. I've had commuters accidentally brush my hand with thiers on the train and its like wooosh experience then and there.

To me, touch is the ultimate language. Id love barriers to break down and for everyone to touch. But for now I only let my friends and partner touch me.

[mermaid]

It always depends. Obviously I don't like being touched when the other person rubs me the wrong way. I like being touched, hugged with good energy. My mood also affects weather or not I want to be touched, if I'm feeling protective of myself or open. Probably the same as most people.