@Chris04 i still agree with you more i was almost ending my life, I'm really isolated from society because of lack of communication it's long story, because of touch and cuddle i loved life
Yes, I could live without it, but I would not thrive. And after an extended period without it, I would become a "b".
@Tazman5307 Mandela was imprisoned for 30 years yrs you right. But ill assure you that from the day he was born till the day he died... ( no touch) he wouldn't not lived that long.
Like I mention before, no is not that I get no touch then I'm going to die cus if it. Its a process. ( how long can some live w out eating? )
How is it that in orphanage, babies referring to the ones well taken care, a roof on their head, well fed.... but not held, ( hardly any touch) they die cus of it. And thats a fact.
And off topic but like I mention once again.... could be waaaay ooofff, The ones have their significant other or bf/gf. Or the ones that have family and get along or the ones that have close friends. Those are all the ones saying that yes you can live with out human touch/ cuddling Because people like me, that comes from a childhood trauma. Grew up without receiving attention,no affection. Currently no fam and friends. We thnk diferent. Im Currently literally suicidal. Thats why in this subject I do personally find that human touch is very crucial.
@Chris04 Mandela still have some kind of touch in prison, hugging or touching his mates no one can live without touch
Albert Woodfox - over 40 years in solitary confinement
No.
I've been surviving without it for over 10 years. Since it's not available to me, I find other things to occupy my time and thoughts.
Yes, but it's tough !!. I got in a very nice habit of cuddling once a week. I call it recharging my CUDDLE BATTERY, while waiting for my weekly cuddle about 1-2 days before the cuddle date, the only only thing I could think of was my upcoming cuddle. But I had to go almost 3 months with out a single cuddle, long story, 5 weeks in the hospital and over 2 months of recovery before I could cuddle, it was tough for sure. So I guess I'm living proof that one can live without having a cuddle, but it sure is not FUN !!!! PS, it was not C-19, a gallbladder removal that went very bad.
I think it depends on the person and how happy they are in life. I know a few people that don’t like physical contact at all so obviously they would be fine. But for myself and plenty of others, we would be alive but I wouldn’t be able to function as highly without some cuddles. I would feel more alone, less accepted, dejected and probably just mope a lot.
Out of my 53 or so years on earth I have only been in relationships about 11 of those years. My family was not affectionate so 80% of my life has been without any sort of meaningful touch. And it sucked big time. The frustration and loneliness permeated every fiber of my being. At least now with platonic cuddling I can get that need met...still working on the part where I have somebody to love and somebody to love me, but at least it's something...
Apparently not.
Touch is most certainly a necessity for us humans in my opinion.........as a holistic bodyworker the past 13 years eye've seen and personally experienced what lack in this area looks like. Eye am not my best without touch (giving & receiving). If the space & energy is safe, there is MUCH healing in touch. Gratitude to touch thankh you for this topic
I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to live in a world without touch. The pandemic proved that for me even more. Took a year and a half long break from being a cuddle professional when I got a new job and when the covid situation happened and everyone wasn’t comfortable with being close with another human being, It made me feel at a loss for how I could help people and it was very disheartening. even before the pandemic to see people so involved with technology that they just looked at their screens for hours on end without wanting to connect with another person, sucked! Then after covid with the 6ft apart rule things got even worse and gave people so much paranoia that I got a feel for what it would be like to live in a society without it. It reminded me how much I loved to help others fulfil their need for platonic touch, and how much I missed being close with my friends, family, and all my cuddlecomfort cuddle buddies. I’m So glad the world is slowly but surely getting back to “normal” in a sense and I’m able to be my true self 🥰🥰🥰🥰
@calmcontact thanks for your efforts 👌> >> @Chris04 > the ones that have family and get along or the ones that have close friends. Those are all the ones saying that yes you can live with out human touch/ cuddling. You nailed it 👌🤣
I am able to live without cuddling and touch, I have done so for several years. I would rather live with cuddling and touch. I also prefer it from men.
I don't know about comparing it with water or food. I mean some people seem to prefer less contact for one reason or another. It is POSSIBLE if that was your preference to live with cuddling but not possible to live without eating or drinking anything. You have to eat something some time or you'll eventually starve. You have to drink something some time or you'll eventually dehydrate. But there's no specific condition caused by lack of physical contact.
There are however a number of various conditions that could potentially, come from lack of some kind of support system weather that be through touch or something else. Some time even just having someone to talk to is enough. I do agree that cuddles can be beneficial but it's just as beneficial as having a movie to watch or a game to play. Can you live just sitting in an empty room with nothing to do... probably? But would you go insane from boredom, OH YEAH!
Sorry about your wall, every time someone says Oh yeah the freaking Cool Aid man has to show up and break a hole through it.
Yes, you are able to survive - I've been doing it for many years. 🙂 But, as other have noted, not optimally. If/when I do find my cuddle buddy here, I'm going to turn into a human teddy bear, soaking up (and giving) as much affectionate, life giving snuggles and touch as I can. I'm also one of those, I think, who can't appreciate how much I need/miss snuggles 'till I'm a cuddly situation. (Giving touch and cuddles is just as rewarding and affirming as receiving). Hugs! 🤗🤗
I've been single for the last 10 years so my experiences cuddling and touching have been significantly limited and few and far between. The loneliness and sadness really suck, having to go long stretches of time without touch on a deeper level than just friendly hugs. As much as it does suck though, I can live without it because I've had to.
I have had a lot of relationships with beautiful women. I love cuddling so much! I have been single and haven't been able to cuddle with anyone for awhile.... it's depressing but I can live without cuddling
Of course I can.. might not mean i would want to
"having to go long stretches of time without touch on a deeper level than just friendly hugs."
We haven't even hugged anyone since... Hold on I need to look up when "Stand By Your Man" was, I can't even remember. Found it 2010.
I should really add some context to that. I use to work in theater and the last show I was involved in was "Stand by Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story"
Also I use to be extremely homophobic due to past trauma though working in theater I was around a few gay guys. (Not everyone in theater is gay that's a stereotype. The vast majority of guys I worked with were actually straight.) I had a separate private dressing room set up and surprisingly for the first time in my life no one cared. I had to fight my way through four years of harassment in high school because I refused to use the locker room but the theater never once questioned it or tried to force anything on me. The only comment I ever got because I had my own key to the theater and no one else was using that room was being told to lock up before I leave. It was actually nice to just be accepted and not constantly hounded with questions.
Anyway... one actor I worked with during "Damn Yankees" found out I was homophobic after flirting with me and he stopped once he realized I was straight but also asked me why I cared what two consenting adults choose to do in the privacy of their own home. Oddly it had never even occurred to me till that point that consent was even an option cause I had only ever experienced it as something that was forced.
There are still things I'm uncomfortable doing with other men but I stopped caring about things that don't even involve me in the first place. I got more comfortable hugging people I considered extended family, both men and women. It was a little awkward at first because I wasn't really use to giving or receiving hugs from anyone but the more I did it the less awkward it got and it didn't seem to matter if they were male of female, straight or gay. It wasn't a sexual thing, there are ways that it could become sexual but it's not like anyone was doing anything inappropriate. If someone tried to grab my butt or even got anywhere close to that I'd have a problem with it but this one dude who hugged everyone and didn't even think about it kind of unexpected hugged me one day but his hands were on my upper back and it was only awkward for a few seconds cause I wasn't expecting it and then I didn't care.
I may even be comfortable with platonic cuddling some day but I think anything more than a friendly hug is still going to be outside my comfort range for now. I'm not even sure if I'm comfortable enough to cuddle a woman I'm not in a relationship with but it's something I'm at least willing to try. The only platonic cuddle I've had with someone in the past was while I was dealing with personal issues and she had started hugging me while I cried on her shoulder. I wasn't even thinking clearly enough at the time to fully realize what I was doing which is how I ended up an akward moment of suddenly realizing that wasn't exactly her shoulder I had been crying on... I had to adjust myself up onto her should after I realized. I have no idea how I would react in a situation where I am fully aware and consciously trying to avoid certain body parts.
I may in fact just be more comfortable with hugs... and in need of someone to talk to. I don't know... If I ever find a cuddle partner on here we'll find out. We could always stop cuddling or try different positions at any time if either one of us feels uncomfortable. Maybe watch a movie or play a board game instead. Cuddles are just longer hugs I guess, thinking of it that way might help.
@CuddleForDID I really enjoyed reading your reply. Thanks for sharing all of that!
@UCpaaHVg6u0 what an interesting concept that you can survive but is it really “you“ who is surviving or is it a lesser version of yourself.
@Babichev and @calmcontact thanks for sharing various scientific data!
@ernesto_2 I don’t know who you were quoting, but I love this. I may want to put it on a T-shirt:
Don't struggle, snuggle! Don't just survive, thrive!
Of course I appreciate everybody else’s posts too. This is an interesting discussion.
It seems to me from what I’ve read (even just looking at the first paragraphs of Google search results for the question ‘do babies die without touch?’) that babies cannot survive without touch but older children and adults can. Whether they are “thriving“ or not is a different story, but it is possible to live without touch. There’s also plenty of literature that states that people who do receive touch receive health benefits and feel happier.
I was actually amazed to read that some respondents here say that they have gone without touch for a long time. All I can say is I’m happy they are here and I hope they eventually get the touch they want!
My guess is there are way more people than we can imagine who are going without touch for long periods. It's a lonely world out there. If it weren't for hugs from my daughter when I get to see her, I'd be going on 12 years without.
Until I got on this site, it had been years since I had positive platonic touch. I know in my heart that not enough good platonic touch has shortened my life, but I have been able to do a form of poor-quality surviving.
"Don't struggle, snuggle! Don't just survive, thrive!"
I love this... I've heard the second part of that before and totally agree. So many people judge life by the quantity of it, the number of years, rather than the quality of that life, how good those years were. It should be the other way around. I don't want to survive, I'm hurting and the things required to survive are just going to cause more pain so what's the point? To maybe live a bit longer. No thank you. I would rather thrive, I just want to be comfortable until that time comes.
I will admit that I have attempted suicide in the past but that's not currently an option. I'm not going to cause my own death but I've fully accepted that whenever that time does naturally come on it's own I'm not going to do anything to try to slow it down either. I don't want to just survive a lonely miserable existence. Death is an inevitable part of life that's going to claim everyone eventually so you can either spend your years in pain trying to slow it down or spend your years enjoying yourself so when that time does come it's not a sad ending to a tragic story but a happy ending to a lovely story.
That first part, I also agree with but that's a new one to me and I think it sums up everything I just said perfectly.
@CuddleForDID I know you said you're not actively trying, but I just wanted to reach out and say if you're ever feeling suicidal, you can definitely message me. You're never alone.
~ Sunset Snuggles
Not having access to a lot of physical touch is something that has led to a lot of stress. I'm able to function, but I've had to develop strategies to account for the fact that opportunities for physical touch are not be as frequent for me as some other people.
If I dont have that physical connection on a regular basis I sort of cave inward. A simple tight hug goes a long way for me. Physical touch is definitely my main love language. My moods are better, my heart is happy so I smile more, and I start to feel whole I guess. Thats why cuddling is great. I love to hold or hug someone especially if they're going through a hard time. It's comforting.