Touch is Power

With all the wonders of science and technology, researchers have found a new therapy that is able to help with chronic pain, depression, and all sorts of diseases: Touch therapy. Different from massage therapy, touch therapy is simply a person touching certain points on the body to relax a person. Touch is also known to release chemicals in the brain that reduce pain and give joy. It's amazing what our bodies can do from touch, so why has it never been pleasant for me?

I've had arthritis since I was extremely young. There was evidence since I began walking when I was one year old. My uncles were very... Playful. They loved to toss around their nieces and nephews but I never had much of that. I recall it being very painful, and to think that was only the beginning! I didn't like games in school very much either as they tended to involve touch that was often a slap as they ran by (I was always rubbish at running anyway). I was about eleven when my 'friends' thought it was funny how I reacted to touch, especially my back. They loved to play "Watch How Far Elizabeth Jumps," often poking me in the back randomly. Five points if I jumped, and ten if I said "ouch." You won if I started crying. Though people changed through out the years, the game kept on. It only stopped at my sixteenth birthday party after an adult yelled at them for making a poor girl miserable on her birthday.

I'm still super sensitive to touch, especially recently. A oving touch or hug is pure bliss, and is the best medicine some days. But I still worry about people tapping my back, trying to get my attention not realising it's very painful. Thankfully I've no people in my life who like to play painful games anymore. But I still have horrible chairs, which isn't fun for anyone.

Touch is powerful. Use it wisely.