Schroedingers_Cat

So as an #actuallyAutistic person (I think), I do have an issue with touch - I am especially sensitive to it. Which is something of a pain.

But also, I think it is just that touch is very intense. I know that, when visiting somewhere, I like to touch the buildings, because I sense so much more about the place through that. I know that if I touch someone on their bare skin (say, in summer on the tube), it is powerful.

So it is not that I don't like touch. It is more that it is incredibly intense for me. So has to be just right.

Incidentally, in Quakers, we shake hands. I find this touch of skin to be very powerful.

Feb 4 at 9:22pmWeb
Show threadvbeyette 🇨🇦💪Feb 4
@SteveClough Especially when you think about the physics of touch. Your electrons repel other electrons so there’s no actual contact. I think. 🤣😉
Show threadAri "Second Breakfast" JacksonFeb 4

@SteveClough

Oddly, after struggling for years and pushing myself to do "touchy" things like contact dance and Aikido when I was younger, I became a touch therapist (massage and bodywork) because my sense of touch is SO very refined. I have always been able to sense all sorts of stuff that wowed and surprised other people.

Good bodywork has lots of healthy boundaries, and we (should) abide by a code of ethics, so it turns out I excel at doing it as my job. It allows me to help people one at a time within a clearly-defined structure and time frame, too. I've done it for 35 years now!

I am the same way as you about "unregulated" touch -- it's hard for me to receive or give other types of touch because there are no boundaries, rules, or ethics, and reciprocity is often expected (ugh). So partner touch, partner dance, or even hugging can become waaaay too much input for me way too quickly.

Show threadKevin DavyFeb 4
@SteveClough
This can be so tough for us.