Fics like Coping

"I don’t think I’m used to people touching me anymore.” “I know what you mean,” she says. “Obviously, I’m touching people all the time but it’s… different, right? When it’s patients and their families?” “Yeah.” He scrapes at the label on his beer bottle with the nail of his thumb. “When I was in undergrad, I read this article about people needing… well, I guess it was women, but I’m not sure that matters… a certain number of non-sexual touches every day. It was mostly about mental health, but I think about it a lot.” He thinks she’s probably thinking about her mental health a lot more lately than usual, too. “What’s the right number of touches?” “Thirteen,” she says. Her voice sounding a little defeated. “Thirteen non-sexual touches every day. But not just any touch. It’s going to be purposeful touching. And it should be someone you’re close to. Family. A partner. Friends. Just brushing up against a stranger or shaking hands with a colleague isn’t enough to start the flow of dopamine and oxytocin.” “Thirteen. That’s not so many.”

Fics like Coping

You may also like