If you have ever been dubbed or even resonated with any of these nicknames, chances are you are in favor of skin-on-skin to feel special. Is this true for you? Well, physical touch can be your love language.
If you have ever walked into the online quiz traps (#veryrelatable), then you are definitely familiar with physical touch and the other love languages.
FYI, here’s a really quick refresher! In 1992, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman, Ph.D., a marriage counselor and anthropologist. This was the first time the concept of love language was coined and created!
While the book is over three decades old, the basic framework continues to be relevant even today. It can help you to understand the art of knowing how you, as well as your partner, can feel loved and appreciated. The aim? There are basically five ways in which people usually give as well as receive love through gifts, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, and acts of service.
Each of these love languages is more or less how they sound at the moment. Individuals whose love language happens to be words of affirmation, for instance, often like to hear praise or kind words. Similarly, if your love language is spending quality time, then you will prefer to hang out with your partner more often.
So you can guess that people with physical touch as their love language prefer building intimacy with touch. To feel loved, these individuals will need to establish physical contact – without proper touch, they won’t feel cherished.
Intrigued? Ahead, we will discuss the concept of physical touch love language, and no, it doesn’t mean you are horny 24/7! Stay tuned to find out more!
The Physical Touch Love Language Explained: What It Means If Physical Touch Is Your Love Language?
Since most of us already have a fair idea about the different love language types, let’s talk about physical contact as a love language. So, what is physical touch love language?
Simply put, an individual whose love language is all about physical contact feels most valued, appreciated, and loved when they are touched. Obviously, the physical touch here happens to be an intentional touch meant to convey deep appreciation.
Inspite of common misconceptions, physical touch is not really sexual. The physical touch does not necessarily have to be something erotic. If physical touch is your love language, chances are you enjoy sitting on your partner’s lap while chilling with friends or holding hands when you are out in public.
And for the record, it is possible that an individual might just have high libido levels and enjoy having sex regularly with their partner. But that does not mandatorily indicate that physical touch is their love language. It is possible they might have one of the four love languages.
There are multiple factors that can influence how any person likes to actually receive love, including how love was or wasn’t expressed in their surroundings while growing up. Then, there is also a hormonal component as well.
When we undergo physical touch, we end up releasing specific neurotransmitters and hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. These are the hormones that make us feel really good. It’s very good. These have actually been dubbed as cuddle and love hormones, respectively.
Oh, and FYI, most individuals have more than a single love language. It is also vital to identify how you give and receive love might be different – as a result, you need to understand that how you express love for someone might be different from someone expressing their love for you.
Signs That Physical Touch Is Your Love Language:
If you have been looking up ‘physical touch love language meaning’ or even ‘love language physical touch’ on Google, then chances are physical touch is one of your primary love languages.
It’s time for some self-reflection – here we go!
1. Caring Is Equivalent To Holding Hands:
If you are in a relationship or even in a situationship, then just ask yourself – when was the last time your partner made you feel like they REALLY cared about you?
If it was when both of you swirled and twirled to jazz together in their living room, or when they gave you a killer foot massage at the end of a long day, or when they subtly touched your knee to show they support you, odds are your love language is definitely physical touch.
For individuals who feel more love after some completely random physical gestures as compared to hearing words of affirmation or receiving gifting, chances are physical touch is their love language.
2. PDA Is Love:
PDA is a major example of physical touch love language – especially if you are a sucker for PDA! You might spend a significant portion of your time engaging in public displays of affection. Of course, we are not talking about making out in a local park just because your love language is a physical touch like horny 16-year-olds!
Not really, but it can certainly be part of the same. It is actually very common for people with an affinity for physical contact to engage in different versions of PDA – from holding hands to a greeting kiss, which can be pretty normal, especially when their partner is in proximity.
3. Describing Yourself As Touchy-Feely:
Now, this one is major. Physical touch is definitely your love language if you describe yourself as someone who is touchy-feely, a good hugger, or a cuddle monster. The thing is, if physical touch is your love language in romantic relationships, then chances are it is your love language in platonic relationships as well.
Physical touch is also definitely about how you like to receive love, even from your close ones and friends. It should just look very different (repeat: less sexual, more platonic). Typically, it will look like wanting to be close to your friends, wanting to be hugged every time you are sad, and just petting them with plenty of praise when deserved.
Catering To Someone Whose Love Langauge Is Physical Touch:
Spoiler Alert! Not all of us might be comfortable with physical touch love language. But if you have read up on stuff like ‘love language physical touch meaning,’ then chances are either it’s your love language or your partner’s, for that matter.
So, How can you actually cater to someone whose love language is physical touch?
An individual whose love language happens to be physical touch might enjoy getting their petted; another person can be protective about your hair. Similarly, your partner might be a fan of hand-holding, but you think the whole shebang sweaty is just plain annoying. Ultimately, how you like expressing your love via touch varies based on how your partner likes to receive love.
Now, if your significant other has told you how their love language is physical contact, simply ask them to elaborate. That way, you can be sure to deliver certain types of touch that actually help them to feel cared for.
Generally, however, you can also consider incorporating different acts of physical gestures like leg grazes, forehead kisses, arm squeezes, and hugs into your encounters with your partner. It can also be good to touch your body during social interactions to express how much they mean to you.
Finally, just remember that having a high libido and having physical touch as your love language are two different things. Sure, there can be an overlap from time to time in the Venn diagram. But if you think that taking bae to the bed (of course consensually) is not the only way to actually cater to their love language. Hell, it might not be your preferred way as well!
Long Distance Relationships And Physical Touch As A Love Language:
If physical touch is your love language and your bae lives only a plane-ride away, then don’t fear – your relationship is not really doomed! With some creativity, forethought, and coin, there are multiple ways to actually stimulate touch in a long-distance relationship Phew!
1. Nothing Better Than A Hoodie:
Sensitive schnoz? Get your partner to send their hoodie to you, but ask them not to wash it so that it actually smells like them. Whenever you feel like being close to them, just wear the hoodie or cuddle with it!
In case you are missing your partner’s weight, then you should definitely consider getting a pregnancy pillow or even a weighted blanket. It is better if you spritz the pillow or weighted blanket with your significant other’s signature scent.
2. Talk About It:
Another option is to have conversations about physical touch. In other words, we mean sexting! If you lived together, how would you actually greet your significant other when they come back home after a long day? How would you both touch each other if you guys were lying next to each other? What parts do you miss the most?
Talking about sensuous and sexual touches can be somewhat close to the intimacy you get from actual touches.
3. Buy Physical Acts Of Services:
Depending on personal finances, you can treat one another or yourself with physical gestures if you care. Think about the scale of a massage, acupuncture, blow-out, or even pedi/mani appointments.
Obviously, getting touched by a manicurist or even a masseuse is entirely different from getting touched by your lover in terms of intent, kind, and degree. But the act of being touched in different service-oriented ways can definitely help your body release those feel-good hormones (hello, oxytocin).
Sure, you might not be able to touch your partner directly, but buying them a romantic gesture to express how vital this is to them can definitely express how crucial this is to them.
4. Meet As Much As Possible:
Visit your significant other as much as possible or as much as you can really afford. Yes, those video calls are crazy, but they are never going to compensate for the real distance between you all, especially if one of your love languages has to be physical touch.
If touch is your basic love language, then you will have to commit to visiting frequently – yes, get hold of your Google calendar.
And It’s A Wrap!
Romantic relationships often need physical touch to thrive, but sex is not really the only way to express to your partner how much they love them. You can wrap your arms around their waist in the kitchen hold their hand while watching a movie together, or kiss their cheek in the morning before work. Sometimes, the simplest acts of love are the most impactful, especially when it comes to physical touch.
People tend to express affection in the way to which they themselves respond. If your partner consistently shows love through physical touch, as described here, chances are good that this is their love language.
People whose love language is physical touch enjoy when their partners express affection for them in physical ways, such as hugs, kisses, and even just a hand on the shoulder. These physical displays of love matter more than words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, and gifts. If you’re dating someone with the physical touch love language, make sure to ask if there are any types of touch that they particularly like or don’t like.
But in general, prioritizing these hands-on ways of showing you love them will go a long way. Feel free to share your thoughts, experiences, and stories related to the physical touch love language in the comments below.
