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10 Things I Now Appreciate More
The task of surviving indefinite quarantine has made me value many things I once took for granted.
With more time than I need or want to just sit and think, as the isolation of physical distancing stretches on indefinitely, my mind repeatedly circles back to the things I miss most.
Here are 10 I didn’t value as much as I should have — because I never envisioned a world so completely without them.
Touch
I’ve now gone months without a hug. I haven’t shaken another person’s hand in the same amount of time. The absence of touch is visceral, as if it triggers a sense of withdrawal.
Going so long without touch compounds the feeling of isolation, loneliness and disconnectedness.
Touch provides both psychological and physical benefits. It generates feelings of affection, trust, safety and bonding, and can reduce our anxiety. For those enduring physical isolation alone, like me, this absence means not getting the soothing feeling of bonding or being comforted that a handshake or hug produces.
Without the emotional intimacy of touch, I feel cold, absent, cast off. It’s not something I can replace or reproduce on my own, and I feel a palpable loss because of it.
