Physical intimacy is sensual proximity or touching. It is an act/reaction or be an expression of feelings (such as close friendship, love, or sexual attraction) which people have for one another. Examples of physical intimacy include being inside someone's personal space, holding hands, hugging, kissing, caressing, and sexual activity.
The forms of physical intimacy include physical closeness, touching (especially tenderly), touching intimate parts (including outercourse), and sexual penetration.
It is possible to be physically intimate with someone without actually touching them; however, a certain proximity is necessary. For instance, a sustained eye contact is considered a form of physical intimacy, analogous to touching. When a person enters someone else's personal space for the purpose of being intimate, it is physical intimacy, regardless of the lack of actual physical contact.
Most people desire occasional physical intimacy, which is a natural part of human sexuality, and research has shown it has health benefits. A hug or touch can result in the release of oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, and in a reduction in stress hormones. A lack of physical intimacy can lead to increased feelings of loneliness.
Read more about Physical Intimacy: Personal Space, Display of Affection, Skinship
Famous quotes containing the words physical and/or intimacy:
“Life on board a pleasure steamer violates every moral and physical condition of healthy life except fresh air.... It is a guzzling, lounging, gambling, dog’s life. The only alternative to excitement is irritability.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“It was a very lonely spirit that looked out from under those shaggy brows and comprehended men without fully communicating with them, as if, in spite of all its genial efforts at comradeship, it dwelt apart, saw its visions of duty where no man looked on.... This strange child of the cabin kept company with invisible things, was born into no intimacy but that its own silently assembling and deploying thoughts.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)