Professional Touch: Cuddling | Massage | Hugging | Holding | Caressing | Stretching | Nurturing
Professional touch: cuddle, massage, hug, hold, caress, nurture, stretch
Why Cuddle?
Do you receive enough touch?
Touch deprivation is linked to anxiety, depression, aggression, stress, violent behavior, impulsiveness, low job performance, and poor relational skills. With reduced touch in your life, the stress hormone cortisol increases and you can feel anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Professional cuddling provides an option for people to have their needs met with non-sexual touch. Here are reasons you might use cuddling:
- You want to learn the skill of touch; maybe you were rarely touched by parents, family members, or friends
- You want to discover what touch you like in a safe non-pressured environment
- You want to learn how to touch another person
- You want to learn how to ask for what you want, and how to say "no" to things you don't like
- You are afraid to ask for touch because of the unknown reaction to the request, which may ruin an existing relationship
- Sexual encounters were unfulfilling and did not provide significant meaningful touch
- A relationship break up has you suffering depression from the withdrawal of touch
- The pandemic and other types of chronic social isolation left you with a deficit in touch
- You are working remotely
- You live life digitally with little face to face contact
- You need a temporary no-hassle source of touch after a break up, so you don't unethically rebound, or to avoid the complexities of a sexual relationship
- Someone close to you has died or is terminal and you need comfort
- You are on an extended assignment away from home
- You feel too shy to initiate touch, and want to learn how to do it
- You feel one or more trauma symptoms possibly from physical or sexual abuse: depression, hypervigilance, worry, disassociated, difficulty in trusting, irritable, difficulty falling asleep, guilt, shame, intrusive thoughts. The common result is that you can't ask for affection or don't feel safe in touch situations
- You lack the social capacity to bring yourself to find someone who can cuddle
When we don't have touch, our needs are not being met and we suffer both emotionally and physically. People who do not have easy access to touch feel isolated and alienated.
Professional cuddling is a tool that provides beneficial touch. Much like therapeutic talk, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, professional therapeutic touch through cuddling is healing and transformative. Come see me, I can help. -- Randy
What is Professional Cuddle Therapy?
Professional Cuddle Therapy is a one-on-one non-sexual touch session where each partner is fully clothed. Professional therapeutic touch may include massage and cuddling on a couch or the floor. Be touched and/or touch as you choose including hugging, spooning, holding hands, compassionate conversation, blissful quiet, or any another non-sexual interaction. Sometimes there is no touch at all, just time spent in companionship.
Professionals are Best
Cuddling is not regulated. There are no government standard training requirements. The industry is self-regulating an unfortunately many cuddling websites are filled with untrained cuddlers and many are basically dating sites. I believe some are used as fronts for prostitution.
The most reputable cuddling organization based on my research is Cuddlist and it is the one that has the most extensive training requirements to be certified under their program.
As of this writing here is a sample of three cuddling websites:
1) Cuddlist.com has 11 professional certified cuddlers in California and does not list untrained cuddlers only those that have completed their training. Their training is the most extensive I have found and I consider it the most reputable and professional.
I am a certified Cuddlist. -- Randy
2) CuddleComfort.com lists 108 untrained cuddlers In California, and an additional 9 are listed as professionals. However, they do not require any level of training to be listed as a professional, you just need to submit identification. So basically anyone can be listed as a professional, so buyer beware.
3) CuddleCompanions.org lists 130 cuddlers in California and doesn't even have a category for professionals, so there is no training requirement. Buyer beware.
If you want the skill and safety of a professional choose a Cuddlist trained cuddler or equivalent. -- Randy
Benefits of Cuddling
Hugs and touch are helpful for battling stress, negative thoughts, high blood pressure and increased heart rate, they are beneficial for your overall well-being.
Caring touch causes the body to produce oxytocin, a hormone that results in a warm and fuzzy feeling. Oxytocin, which we connect with feeling loved, safe and connected, also results in reduced anxiety and stress levels.
Many people may have had a negative experience from physical touch, through abuse or neglect. Professional touch can help heal the wounds of such traumatic experiences.
A Professional Cuddle Therapist can help you become skilled in asking for the touch you want, and help you practice giving touch in a safe non-judgmental environment. This practice of giving and receiving touch builds self-esteem. Professional cuddling allows adults to explore physical touch and learn what they like and what they don’t. Through the consent process you can also learn the skills to say “no.”
These skills can be positively life changing.
Cuddling with a professional Cuddlist is the physical equivalent of talk therapy.
My other clients say my Professional Cuddle Therapy makes them "feel alive again". Come melt into a warm embrace and allow yourself to be cared for. -- Randy