(Potentially NSFW) What part of your body do you touch that illicits positive response from you?

I was putting lotion on tonight and was startled to notice how smooth and soft my skin was.

How good it felt in my hand and how it felt on my body. Ok (side boob : ) ) At some point I had stopped noticing that. But I realized I didn’t necessarily need another to touch me intimately but that touching myself can be even more intimate then that of a partner. Because you feel from both sides and are the director.

This isn’t about self-gratification just sensuality and awareness.

Later as I was splurged on myself a foot rub I was very in tune with my muscles and knots, triggers and responses.

I wonder how it is possible to become so inurned to it that one doesn’t feel the give and take. Or have awareness of what is happening to us on a very tactile level. I decided to rededicate myself to these moments.

To love the body I am in and grant myself the power to make myself feel good on a conscious level through massage.

My itchy, winter-dry back! Nothing quite like a good back scratch.

I find showering really important to me. It is something about the water the smells and the things I add to my shower routine. I love essential oils, I use them on a sponge, sometimes peppermint, sometimes lavender for example. I use a good body cream and also mix in essences with this. I have started to add a VitC powder to my body oils. I also need to shower at the end of the day. So one is a wake up ritual and one is a go to sleep ritual.

Sometimes if I am in the mood, I blow dry my hair, I add makeup and I dress nicely all to be more me. And all to feel good. I appreciate my body, how it serves me, even though I smoke to I know how I harm myself. But one day soon will stop.

That delicate skin on the underside of the forearm where the joint meets, it feels so nice my penis gets hard & that inspires joy, joy feelings all round…which is nice.

Sometimes when I’m tired I get stuck checking out my muscles and recently grown facial and body hair… It’s so nice to be going through the correct puberty. Better late than never…

I like being touched so much better than touching myself. I don’t know why, but I find the sensations so much better. I can touch myself and get the same end results, but it’s so much better when someone else does it.

I cause myself little pains. It makes me comfortable.

I’ll pinch or scratch the backs of my arms, or my scalp, or my shoulders. I’ll dig my fingernails into my neck, or use my thumbnail to dig a little into my fingertips. I’ll bite the skin on my fingers or my knuckles.

Tickling or stroking is just annoying. Just not the right kind of stimulation I suppose. Even massages can be weird if it’s more a caress than a pounding or kneading.

My forehead gets tingly when I touch it.
I do this thing with my pillow where I just bury my face in it and thrash my head around. It feels quite good.

Sometimes before bed, I run my fingertips along my belly. It’s relaxing and feels wonderful. Is that weird? :)

@Mama_Cakes No, it isn’t weird. The belly is an often overlooked zone. I light stroke feels really good. This thread is a nice turn on. Thanks rosehips.

Thanks, @Shippy, for reminding me how much I love the feel of a strong, hot shower in the morning or a soak in my hot tub at night! I can live without many pleasures, but never that one.

Ooh, I LOVE a burning-hot shower or bath. Lobster-hot, I call it.

This is a very elaborate way to ask people if they masturbate.

I like being touched pretty much everywhere, but one of the places I can touch on myself (ASIDE FROM MY GENITALS FOR PEOPLE LIKE @Blackberry lol) that I really find enjoyable is my forearms. Plus they are extremely soft so it’s fun to touch but when I do it lightly it also feels GREAT. Otherwise I can’t really touch that many places on myself and have it feel really good. It just feels neutral. If someone else does it though of course it feels great. But there’s just something different about touching yourself vs. being touched in all ways not just sexual. Oh, but I do enjoy touching my hair, it’s silky.

@ucme Try a finger tracing from inner wrist to that point! divine!

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room Such good imagery! Especially with your name. I laughed, I’m sorry.

@Shippy Sigh that sounds cleansing blissful invigorating and wonderful for your sense of well being and body. What better way to flow with yourself then in water?! Thanks for reminding us all

@ucme I actually know what you mean. Minus the penis thing. I bet you have a host of other sensitive areas too you just never noticed them before.

@bookish1 That is awesome. I bet it feels too good to be true sometimes. Like reality check.. oh wait this is reality : )

@Adirondackwannabe That is sad. I mean to me it is. But if that is the way you are and are fine with that well I can’t change it.

@Seek_Kolinahr Too cool. It’s awesome that you feel that way. I have never heard of someone who has exclusively enjoyed pinches and scrapes.. Not that I converse with a wide variety of people on the topic, either. I will have to try it and think about it.

@Aesthetic_Mess That is very vivid and I instantly wanted to try it when I read this. But it will wait until I am home. I do like my head massages. So I think that would be a good path for me.

@Mama_Cakes No I don’t think it is weird. I think it is healthy. And the stomach all too often gets undertouched. I think it soothes us mentally and emotionally to touch ourselves. I think it also means that we are willing to be in touch with our body listen, communicate, appreciate, accept. No one can grant us that on a complete level as we can.

@Adirondackwannabe That is a natural progression as long as you realize there is more to it then that you are welcome to enjoy whatever you want. : )

@Blackberry I am sorry you see it that way. I was going to bother explaining. But you probably aren’t interested so it is what it is.

@deni Thanks for realizing the distinction. Your description reminded me of tracing letters and words on my arm or if I was laying down trying to fall asleep on my stomach. Using the the nail every so lightly tickling, then harder or even just using a finger tip and playing with pressure and speed. It was addicting. I think it started initially because I wanted to have great handwriting and then it started calming me to sleep.

@Shippy Agreed!

Jeez, it’s a little hard for me to separate more normal body feelings from body feelings that result from my illness, I guess because I was sick around the same time that I was going through puberty.

I never appreciated my body before I got sick, again I don’t know how much of that was my age and how much of it was my disease. But I remember recovering from my first flare up, being 15 and just adoring my body for working again. Feeling beautiful as I gained weight back and the side effects of my medication disappeared. Went out and bought a bunch of new clothes and just felt like a new woman. Started using lotion until my legs felt like baby butts. It was great. I slept in a big T-shirt at night and just hugged myself.

Then I would get sick again and the relationship would change completely. Feeling like a prisoner trapped inside, skin dried out like an elephant, trying to incorporate tubes into my body image. An acute situation in the hospital, swelled up like a balloon, felt so out of control. Recovering the whole summer long and loving myself again.

Things got weird when I knew I was going to have surgery. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and just trying to appreciate my smooth, unscarred belly, because I knew I would never have it again pretty soon. Had 7 months with an ileostomy, definitely no good feelings towards my body at that time. Learning to deal with seeing my own intestines every day. Open gaping wound.

Oh but that feeling when it all ended…that was awesome. Woke up from surgery with all my intestines and my poop back inside me. Felt like the sexiest woman alive. I realized I hadn’t been stretching at all throughout those months out of fear of dislodging the adhesives that held my ostomy bag on. Stretching became one of my favorite activities and even now, almost two years later, I still appreciate a good stretch like never before. It almost feels like the muscles in my stomach and legs are breathing.

Dunno if that’s what you were looking for really. It’s definitely been ups and downs. Still is, but those valleys are not nearly so low anymore.

Double post.

That was a very poignant and humbling description of the relationship with your body @Mariah. Thank you for sharing.