Touching your face is an unconscious act that can be formed at a young age, so some people just can’t seem to get rid of this habit.
Experts recommend not touching your nose, eyes and mouth to limit nCoV infection. But many people just can’t seem to break the habit. According to Kevin Chapman, a psychologist and director of the Center for Anxiety Disorders and Related Syndromes in Kentucky, USA, touching your face is a very common habit in humans because this unconscious act plays a role. Act as a signal to those around you that you are self-aware .
Touching your face can be an unconscious habit. (Photo: Freepik).
“People are very sensitive to other people’s faces and are sensitive to different facial expressions, so touching the face may be part of that natural tendency,” Chapman explains.
A study published in April 2014 showed that touching your face helps regulate stress and form memory . People start touching their faces from an early age and this becomes a habit that is very difficult to break even when it is necessary to do it for health reasons. “Psychologically, most people don’t associate threats and risks of infection with their faces, so it’s not possible to chain illness with touching your face,” Chapman said.
Chapman also emphasized that it is very difficult for us to force ourselves to touch our faces less because thinking force often cannot help people break the habit. Instead, Chapman suggests a more flexible approach, instead of saying to ourselves , “I’m not going to touch my face in public today,” we can think, “Today I need to pay more attention to my health.” touch your face”. We can set reminders on our phones to actively remember to pay attention to habits.
Another way is to avoid empty hands , such as holding objects like relaxation balls or crossing your arms, says Denise Cummins, a cognitive scientist who studies thinking and decision-making processes. In addition, health experts also recommend washing hands often with soap for at least 20 seconds, staying home when sick and avoiding close contact with sick people.