life skills
Words Laura Potter. Photographs Stocksy
Despite what some may claim, we’re not a nation of snowlakes who have suddenly become hypersensitive to our personal space. In fact, it’s scientiically accepted that every human has a requirement for ‘peripersonal space’, which is the region of space immediately surrounding our bodies. When it’s invaded, we feel uncomfortable. ‘We are very sensitive to space for survival reasons’, says Joe Navarro, ex-counterintelligence special agent for the FBI, expert in nonverbal communication and author of The Dictionary Of Body Language (Harper Thorsons, £9.99). ‘When somebody gets too close, the limbic system is aroused, so your survival mechanism immediately goes into efect and you begin to go through physiological changes, including an increased heart rate, tensed muscles, and anxiety.’