Just went on my first date in 10 years. I was so nervous that I couldn't bring myself to initiate touch. I'm not really a very touchy person anyway and generally feel quite uncomfortable touching and being touched by strangers. The situation was made more difficult by the fact that my date is still a bit worried about COVID, so when I hugged her at the start, she mentioned that she wanted to be a bit careful. That gave me the excuse I needed not to escalate.

A few years ago, I was at a wine-and-cheese event, and I struck up a great conversation with one other attendees. She kept getting closer and closer to me, and I just didn't know what to do with my hands/body! I basically turned into a human Leaning Tower of Pisa lmao.

How do I get over this anxiety? Would dance lessons help? I guess most importantly, how do you make touch feel natural?