Have you had your personal space invaded recently? Has someone stepped up too close to talk to you, made you feel uncomfortable so you have found yourself trying to back away?
There has been new research looking at the relationship between personal space (known as peripersonal space) and people who suffer from anxiety. Through their investigations they were able to discover that the distance that people have for their peripersonal space does vary significantly. The distances range from between 20 cm up to 40 cm.
Those people suffering with anxiety issues were found to prefer people to stand much further away from them, so their need for personal space was much greater than those without anxiety issues.
A fascinating article which concludes with how scientists will take this research forward.
