As a general rule, we feel safe if people are located at a minimum distance of 20 to 40 centimeters away from our face, which are the physical limits of the peripersonal space, that is, the invisible area that surrounds us and that represents the margin of safety between our body and the rest of the world, according to new research from the University College of London (UK) published in the Journal of Neuroscience . If this space is crossed, the brain reacts and the body adopts a defensive position, launching a series of reflexes to avoid potential damage.
The work also reveals that this distance is greater in people who suffer from anxiety , since they need a greater personal safety space around them. And it is because "anxious individuals perceive threatening stimuli as closer to their body than they really are", according to the authors of the work.
