What do you do when you're longing for physical touch?

Lately I've been struggling with going back to college. I'm a bit older now, with a growing bald spot, surrounded by all these beautiful young people, some of them even a decade younger than me, and I really feel invisible sometimes.

I haven't been in a relationship for a long time, and sometimes when I'm feeling lonely, which is fairly often, I just feel such a heart aching desire to be touched and be close to someone.

But it's not something I feel I can just go and ask of someone. I don't have any close friends here, much less people I feel I can be intimate with, and I get the feeling that most men, while they may be friendly, are averse to getting to close or intimate with other men, and most women are distant by default simply because they've been taught to be wary of men. I mean, I can handle not having sex more or less indefinitely, but the lack of physical affection and intimacy is killing me. I just want to be close to someone and loved.

So, I was wondering if anybody else has similar problems, and if they'd like to talk about it or maybe give advice on how they've dealt with it.

Thanks, everyone.