There are moments when you hear or see something that you do not realize at the time, will change your entire perception of life. That is how I felt as I sat in my Biology 111 class at community college on that fateful Thursday. I was in my normal seat, front row center to avoid letting myself get distracted, normal peers around me, my professor arriving perfectly on time to take attendance.
As we began the nitty gritty of that day’s discussion, the integumentary system, our skin, hair and nails, I was living in the last few minutes of the old me. It was not until my professor began speaking about touch therapy that I knew my life would be different. Let me elaborate.
“Touch therapy is very important in infant development in terms of emotional health.” Professor Energy explained to us. “My brother is also a psychologist who says that adults should have 5 hugs a day for their own emotional health.”
It was at this moment I felt the need to stand up out of my front row seat and hug my professor. I knew if I had let that statement go without acting on that small gesture I would have regretted it. For two reasons, I am a class clown and love to make people laugh and smile, and two, health is important to me!
This event opened my eyes to a whole new perspective. Am I getting enough hugs? Am I giving enough? I had never thought about it, never thought about what it could do for me and what it could mean to others. I decided to conduct a mini experiment at my job and offer out hugs.
I work in a Physical Therapy setting and am very familiar with many of the patients. Although many of them giggled at my newly found hug information, many of them willingly received a hug. Those I was not overly familiar with, heard my information and came to me saying they would LOVE a hug! Wait, what is this? Had I become a hug whore?
By the end of that day I had given/received hugs from 14 different people, well over the 5 hug minimum I was informed about. Midway through that day, I was speaking with a coworker and began to get teary-eyed. Not a sad tear, but an overwhelmingly happy tear. I will note, I am an emotional being, crying is natural for me. However, I explained that ‘I think these hugs have really made me feel completely at peace and content in life.’ At that moment, life was utterly perfect. From that day on, I became the hug-giver. Those that were a part of my one day experiment still come to me and ask for hugs, on good and bad days. And I am more than happy to open my arms to them. For some, they may not receive a hug from anyone else.
After my experiment I began to research more about this wonderful hug theory. The scientist in me wanted to know why. I learned that embracing someone releases oxytocin from the pituitary gland. Oxytocin is literally known as the ‘cuddle hormone’. But good news, you do not need to cuddle everyone in order to obtain it. In a great article by George Dvorsky which I located on a blog known as Gizmodo, George explains 10 different reasons why oxytocin is the most amazing molecule in the world. He explains that it is easy to get, can reduce social fears, heal and relieve pain, and even provide stress relief (Dvorsky, 2012). All of this, FOR FREE!
There are a lot of other people around the world very interested in this topic too. Along my google searches I stumbled upon a group in Europe called Guerilla Hug who will actually announce where they will be and hang around on the street with a sign that says ‘FREE HUGS’. Through their informational video I learned that there were some folks that find it funny, some that are completely flabbergasted by such an atrocity, and then some that have inspiring stories attached. One story explained an older gentleman that lost his wife 14 years prior and said that was his first hug since then! What an impact!
I suppose my mission of this article is to say, hugs heal. They can pick someone up on a bad day, or keep someone on a roll on those good days. We live in a world with too much shying away from people. I myself, have committed the ‘leave me alone’ signal by walking campus with earphones in. Why not take those headphones out, say hello, shake a hand, or pat the back of a fellow classmate that aced the test. Not only will it boost them, it will elevate YOU!
Dvorsky, George. “10 Reasons Why Oxytocin Is The Most Amazing Molecule In The World.” Io9. Gizmodo, 12 July 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. https://gizmodo.com/10-reasons-why-oxytocin-is-the-most-amazing-molecule-in-5925206