The need for more Hugs...

Hugging can be described as a handshake from the heart. The simple action of embracing creates feel-good energy for both the giver and recipient.

Science has been looking into its positive effects, and numerous studies related to hugging, cuddling and touching have been reaching the same conclusion—hugging is a crucial part of human development.

The central time for hugging is early childhood. A child may be frequently held, cradled, patted and carried. We naturally accept that a little person can’t manage the trials of existence on their own. There will be times when they are overwhelmed and in need of a big person to take the strain. The young child can’t be helped by explanations and reasons; they respond to touch alone.

But as we grow towards adulthood, independence and self-reliance become key and the sort of hugs we once knew recede.

We are taught to be wary of any suggestion of needing a wiser, stronger person to look after us.

Yet to suggest that we continue to need the proper, older kind of hug is to insist that we go on being, at points, rather like the children we once were, that is, people who can’t cope alone.

Not getting enough of the right sort of hugs should be recognised as a serious danger for our humanity.

A hug is universal. Hugs are so versatile, people all around the world use them to express everything from joy and affection to sadness and despair

A hug is a symbol of everything we tend to sorely miss in our hyper-individualistic achievement-centred culture: a chance safely to admit to our total dependence on another person.