INTERNATIONAL CHILD AND YOUTH CARE NETWORK

21 JUNE 2000
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The opening pages of Keating, K. (1986)  The little book of Hugs (Drawings by Mimi Noland). London: Fontana may convince you that you need to know more about the subject of ...

Hugging

Theory

Touch is not only nice. It's needed. 

Scientific research supports the theory that stimulation by touch is absolutely necessary for our physical as well as our emotional well-being. 

Therapeutic touch, recognized as an essential tool for healing, is now part of nurses' training in several large medical centers. Touch is used to help relieve pain and depression and anxiety, to bolster patients' will to live, to help premature babies — who have been deprived of touch in their incubators — grow and thrive.

Various experiments have shown that touch can: 

• Make us feel better about ourselves and our surroundings; 
• Have a positive effect on children's language development and IQ; 
• Cause measurable physiological changes in the toucher and the touched. 

We are just beginning to understand the power of touch.

While there are many forms of touching, we propose that hugging is a very special one that contributes in a major way to healing and health.

"For some, hugging is very hard..."

Rationale

HUGGING ...

• Feels good 
• Dispels loneliness 
• Overcomes fears
• Opens doors to feelings 
• Builds self-esteem ("Wow! She actually wants to hug me!") 
• Fosters altruism ("I can't believe it, but I actually want to hug that old son-of-a-gun!")
• Slows down aging; huggers stay younger longer
• Helps curb appetite; we eat less when we are nourished by hugs-and when our arms are busy wrapped around others 

HUGGING ALSO ...

• Eases tension
• Fights insomnia Keeps arm and shoulder muscles in condition 
• Provides stretching exercise if you are short 
• Provides stooping exercise if you are tall 
• Offers a wholesome alternative to promiscuity 
• Offers a healthy, safe alternative to alcohol and other drug abuse (better hugs than drugs!)
• Affirms physical being 
• Is democratic; anyone is eligible for a hug

"There are other forms of therapeutic touch ..."

AND IT ALSO

• Is ecologically sound, does not upset the environment 
• Is energy-efficient, saves heat Is portable
• Requires no special equipment
• Demands no special setting; anyplace from a doorstep to an executive conference room, from a church parlor to a football field, is a fine place for a hug!
• Makes happy days happier 
• Makes impossible days possible 
• Imparts feelings of belonging 
• Fills up empty places in our lives 
• Keeps on working to dispense benefits — even after the hug's release

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In the panel on the left you will find similar brief writings
which you may have missed since your last visit.