Hugs, Hugging, and Touch

During my dad's last days, the Commander of his American Legion post had called to keep in touch and to let the other members of the post know Dad's condition. After hearing how close he was to death, several called or came by to offer support to my mom. One of the wives called and said she was coming by because she felt that Mom could use a hug. After a long hug, the friend said, "Maybe I was the one that needed a hug."

I received a note this week from one of my church friends. She said that when we spoke on Sunday, she didn't know that my dad had died. She said if she would've known, she'd have given me a hug.

When I left my parent's place last week, I was saying goodbyes and getting hugs. The hug from my sister-in-law was long and strong. I told her she hugged like a counselor (she is one). What I really meant was that she hugged like a person that knows the benefits of a good hug.

Do we need hugs?

I've read several articles on the physical and emotional benefits of hugging. Some give a specific number of daily hugs or length of a hug's duration for optimum benefit. All of them pretty much agree that hugs are beneficial and that physical touching is necessary for healthy growth and emotional stability.
Some hugs are quick and casual, some are long and more intimate, and some are in between.
Brief, casual hugs are a nice way of greeting or saying goodbye. Longer, stronger hugs seem to share an energy that is not really shared or even felt in those brief contacts. Let's face it -- some people are just good huggers!

And some people don't really like hugs -- especially casual hugs with simple acquaintances. That's when you get into the kind of creepy hugs. I'm generally fairly cautious about hugging and will often let the other person initiate a hug until I know that is their typical greeting. I don't want to be the creepy old guy that always gives the unwanted hug.

Here's an article that covers a number of benefits of touching and hugging. It's not too long and does a good job on touching most of the benefits found in other articles/studies.

I hope you get a good hug today. One of the benefits of giving good hugs is that you generally get one in return.

This meme doesn't give a number of hugs we need per day. Eight seems to be a general consensus.

John