Conference quark::human_relations-v1

    		      HUGGING CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH		
    
        
    Hugging is a miracle medicine that can relieve many physical and
    emotional problems facing America, experts say.
    
    "The type of hugging I recommend is the bear hug," said Dr. David
    Bresler, director of Pain Control Unit at UCLA.  "Use both arms,
    face your partner, and perform a full embrace."
    
    "I often tell my patients to use hugging as a part of their treatment
    for pain.  To be held is enormously therapeutic."
    
    Researchers have also discovered that hugging can help you live
    longer, protect you against illness, cure depression and stress,
    strengthen family relationships, and even help you sleep without
    pills.
    
    "Hugging is an excellent tonic," declared Dr. Harold Voth, senior
    psychiatrist at the prestigious Menninger Foundation in Topeka,
    Kansas.  "It has been shown scientifically that people who are mentally
    run-down and depressed are far more prone to sickness than those
    who are not."
    
    "Hugging can lift depression - enabling the body's immune system
    to become tuned up.  Hugging breathes fresh life into a tired body
    and makes you feel younger and more vibrant."
    
    "In the home, daily hugging will strengthen relationships and
    significantly reduce friction."
    
    "I'm convinced that the tender embrace can prevent or cure a host
    of different problems," said Dr. Robert Rynearson, who is chairman
    of the psychiatry department at Scott and White Clinic in Temple,
    Texas.
    
    "A hug can have an astonishing therapeutic effect by providing a
    sense of companionship and happiness."
    
    "Researchers discovered that when a person is touched the amount
    of hemoglobin in their blood increases significantly," said Helen
    Coulton, author of the forthcoming 'The Joy of Touching'."
    
    "Hemoglobin is a part of the blood that carries vital supplies of
    oxygen to all organs of the body - including the heart and brain.
    An increase in hemoglobin tones up the whole body, helps prevent
    disease and speeds recovery from illness.
    
    "My 15 years of research have convinced me that regular hugging
    can actually prolong life by curing harmful depression and stimulating
    a longer will to live."
    
    Pamela McCoy, R.N. who trains nurses at Grant Hospital in Columbus,
    Ohio, said, "We found that people who are hugged or touched can
    often stop taking medication to get to sleep."
    
    "The warm meaningful embrace can have a very positive effect on
    people, particularly during times of widespread stress and tension
    like today," Dr. Voth added.
    
    "Hug your spouse, your children, close friends or relatives.  If
    you live alone, the warm embrace with a friend whenever you meet
    is just as beneficial.  It's a marvelous way to improve the quality
    of your life."
    
    "Sometimes I just take out my prescription pad," Dr. Bresler said,
    "and then I write out a prescription for four hugs a day - one at
    breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime.
    
    LET'S GIVE THREE CHEERS FOR HUGS!!!!!!!!!
    
    Hugs,
    -Dotti.
    

    I've always wondered about the medicinal uses of hugs.  I long
    suspected that there were many positive benefits to them.
    
    I also wonder how different the world would be if all other forms of 
    greetings had never developed and hugs were used to say hello and
    goodbye in all occasions.  Business meetings, Politics, Peace Talks....
    
    As for your question.  I believe you mentioned having a child.  take 
    solice in that.  Of all the hugs in the world a childs has always 
    seemed to be the most honest of them all, and many times if you just 
    tell one you need a hug, they are more then willing to supply it.  
    
    Aside from that, keep in contact with your friends and try to get 
    envolved with new friends.  (Try participating in some Employee
    Interest notes files and meet some of the folks in them.)  You said 
    you read Friends, the folks in there are just as willing to hug in 
    real life as they are by "electronic" hugs.  Talk with them, get to 
    know them.  Invite some to meet you after work someplace and visit 
    with them.  I assure you that after a while, you'll have more hug 
    therapy then you'll know what to do with.
    
    Skip

    
    Ah hugs.....I can definitely understand how you feel about the lack of
    them.  Electronic hugs require a bit of imagination.  What I usually do
    is close my eyes and just walk through each step of the hug.  I try to
    actually visualize someone special giving me that hug.
    
    Here's one to practice with....
    
    Hugs,
    Faith
    

    A hugh is a human contact and sharing that makes us feel just that,
    HUMANS and ALIVE, it give us warmth, it make us secure, loved,
    understood.  No need to be deprived of them, you must have friends,
    relatives, there is always someone to hugh!
    I personally love "them", could not live without hughs, I hugh all the
    time, not because it is therapeutic, but because I grew up with hughs
    and I hugh without even being aware of it... it is born within me, I
    hugh my husband, my son (and it is hard to hugh a male teen-ager) my
    daughters, my friends, even my colleages in the office, nephews,
    nieces, small kids, senior citizens (they specially love them) and in
    whole all, even my dog gets a squeeze from time to time from me! it
    open the heart to warm feelings and it feels good.
    My whole family is like that, and when we visit... we get so many that
    our rib cage is very strong and resistant! also the back gets a few
    hard claps gladly accepted by all.
    
    Hughs give warm feelings to all, givers and takers... look around, you
    won't need long to find a person to hug... to be hughed.
    
    a hugh, Ana
    

    One of my favorite hugs is the one my husband gives me.  He hugs
    me by holding me real close to his chest and sqeezing me 'til I
    almost pass out.  I love it.
    
    I love my kids' hugs.  They're real bear huggers too.
    
    And my sisters' hugs are great too.  They're always using different
    shampoos that smell real nice.
    
    My dad's hugs are real tight too and he's not real quick to let
    go.
    
    Hugs are pretty cool.  Go to a Grateful Dead concert.  Hugs are
    plentiful and you don't even have to know the person or persons.
     They're all kindly receptive.
    
    Smackaroos are great too............

			HUGS
		
	It's wondrous what a hug can do,
	A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
	A hug can say, "I love you so."
	Or, "Gee I hate to see you go."

	A hug is, "Welcome back again!"
	And, "Great to see you," or
	"Where've you been?"
	A hug can soothe a small child's pain
	And bring a rainbow after rain.

	The hug! There's just no doubt about it,
	We scarcely could survive without it.
	A hug delights and warms and charms,
	It must be why God gave us arms.

	Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
	Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers.
	And chances are some favorite aunts
	Love them more than potted plants.

	Kittens crave them. Puppies love them.
	Heads of state are not above them.
	A hug can break the language barrier
	And make the dullest day seem merrier.

	No need to fret about the store of 'em
	The more you give,
	The more there are of 'em.
	So stretch those arms without delay
	And give someone a hug today.	

			author unknown

    Group hugs are great, too!  Shortly after my divorce, I noticed that my
    children and I started saying, "I need a hug" whenever we were feeling
    down.  Whoever was closest was delighted to do the honors.  But then 
    whichever one was left out of that hug would need a hug, too.  Soon we 
    developed a group hug.  Whenever one of us needed a hug, all three of us 
    would put our arms around each other and hug away.  It was a special time 
    and a special feeling for each of us.  It's continued through the years, 
    and we still do it today whenever we can.
    
    Great stuff!
    Karen              

    	A topic near and dear to my heart....  ;-)


    	I've always been very much a "touchy" person, having grown up in a
    family where touching was quite common.  I didn't really blossom as a
    big hugger until a few years ago though when I stumbled into a group
    of folks who are also that way.  Before them, I wasn't sure if it was
    okay for friends of the opposite sex to touch like that; now I *know*
    it's more than okay!


    	And with one person in particular, it doesn't count as a "real" hug
    until her back cracks.  ;-)  I guess I'm pretty lucky because during
    those times that I'm not dating someone, I still have quite a few
    friends that I can hug.  And I don't even have to ask -- when we get
    together they approach with arms outstretched.  Just thinking of it
    gives me goosebumps.


    	There's no doubt in my mind now that touching is very important to
    me, and I will not give it up to the degree that I sometimes did in the
    past.  Everything I've seen and heard makes me believe that it's a
    healthy part of relating.  Besides, it's fun!


    	Electronic hugs aren't the same, but many times it's all a person
    can send on short notice.  What I do is imagine some of the hugs I've
    had in the past with that person; the effect isn't the same, but it's
    better than nothing.


    	I've done group hugs as well, and that's a lot of fun.  Especially
    with the right ratios....  ;-)


    	Thanks for posting the "scientific" explanation on hugs -- now I
    know what's been going on inside all these years!


    Brian

    I could never live without them. Hugging is a very important part of
    making one feel wanted and loved.  People that give "mechanical" hugs,
    it is probably caused by the way they were brought up, maybe with
    parents that don't show much affection, or maybe the parents abused the
    person when they were young etc, so any kind of touch is a revolting
    feeling.
    
    To me a hug is one of the nicest things in the world!
    
    
    Hugs!
    
    
    Lynne ;-)

hi!
Hugs and touching are also VERY important for growing children that are going
thru puberty. I've read that you must keep hugging them at this time in their 
lives -- because they are beginning to be aware of their bodies changing into
adults, and they need reassurance that they are "ok".

If you have hugged your children when they were small, continue huggging
when they start to go thru changes. If you dont, they might subconciously say
"what is wrong with me? Im growing up..I dont get hugged anymore.. OH growin
up must be bad, I must be no-good."

This happened to me, my parents (i formulate) could relate to us as little
tykes but when we actually became adults, they distanced themselves...all
hugging stopped.

But you'll be glad to know its a little bit cured now. The cure? A brother
married an italian woman--and you better believe she wouldnt leave us alone,
just kept hugging and hugging. My parents were dragged back into it and now
enjoy hugging us as adults. I just wonder what might have been if we didn't
acquire that sister-in-law!
-n

    
    This is a wonderful topic.  Raises a question for me though.  With
    all these people here at DEC that like hugs......why don't we see more
    of it at work?
    
    There are days a hug would really be nice.  I too belong to a group
    that hugs whenever we meet.  
    

    Each of your replies helped me feel better about me and people in
    general. It's nice to see that hugs are important to others as well. 
    
    RE: -1 I was thinking the very same thing. In my office I can say that
    I have not seen anyone hug anyone else in the 8 years that I have been
    here. Everyone is SO BUSY and business like. There is NO TIME for hugs
    or conversation that does not pertain to "Closing the Business"! 
    
    I personally think that these people would get MORE done and FEEL
    better for it if they took a few seconds each hour and hugged someone.
    
    For me a hug is getting in touch with the REAL LIFE!! Not the one stuck
    to a CRT for 8 hours a day!
    
    Keep up the GREAT replies...............
    
    A BIG...LONG...LOVING....HUG....TO...ALL...OF...YOU!!!!!
    
    Ken

    
    Hugs rule.
    
    Especially if the other person smells good.
    
    
    Cal

    RE: -1
    I never thought about smell....but you are absolutely right!!!!!
    
    There are some people that smell wonderful and once you hug them, that
    wonderful smell kinda stays with you for a while making that hug that
    much neater!!!!
    
    Ken

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    You probably are focusing on hugs because you are afraid with the
    impending divorce you will not have any (female) hugs for a while (or
    worse yet, ever).  Now is the time to discover who your REAL friends
    are.  I am going through a pretty rough time as well right now and have
    found comfort in those around me who refuse my cold fish routine and
    literally pick me up and force a hug.  I think it is just as theraputic
    for them as for me.
    
    Hang in there, things stink right now, but I promise you, life *will*
    get better. Read this notesfile from beginning to end, as many times as
    necessary.  I couldn't have gotten through the past year without it.
    And in time, when time has healed the gut-wrenching pain in your heart,
    you too will be sending electronic hugs to someone else.

    Re .17: Just a word of warning: be careful with the "forced hugs"
    routine. There are some of us who would _not_ be comforted by such...
    Close friends *might* be able to get away with it without getting punched
    in the nose, but even among close friends, I'd advise caution and
    sensitivity. "What harm could a hug do?" one might ask... none,
    probably, but those of us who are, at best, lukish-warmish fish, can be
    made very uncomfortable by them if we're not completely ready for same.
    
    [No, I'm not advising that one never try to hug somebody; heck, how
    else are we going to learn? ;-) Just be sensitive. If the prospective
    huggees stiffen up or back off, I'd advise at most a pat on the
    shoulder rather than a forcible bear-hug, unless you are certain you
    know them well enough to know they would appreciate it.]
    
    -b, Defender of the Stand-offish

    I am copying this entire string down, and will leave it where my wife
    can read it.  Once she reads how good a hug can be, I hope she'll be
    more willing to get (and give!) them....
    
    During our last long argument, (see the "Non-communication" note) she
    would actually shun my touch, and it hurt me to my very core.  I am
    everlastingly grateful, though, that my daughter Jennifer would notice
    that "daddy's not feeling good" and would give me a much-needed hug.
    And if I was really down, she'd hug me even harder....it's one of the
    few things that helped me keep my sanity all this time.
    
    						--Eric--
    
    P.S. I agree that electronic hugs are not that useful, but hey, until
    we have holodeck technology (a la Star Trek), it's all us noters have
    at our disposal.  So, a hug for Cindy (hi, again!) and for anyone else
    who needs one today..... 8)