I am a very huggy-touchy person who comes from a huggy family. And as someone who values that kind of affection, you never know how much it drastically affects your life until, you don’t have it anymore.
For the last 3 weeks I was unintentionally doing a blind experiment that I wasn’t even aware of.
3+ weeks. No hugs. See what happens.
This is that story:
I would’ve never volunteered myself for an experiment like this, but sometimes you get so wrapped up in the busyness of life that not only are you not stopping to smell the roses, but you’re also not stopping to go out of your way to hug someone, either.
What I didn’t realize is how much hugs fill my cup of feeling cared for and that I’m not alone in this world. And trust me when I say, the world feels lonelier when you haven’t had a hug. At least for me.
And then, out of nowhere, as I was at work (because let’s be honest that’s mostly all I do), at the end of my shift, one of my coworkers came up to me and hugged me.
I was startled for the first few seconds, and then I was able to melt into them to for a warm embrace.
When I unwrapped myself from them, it was like I was jolted back to life in an energized way. That may sound dramatic, but I truly felt like I went from a zombie back to a human.
People always talk about how much affection and warm embraces babies need to grow. But maybe we never stop needing affection and warm embraces.. What if as adults we need it to remind us that we aren’t robots who live to work. Maybe hugs are there to remind us of our humanness and the power of human compassion on our health and well being.
andrea statler 