Hugs: why people grow up and are afraid to show their loved ones their love. An Australian woman makes a living by hugging people.

Hugging your loved one is a very rewarding way to spend time. Moreover, there are benefits even to hugging strangers! This is necessary to feel happy.

Psychologists say that hugs increase self-esteem - and well-being. They recommend hugging 4-8 times a day to improve your mental health and gain self-confidence.

Hugs, like kissing, are a very positive way of communicating. With the help of hugs, you can ask for forgiveness and thank you, express approval and provide support, simply show how dear and necessary you are to this person whom you hug with love.

Superficial physical contact gives people deep emotional satisfaction - it seems to send impulses: “I am needed! I'm in the pack! I'm in business!

Why hugging is good for you - 3 reasons to hug

1. Hugs are good for the heart and reduce the risk of heart disease.

If a person with high blood pressure hugs often, his blood pressure and the risk of developing serious cardiovascular diseases such as stroke will certainly decrease.

If you have a weak heart, help your heart - express your love to your loved ones both emotionally and physically (pat your husband or daughter, cuddle with your loved one), and it will thank you by making the heartache go away.

This is probably why lonely people so often get cats and dogs - they cannot have a heart-to-heart talk with them, but they can at least pet their four-legged friends and thereby reduce their blood pressure.

2. Hugs relieve stress.

Hugging a person calms down. When a girl is in the arms of her beloved man, she comes out of a state of stress, even if she was very worried before. This is explained by the fact that hugs increase the level of oxytocin - one of the hormones of happiness - in the blood, and thanks to this, worries go away, and joy and calmness fill the soul.

3. Hugging means strengthening your relationship with your loved one.

Hugs are an expression of feelings and appreciation, a sign of intimacy and trust between partners. But if the psychological benefits of close kinesthetic, tactile contact are obvious, then from a biological point of view there is also a benefit here.

When a man and woman hug, such glorious hormones as dopamine and serotonin are released - hormones of happiness and anti-stress. As a result, your mood improves - it becomes cheerful and upbeat, your health and harmony in relationships as a whole are strengthened.

In today's hectic world, it is difficult to find time to relax. Many people even sacrifice their time with loved ones in order to work more. But intimacy with others is one of the most important elements that makes people happier. And hugging is one of the easiest ways to experience the closeness that everyone needs. Moreover, men need hugs no less than women. In fact, there are many surprising benefits to the proverbial hug.

1. Hormone production

Oxytocin is a hormone that does everything to make a person feel good and also helps to feel close to other people. Oxytocin is the main hormone produced during hugging and is responsible for most of the benefits discussed below.

2. Improved immune system

The release of oxytocin, the feel-good hormone, in itself makes a person feel like nothing can harm them - which actually provides amazing benefits. It also stimulates the production of hormones that help fight infections. But, basically, the immune system improves due to the “placebo effect” - the person himself believes that he will not get sick. And it works.

3. Painkiller

Just as it improves the immune system, hugging and the subsequent release of oxytocin reduces pain. Even simple touches release enough oxytocin to make you feel better, so it's worth imagining the effect a hug would have.

4. Reduce the risk of heart disease

Hugs increase the body's production of oxytocin, which is a “bonding” hormone. The chemical reactions that follow can help lower blood pressure, which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease. And if your heart is healthier, it will be easier to fight the effects of stress and illness.

5. Reduce social anxiety

Oxytocin inspires positive thinking. This hormone helps a person to look at the world optimistically. For example, a person came to a party where he knows only one person, and this acquaintance hugged him from the doorway. That's it - after this the person will feel happier and more social, and will also easily “fit in” with an unfamiliar company.

6. Deepening relationships

Communication is important in relationships, but people often forget how effective and meaningful touch can be. When a career is so stressful that someone comes home and can't stop thinking about work, it has a very negative impact on their relationships. Instead, come home and cuddle with your partner for at least ten minutes a day. Taking this short break from the stress of everyday life will not only provide all the other benefits listed above, but will also deepen your relationship. During this time, the person will spend time focusing solely on their partner and how they feel about them.

7. Prelude to further intimacy

Even non-erotic touch can release dopamine, which is a hormone that increases sexual desire. A hug or massage from your partner after a hard day can lead to sexual activity that will only strengthen the relationship. In addition, bed is a great stress reliever and an easy way to get physical activity.

8. Help with feeding

Oxytocin also has a positive effect on childbirth and breastfeeding. This chemical doesn't just create good feelings between couples, it also works in the case of women and their children. Oxytocin helps the mother relax, making breastfeeding easier.

9. Hugs for everyone

Cuddling isn't just for your romantic partner. It would be a good idea to hug your friends and pets. The feeling of warmth and connection after touch will be enough to start producing oxytocin.

10. Improved sleep

You can toss and turn for a long time and try to fall asleep, or you can just cuddle with your partner for 10 minutes before bed. This will force the body to produce oxytocin, which will help you feel your partner more deeply and relieve stress. And when a person is less preoccupied with something and more relaxed, he will fall asleep faster and sleep better.

11. Reduce stress

Oxytocin is an amazing natural hormone that has many benefits for the human body. Naturally, all these positive effects will also help relieve stress. The person will feel more connected to their partner, they will feel confident in social situations, their immune system will improve, and then there will be little that can upset them.

However, hugs are just one of the

On January 21, hug day is celebrated all over the world. Website columnist Anna Lebedeva discusses why it is so important to hug each other more often...

When a child wants to show his parents how much he loves them, his arms involuntarily clasp the neck or hips of loved ones. He presses his whole body against them, like an animal, wrapping all his love in a circle of hugs. But for some reason, over the years, some people hug less and less. Either from shyness, or from callous feelings.

Someone is used to keeping their feelings under lock and key, and rare hugs sometimes become an anomalous phenomenon: it’s like sea waves in a lake.

– When was the last time you hugged your grandfather? – I once asked one of my friends, whose relative was very ill and had been in the hospital for almost a month.

– Kissed me on the cheek yesterday, when he sat on the edge of the hospital bed and stretched his shaking hands towards me. And I probably hugged him as a child... I don’t even remember. For what? Is it really that important?

“And when did you hug your wife,” I asked restlessly.

- A wife is another matter. I hugged you this morning. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hung on it like a chimpanzee. I hugged her to keep my balance. You see, it’s hard not to hug your wife. It is purely physically uncomfortable to stand in the tin soldier pose during a passionate kiss.

At some point, an argument broke out between us. I tried to prove to my friend how important it is sometimes to just hug. At least for 5 seconds, hold a loved one close to you, let him into your inviolable space, feel his inhalation and exhalation, pat him on the back with your palm: they say, how long have we not seen each other, or how glad I am to see you again.

An acquaintance, in turn, said that this was all nonsense and unnecessary mi-mi-mi: “If you want to raise your emotional tone, give me some money or take me to a restaurant.” The conversation reached a dead end with an impenetrable wall, and on this note we said goodbye.

My classmate Galya often remembers her loved ones. She posts black and white photographs on Instagram from a family album - grandparents and other relatives who are no longer alive. He boasts of his noble origins.

One day the other day I met her by chance in a cafe, and over a cup of coffee we talked about hugs.

- Galya, tell me, how often did you hug your relatives? They were so beautiful that if I were you, I would wrap my arms around them every time we met.

“You know, I always wanted to do this,” Galina shared her innermost thoughts with me. “I even imagined how I squeezed my granny with my hands, how I kissed her on the cheek, and she smiled back at me and stroked my back. These sensations gave me goosebumps. Probably something from childhood. Somewhere in the depths of my soul, like on a memory card, these warm hugs were preserved. But every time I came to my aunt or grandmothers, something stopped me. Probably fear of being misunderstood or not wanting to look like a simpleton. You see, they were intelligent people, and I was scared to hug them - I didn’t know if it was customary for them. Yes, and I was raised just like them, and I loved them madly. But I probably hugged when I was very little. What will you take from the children?

After our conversation, I walked down the street, and wet snow covered the asphalt. It was freezing and the wind was blowing hard. I wanted to come home quickly to hug my daughter and cuddle with my husband: to really hug her, giving them my love with every cell of my body.

I suddenly wanted to hug my parents, open my arms to them, as in childhood, and cling to them with my whole body, so that it would last for a long time...

Australian Jessica O'Neill has a very unusual profession - she hugs people and receives 79 thousand Australian dollars (about four million rubles a year) for it. According to the girl, her husband is not against such work, although most of Jessica’s clients are men.

A girl named Jessica O'Neill lives in the Australian state of Queensland with her husband and three children, writes The Sun. Jessica makes a living in a very unusual way: she hugs people. For such work per week, the girl receives 1,516 Australian dollars (about 75 thousand rubles).

Before Jessica started cuddling professionally, she worked for a long time as a massage therapist and psychologist in her own studio in the Gold Coast. However, the girl always understood that something was missing in her life.

Before each of her sessions, Jessica hugged her clients to relax them. The girl saw that their worries and worries were disappearing, and they were talking more openly about their problems. After this, the idea came to her that hugs themselves could be a separate type of therapy.

Jessica first shared her idea to change her career with her family and friends, but everyone told her that she was crazy. However, the girl was convinced: hugs are more effective than a regular psychotherapy session or massage.

That's why six months ago, Jessica decided to leave her previous job and start hugging people. According to her, it brought her only pleasure.

I've always been a loving person who loves to hug, so it's not even a job, but part of my nature.

Through this type of therapy, she helps lonely people and those suffering from depression feel needed and loved - just as they once helped her.

When I was little, my mother was very affectionate and loving. Her hugs made everything around me better, even when everything was bad.

Before starting therapy, Jessica meditates with her client, then they sit comfortably in a chair with their legs thrown up and chat about everything. And only after that they move on to hugs.

The Australian claims that all the stories of her clients are incredible and varied, and the most common problems are loneliness, anxiety, depression and the desire to isolate themselves from other people.

An hour of hugs with Jessica costs 81 Australian dollars (about 4 thousand rubles). In addition, the girl conducts psychotherapeutic sessions (also with hugs), the cost of which is 111 Australian dollars (about 5.5 thousand rubles), as well as friendly meetings with coffee and hugs for 152 Australian dollars (about 7.5 thousand rubles).

Jessica is approached by patients of both sexes, but most clients are men over 35 years old. The girl says that her husband has a positive attitude towards her work and has nothing against it. And although there were awkward moments in her work experience, in 99 cases out of 100 people behave well.

And the student from England doesn’t even need to see people to help. Paige Hunter posted notes with encouraging words on the bridge where people come to take their own lives. Her .

A psychologist from Tver could not cope with her emotions and blames her husband for everything. Anastasia Makarieva, who works as a psychologist, wrote an angry post about her husband, who does not help her during postpartum depression. But instead of sympathy