The global Covid-19 pandemic brought along quite a few new things that we had to get used to, like wearing a mask when out in public, having to sanitize our hands before entering any building, not shaking hands or hugging someone, standing at least one-and-a-half metres apart from people as well as not being allowed to visit with our family and friends.
And, as we enter the fifth month of lockdown, I have to be honest, I miss human contact and face-to-face interaction. I miss being able to shake someone’s hand when meeting them for the first time, I miss being able to get together with friends and family for a social visit, and, yes, I miss being able to connect with someone through a hug.
We were not created to be alone, we were created to be social beings, and, even though I understand the necessity of all of the rules and no visiting and contact, I must confess, I cannot do this anymore. I am a very social and outgoing person, and during the past months, I have noticed myself becoming more and more demotivated, and, yes, leaning a more towards the negative.
As a rule, I am a person who always has a positive outlook on life, and would always try to see the silver lining, but lately I have turned into a grumpy old woman, who tends to be bitter, negative and just outright irritable and mean.
After doing some soul searching, I realised that I just need some human contact, whether in the form of a handshake, a hug or just some good old face-to-face social interaction with those who are important to me.
But, why is human contact, and hugging in particular so important to us? I did some research, and, according to www.healthline.com, these are some of the benefits of a hug:
- It reduces stress by showing your support
- It may protect you against illness
- It may boost your heart health
- It can make you happier
- It helps reduce your fears
- It may help reduce your pain
- It helps with communication
But, how many hugs do we need? Although science suggests that we need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance and 12 for growth, it also suggests that, to reap the greatest health benefits of a hug, we should give and receive as many hugs as possible on a daily basis.
And, until such time that we are allowed to hug each other and interact face to face, we should make time to hang out together via video call, or by doing an online dance, yoga or singing class with some of our family and friends.
Until next week, stay safe and healthy and look out for each other …
