Hugs Benefit Your Emotional Health

The hugs are, above all, that kind of nonverbal communication that we should put more into practice with our loved ones. And it is that, without a doubt, they benefit our emotional health.

Now, something that is interesting to remember is that we are facing the most widespread gesture in the world, the one that does not know about languages, cultures or religions and that transcends even our own species.

Animals also understand hugs or, more than hugs, that skin-to-skin closeness where they feel the warmth of another member of their social group. Something so basic confers security, closeness and unites ties between the different members.

We could say then that the hug, understood as physical proximity, is something universal. And it is that we all, in a way, speak that emotional language where we understand that being close to each other, sometimes, is something rewarding. Let’s see more aspects in detail below.

1. Physical closeness as a way of growth

The act of hugging has nuances of some dimensions that, without a doubt, we have personally experienced at some time. Hugs are meaningful as long as they come from people with whom we have a positive and rewarding bond.

• The physical closeness of a stranger is often seen as a threat.
• When we hug or hug us, a social bond is reinforced, and something so basic and elemental is a very healthy source of personal growth.
• Although we always value our independence, our ability to function on our own and to enjoy our moments of solitude, no one can deny that these gestures endowed with meaning make us feel good.

At the end of the day, we are social beings, we need this type of language to feel that we are part of someone and something: a family, a group of friends …

2. Our brain needs hugs

A child who lives being hugged and feeling the warmth of his parents from birth grows with greater maturity and emotional balance.

• We cannot forget that the brain matures from “inside out” and from “back to front”.

What does this mean? That the brain structures that will require more attention in a newborn are those related to emotions.

• That a baby does not feel fear, that he feels safe at all times, in addition to being loved, makes structures such as the hippocampus or the brain amygdala mature without the presence of that stress associated with the feeling of abandonment.

Growing up in the arms of mom and dad from 0 to 3 years is essential for their later emotional development.

3. When words don’t come out, hugs save us

You have also experienced it on occasion, either with your partner, with a family member or with a friend.

• There are moments when emotions overwhelm us, we are arguing with someone we appreciate and, sometimes, we end up saying something without meaning to, something that hurts and we regret.
• These are moments in which we do not apply adequate mental filters and we translate the first thing that comes to mind into words, without having thought about it before.

When we are aware that words are no longer useful and that we have spoiled it in some aspect, let us make use of hugs, let them save us.

4. We all know how to hug, but we don’t always dare

There are many people who like to be hugged but do not always have the initiative to give them. Perhaps due to simple shyness, perhaps due to indecision or because they do not know how to break the ice to make way for that closeness where both hearts join.

• When it comes to hugging, there is a simple rule: if you feel like it, if you need it and want it, hug. Furthermore, there is nothing like giving, on average, five hugs a day.
• Occasionally wrapping our arms around our parents, our partner, our children and those friends who sometimes have a difficult day always helps, comforts, cheers the heart and comforts us all.

5. Hugging takes care of your emotional health

In the animal world, “hugs” are very present. They are not as we understand them many times, they are not a greeting, they are not used to say goodbye to someone when they go on a trip.

• Animals seek closeness as union and reinforcement of a social bond.
• We too should make use of them for this purpose. In this way, we would quench many doubts, reduce stress and control anxiety much better.

A hug from the person we love helps us to be more present, to enjoy that here and now where there is no room for doubt. At that moment, there is only the reaffirmation of a bond, where endorphins and oxytocin further increase the intensity of the moment.