Hugs

I often hug you in my heart.
This time I want you to feel it.

* * * * * * *

A reminder about the value of hugging
from UCLA Medical Center

"Hugging is a miracle medicine that can relieve
many physical and emotional problems facing
people today," experts say.

"The type of hugging I recommend is the bear
hug," says Dr. David Bresler, Director of the
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 found that hugging can
help you live longer, protect you against
illness, cure depression and stress, strengthen
family relationships and even 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 new 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."

"Researchers discovered that when a person
is touched, the amount of hemoglobin in their
blood increases significantly," said Helen
Colton, author of 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 the brain. An
increase in hemoglobin tones up the whole
body, helps prevent diseases, 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 stimulate a stronger will to
live."

"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."