Hugs are our way of showing one another that we care, a hug can illustrate an understanding without words, a comfort blanket in a time of need or of great excitement.
The truth is we are tactile creatures, every significant momentous occasion is usually followed by a hug from our loved ones. In moments of delight and sorrow, a hug is always our first port of call.
But what do we do when we can no longer do something that seems so natural to us?
Elizabeth Doyle, a 78-year-old grandmother of 12 said, “This year has been tough. I feel like I have missed out on so many important moments with my grandchildren. As a grandma, it’s my job to show my grandchildren how much I care for them and how much they are loved.
Not being able to cuddle them does have a bit of a toll on me. You know I won’t be around forever and when you get to this age you realise you must enjoy every moment because you never know what might happen.”
Restrictions have limited the way we interact with the people we love for over a year now and sometimes it feels as though we may never return to normality.
“I really hope that with the role out of the vaccines we can return to a somewhat normal life full of hugs. I am excited to be able to see my grandchildren without the fear of COVID”, said Elizabeth.
Hugging is a natural form of comfort for us as humans, that warm fuzzy feeling we get is scientifically proven to deepen our biochemical relationships with those we hug.
Ria McGuire a 21-year-old student said, “Hugging is such a human instinct, it’s an act we do when we are happy to see someone or we’re upset about something. I’ve always thought of it as a way to comfort someone and the fact that it has been taken away sometimes, I feel like it’s very hard to be able to connect with someone or just show someone how much I care.”
COVID has changed the way we interact in society, the germaphobe in all of us has made us more standoffish and reluctant to interact with strangers out of fear of catching COVID.
Ria said, “Certainly, through COVID it’s really created a distance between people and it’s a very unnatural request for people to not have physical contact with each other.
“I sometimes fear that once COVID is over that physical contact will be a fear rather than a comfort.”
Hugs can have powerful impacts on those around us, they offer unspoken support and understanding to us when we need it most.
Unfortunately, physical touch is something that may be just too dangerous in our current climate so for now virtual hugs will have to do.