A study shows that hugging helps release stress.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15206831/
Hugs decrease cortisol (stress) levels. Hugs increase oxytocin levels and facilitates bonding between the huggers. The length of the hugs matters more than the number of hugs. Try to hug for more than 20 seconds for the best effects. A Japanese study suggested that talking about stressful things while hugging a cushion helps reduce stress too.
Please keep the above in mind. I am going to bring you to another scenario.
You and a friend got on one LRT packed with passengers. If you are keeping a distance with your friend, you will tend to be kept apart by the crowd. Passengers coming into the train and those who want to make room for others may come in between you and your friends and push the two of you further apart. In the beginning, you may still be able to talk to each other. Later, you may have to raise your voice. Yet later, you may have to shout but you are too embarrassed to do that, so you kept quiet and let it be.
Next scenario. You and a friend got on one LRT packed with passengers. Both of you tried to stay together. As the passengers come into the train and move around, both of you remained together. If anything, you might get pressed closer to each other. There is no problem talking to each other as you both are so near to each other. You can even whisper if you want.
If we keep God at arm’s length, when troubles come, when we get stressed up, we find that we drift further apart from God. We find that we cannot talk to God because he seems so distant. We do not think he can hear us. We do not think he wants to hear us. And the distance is caused by us. We do not draw close to him. We do not take seriously our relationship with God. So, when pressure mounts, we get farther away from God.
If we cling to God, when troubles come, when we get stressed up, we find that they drive us closer to God. We can talk to God because he is so nearby. We know he can hear us. We know he wants to hear us. This is because we have established an intimate relationship with God. The intimacy is developed by our incessant seeking. We draw near to him. We take seriously our relationship with God. So, when pressure mounts, we get closer to God.
Now, if hugging another person for 20 seconds helps relieve stress, how much more do we reduce stress by being in the embrace of God?
Leave a Reply