Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : October 4, 2018 5:31 PM IST
A warm hug can help you get over negative mood © Shutterstock
Are you stressed up due to interpersonal conflicts and not feeling too well about it? Before going to a psychiatrist, go and get yourself a warm hug. Recent study suggests that hug helps us to protect our mood from negative impacts of interpersonal conflicts. Not only hugs help us feel better but also protect us against diseases, according to a recent media report. A study conducted in 2015 by a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon showed that physical touch arms us up against stress-induced sickness. Experts suggested that the more often people hugged, the lesser chances they had to fall sick, even those who suffered from frequent tense interactions.
The new study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University focused on how hugs can alleviate the negative psychological outcomes of interpersonal conflict, highlighted the media report. The research that interviewed 404 adult men and women for two consecutive weeks showed that those who received a hug during the day of conflict were more likely to report a drop in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions. Not just that, the participants reported that they did not feel negative even the next day of the conflict, thereby indicating that psychological benefits of hugs can linger for a considerable time.
The study suggests that embracing friends and family and even strangers is a simple but efficient way of getting over interpersonal conflicts. This research is in its early stages. We still have questions about when, how, and for whom hugs are most helpful. However, our study suggests that consensual hugs might be useful for showing support to somebody enduring relationship conflict, reportedly said Michael Murphy who led the research. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
