Will we still hug, high-five and shake hands after Covid-19?
- Non-verbal physical greetings such as hugs and handshakes do much more than say ‘hello’ or ‘I am friendly’
- Physical touch helps calm the nervous system, decrease stress hormones and boost immunity, but the pandemic has cut that down
David Sylvester has given hugs and high-fives to more than half a million people in 42 countries since starting his “Big Dave Hugs the World” project in 2001, after a friend’s death in the World Trade Centre attack. But the resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hasn’t embraced anyone since March 16.
“It’s been rough,” said Sylvester, 55, a personal trainer. “This has been the longest I’ve gone without hugging somebody in my life.”
The hug withdrawal is also real for Edie Weinstein, 61, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who’s been offering hugs to strangers since 2014 with her “Hug Mobsters”, which grew out of daily walks to aid her recovery from a heart attack. One night she dreamed people discovered a way to hug each other back-to-back.
“I don’t know when it’s going to be safe to go out and hug deprived people out there, but whenever it happens, watch out, because there’s a lot of people who need hugs,” said Weinstein, a therapist and licensed social worker.
