6d • 🔥 SoulFuel Weekly🔥
💛 SoulFuel Daily – National Hug Day
Theme: Strength That Connects
This is not about needing a hug.
This is about being strong enough to give one.
Years ago, I helped lead a Free Hugs event in downtown Chicago near The Bean to raise awareness for juvenile Batten disease.
It was called “Free Hugs- Kennedy’s Hugs.”
She was a warrior. Kennedy Hansen. She was only 16 when she lost her battle to Juvenile Batten Disease.
A powerful young girl who loved hard.
And through her hugs, she changed people.
🔬 The Science (Solid, Peer-Reviewed)
1️⃣ Oxytocin & Stress Regulation
Research shows that warm physical connection increases oxytocin, which:
Reduces cortisol (stress hormone)
Lowers blood pressure
Improves emotional bonding
Enhances resilience under stress
Study: Heinrichs et al., 2003 – Biological Psychiatry
Participants who received supportive contact before a stress test had significantly lower cortisol responses.
2️⃣ Physical Touch & Nervous System Regulation
Touch activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting calm and emotional safety.- Field (2010) – Developmental Review
Moderate pressure touch decreases heart rate and increases vagal tone (linked to emotional regulation and resilience).
3️⃣ Social Connection & Longevity
Harvard’s long-term study on adult development (80+ years) concluded:
The single strongest predictor of long-term well-being and health is the quality of relationships.- (Harvard University Adult Development Study)
Connection is not weakness.
It is biological fuel.
Strength isn’t the absence of tenderness. It’s the courage to offer it.
Strong women don’t cry for rescue. They stand steady enough to become refuge.
Connection is not fragility. It is nervous system leadership.
Science confirms what wisdom already knew:
Support lowers stress hormones.
Touch regulates the body.
Belonging extends life.
But here’s the deeper truth, Some women hug the world so tightly they forget to let someone hold them back.
Strength is not carrying everything. It is allowing mutual support. Kennedy taught that.
Love is not softness. It is impact.
Today, don’t just offer comfort.
Offer grounded presence. Offer steadiness. Offer leadership through warmth.
And if you’re always the strong one,
Ask yourself: Who is strong enough to hold you? 🤔
Who in your life feels safer , more loved, happier after being around you?
And who makes you feel the same?
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💛 SoulFuel Daily – National Hug Day
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