The Magic of Love for Healing Boo Boo’s

Research shows that love and emotional support goes a long way toward healing the hurts life deals out.

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There once was a boy with a boo-boo. He’d been hurt on the playground and came running, crying, to his teacher. Hugging him gently, needing no details, she simply murmured, “I know, Ramon, I know.” The boy’s tears stopped. He was quiet for a moment and then went happily back to play.

What happened to the boo-boo? Psychologist Dr. Haim Ginott didn’t really say, except that the unconditional love and unquestioning acceptance of the teacher were apparently enough to comfort the boy and override any sense of hurt. Dr. Ginott, best-selling author of Between Parent and Child, was convinced of the power of love to help and heal. He wrote and spoke about such true stories many decades ago.

So it’s not surprising that a recent article in Spirituality and Health  (January 6, 2015) makes the same point, but with Carnegie Mellon research to back it up. This research did not involve boo-boos and children, however. It looked at 404 adults’ experiences with stress, conflict and contagion when they received the loving support of friends or community. Specifically, these men and women were asked how many conflicts they’d experienced each day for 14 days, as well as how many hugs. They also agreed to be given nasal drops with a common cold virus as a protective or preventive ingredient.

As Traci Pedersen reports, the Carnegie Mellon study concluded:

Overall, those with the strongest feelings of social support had a decreased risk for developing an infection while under stress. Hugs accounted for one-third of the protective effect of this social support. Among the participants who did become ill, those with greater perceived social support and those who’d received more hugs had less severe cold symptoms, whether or not they had experienced stress-inducing conflicts. (Dr. Sheldon Cohen)

These results have significant implications for those suffering from flu, seasonal illnesses, and other woes. They also have important takeaways for the role that caring plays in the lives of good men and those they nurture and care for each day.

I well remember a night when I could have used a hug. My stomach was giving me fits, but I was alone with no one to comfort me. Some might have taken a pill, but I was accustomed to prayer as an effective means to better health. So I called a dear friend, a respected man in his community and one who was glad to pray for people who requested him to. I asked if he had any reassuring things to tell me. He did, even though today I can’t remember a thing he said. But I do remember vividly that he made me feel deeply loved and cherished. He helped me see that God, or divine good, was present with me there and then. I felt all tucked in, snug and safe.

That feeling of being loved and cared for was so powerful that I went to sleep quickly and woke up refreshed and well.

As I’ve come to see it, this healing love was more than the human touch or voice of a dear friend. It did not have its source in a person or a gender, but in a power. Later I recalled a favorite scriptural passage that explained it more fully as “the merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.”

The hugs and kisses of dads, moms, teachers and friends are more than helpful. Based on their divine source they can bring health and healing to anyone who needs comfort. And, good men can be among the best of comforters.

What is a 21st century hero? Being an engaged and present dad. And we love to show how great dads are. Want more like this? 
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