Where is my ‘hug box’?

Last night was an incredibly touching time. I had the opportunity to watch a beautiful and thought-provoking movie about a phenomenal autistic professor, who started her career as a livestock consultant and became one of the first autistic spokeswoman sharing insights about her disease.

In order to combat her anxiety and panic attacks Temple Grandin, the main heroine of the story, decided to build herself a ‘hug box’ which resembled a cage for animals used to keep cows on hold while giving them vaccines. Since she was afraid of any form of caressing or hugging, her body was reacting repulsively to any kind of touch. She was not able to reciprocate the human touch with a positive reaction. ‘Hug box’ in effect let her overcome the panic attacks caused by the disease.

Each of us has their ‘hug box’-  either a place, a special spot , a person or an event, to which we can turn to, when we know that our world is falling apart. It is in the course of our lives to discover those places, methods or find people which we can treat as our ‘hug boxes’. There is something incredibly subtle about this one scene when Temple Gardin, after having been bullied by the cowboy co-workers rushes to come back home , in panic enters her ‘hug box’ and slowly calms down. The fact that each person needs their hug box, either it be a phone call to a beloved one, weekend gateway, turning to our favourite activity , or hiding under the cover sheet means, we are all in need of knowing that somewhere there we can find comfort and consolation.

I think it’s also quite important to bear in mind, that hug box is never a place to be stuck in, though. Its nature of giving us the consolation we all need at moments, does not mean that hug box shall become our whole life and replace any other activity.  In order to combat our real anxieties and fears, we need to make decisions, take actions and apply them into our life. That’s the hardest part. Some of us are in the course of acquiring such knowledge might find that identifying our hug boxes at the start of this process is very helpful. Think tonight where is your hug box?