Get Yourself a Hug!

Hugging Others And Hugging Yourself Leads To Healing

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Summary: Hugging triggers oxytocin release, promoting social bonding and reducing cortisol. Early-life touch shapes vagus nerve development crucial for health. The author’s Type 1 Diabetes led to touch aversion due to medical interventions. This aversion resembles sensory defensiveness. The Hoffman Process helped the author embrace hugs, easing stress responses. During COVID, when human touch can be risky, self-hugging offers similar benefits, promoting relaxation and healing.

When I was growing up, I had a teddy bear called ‘Fete Day’. My great aunt won him for me at our village fete when I was one year old. That day, I received Fete Day… And also my diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. Fete Day was by my side during my stay in hospital and was with me throughout the whole of my childhood. I loved him until his leg fell off and had to be ‘operated on’ (sewn back into place!) by my mum. To me, that bear was, and still is, ‘real’. (If you’re not sure what I mean by ‘real’… Please, please, please read the Velveteen Rabbit. It’s an absolutely beautiful book!)

I never used to like being hugged. Fete Day was the exception. He was a safe option. Thankfully, I came from a family where hugs were generally not high on the priority list and certainly didn’t feature in my daily life. I felt safer when I wasn’t hugged. This is unlikely to be without consequences, though.

The Psychobiology Of Hugging

The act of hugging produces a series of psychobiological effects in the body. Primarily, it releases the peptide oxytocin, which is responsible for facilitating social interaction and wellbeing, as well as reducing the stress hormone cortisol.

Regular hugging and touch is also essential in early childhood to facilitate the proper development of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is a nerve that runs from the head to the gut. It is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which contributes to a wide range of bodily functions, including digestion and regulating heart rate.

So, without hugging in early childhood, and then into adulthood, the body will be rife with raised cortisol levels, poorer digestive function and inhibited social functioning.

Type 1 Diabetes And The Fear Of Touch

As I have worked on my healing and investigated my internal world, something has become clear to me about my aversion to hugging. I believe that my unwillingness to engage in this social norm is easily explained when you look at my experiences through childhood. In my life, human touch was often followed by sharp pain as the needle of the next syringe went into my bodily tissue or the next finger-prick was required for blood testing. The vast majority of interactions of touch followed this pattern. Therefore, the association of touch with pain was strengthened everyday in my mind. The next touch would most likely cause the next serving of pain. Touch became physically, and emotionally, painful to me.

‘Social Defensiveness’ And Type 1 Diabetes

The medical community have come up with some names for this response. Firstly, there is ‘sensory defensiveness’, where a person (adult or child) reacts with a strong ‘fight-or-flight’ (or ‘freeze’) response to a stimulus or sensation that most people wouldn’t consider threatening. Touch is one of these sensations.

Secondly, there is ‘haphephobia’. This is when the aversion to touch has become so marked that it develops into a full phobia. People with haphephobia will have strong fear or anxiety when thinking about being touched. This will demonstrate itself physiologically with an increased heart rate, sweating, hot flushes, tingling and other fight-or-flight symptoms. Social situations became near impossible for these people and life can become extremely difficult.

I don’t for one second think I have haphephobia but sensory defensiveness feels appropriate. For years, when someone came towards me for a hug, I would brace my body and hunch my shoulders. My breathing rate would slow or stop. I would turn side-on so that the person ended up hugging my side, rather than my vulnerable chest area. My whole body had effectively gone into a paused mode, a freeze response.

Medical News Today states that haphephobia can be caused by experiencing a traumatic event that involved being touched. I believe the continuous onslaught of invasive medical treatments, at an age when I could not understand, would have created such a ‘little t’ trauma that resulted in a strong aversion to touch.

Healing A Hugging Aversion

The turning point for me in hugging career(!) came when I attended the Hoffman Process. This process was life-changing for me. Whilst I will not be going into the details of what the process involves (I wouldn’t want to ruin the fun if you haven’t done it yet!!), I will say that it completely transformed my ability to hug. I learnt to feel safe in a hug.

I still cannot face being hugged, or touched in any way, when I am angry or extremely upset. When my fight-or-flight response is activated, hugging is off the agenda. But, normally, I now happily welcome hugs from friends and family. When I hug now, I feel this initial moment when my body is tense and my breathing subsides. But, if I wait maybe just five or ten seconds, I feel my whole system relax as this wave washes over me. It’s like my whole body is giving a long, slow exhale or sigh.

My self-observation of this effect is actually supported by scientific research. This study shows how many forms of physical touch, including hugging, is associated with lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and higher oxytocin levels.

Hugging In COVID Times

Have you seen ‘The Minimalists: Less is Now’ on Netflix? The Minimalists are two guys, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who promote the idea of living a good life with less stuff. I love that!

In their documentary, there is a scene where they explain that they are ‘huggers’. They like to hug, rather than shake hands when they meet people. (I assume this was filmed in pre-COVID days!). This scene got me thinking about how they have so successfully implemented a robust hugging schedule(!) in their lives without having to either add it to their to-do list or count their hugs to ensure they have hit a hugging minimum for the day. It just simply is… ‘See a person, hug them’!

I’d love to employ the same strategy, knowing that it is contributing to my health, healing and happiness so effectively. But, in these current COVID times, I’m not sure it’s the wisest idea for a diabetic. It certainly comes with additional risks!

Hug Yourself!

I believe that there are two workarounds for the ‘no hugging during COVID times’ conundrum.

Firstly, I intend to hug, and hug often, everyone I live with (as long as they don’t test positively for COVID or start exhibiting symptoms!), including my dogs! I’m sure they will benefit from this as much as I will.

Secondly, I can hug myself. This study has found that, like hugging others, self-hugging releases the love hormone oxytocin and also produces anti-stress effects, such as reduced blood pressure and cortisol levels. It also improves the function of the gastrointestinal tract. In other words, it takes the body from a state of ‘fight-or-flight’ to one of relaxation… And relaxation is where the healing takes place.

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Water: How to Hydrate Properly

The Importance of Hydration In Healing

Summary: Living in the Middle East has heightened my appreciation for water’s essential role in health. For Type 1 diabetes, maintaining hydration is critical during both daily life and illness to manage blood sugar levels. Monitoring urine colour and using apps like ‘My Water Balance’ help ensure adequate intake, supporting overall well-being and hydration goals.

Since arriving in the Middle East, I have become so much more mindful of the importance of water in my daily life. It is a precious commodity out here, one that you do not want to be without. The few days of rain that happen are greeted with a sense of wonder and even the occasional moment of celebration or joy.

Hydration For Type 1 Diabetes During Illness

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I guess I’ve always known that there is a connection between T1D and hydration. After all, I can still recall those feelings as a kid of severe thirst that accompanied a way-too-high blood sugar – whether due to illness or any other one of an unending list of factors that randomly caused my blood sugars to spike! I recall that feeling of believing that, no matter how many cups of water I drank, it would never be enough. It felt like my thirst would never again be quenched.

I also recall the time, as a teenager, I had horrible tonsillitis and couldn’t swallow anything food- or liquid-based for days. That resulted in a trip to hospital and a drip attached to each arm. Hydration during illness for a type 1 diabetic is CRUCIAL. Indeed, the excellent diabetologist Dr Richard K Bernstein states emphatically how, during illness, the most likely risk to life for Type 1 Diabetics is not the illness itself but the dehydration that ensues from it. In his book, ‘The Diabetes Solution‘, Dr Bernstein includes dehydration salts as one of the key supplies that all diabetics should always have to-hand.

Hydration In Daily Life

Okay, so we pretty much all understand that hydration during illness is a biggie for us diabetic types. But what about the other (hopefully) 99% of our lives, when we’re just tootling about in our days in normal (perfect?!) health…? Is it important then?

Adequate hydration is important for every person. H. H. Mitchell and colleagues demonstrated that our bodies are made up of almost 70% water and, importantly for us, the pancreas itself consists of 73% water (so a healthy, working pancreas needs water!). In fact, water is involved in all processes in the body, including the normal metabolic processes of urination, sweating, breathing, thinking and digestion. Thus, replenishing this water in adequate amounts each day is vital to sustained health and functionality.

For type 1 diabetes, hydration is even more important. In fact, dehydration has been found to favour the development of hyperglycaemia (high blood sugars) in diabetes. I searched around for more information on why that might be the case. Whilst I couldn’t find anything directly related to type 1 diabetes, I did come across an interesting study that investigated the relationship between water intake and blood glucose regulation in type 2 diabetics.

This study found that reduced water intake for just three days led to an increase in the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol. This increase in cortisol impaired blood glucose response for an oral glucose tolerance test i.e. blood glucose levels were higher than optimal. So this study suggests, but doesn’t necessarily prove, that being insufficiently hydrated puts the body at risk of higher blood sugar levels due to the increase of cortisol in the blood. So, if you’re stressed, if you’re ill, if you’re not sufficiently hydrated and want better blood-sugar control… DRINK UP!

How Much Water Is Enough Water?

I am grateful to my parents for raising me to fall in love with drinking the pure stuff… My preferred choice of beverage always was, and still is, water. But how much of it should I be drinking?

I think most people have heard the old adage about drinking 8 cups of water a day to stay hydrated. But that turns out to be a bit of a fable… It is based on a study conducted in 1945 by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board, who found that drinking 2.5 litres of water per day was sufficient to hydrate the human body. HOWEVER, this study stated that this fluid comes from both drinks and food. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been able to accurately calculate the amount of fluid in any meal that I’ve eaten!!

Taking that 8 cups of water as a baseline, there are still certain factors that cause this quantity to be revised for any given individual. These factors include:

Table 1: A Selection of Research Findings to Illustrate How Optimum Water Consumption Varies with a Range of Individual Factors

Variable	Exemplar Research Findings
Gender	The average woman requires 2.7 litres of water per day, whilst the average man requires 3.7 litres. [1]
Age	Elderly people who drink 8 glasses of fluid per day may actually be overhydrated. [2]
Socioeconomic Status	Water intake is lower in lower-income adults and those with lower education. [3]
Environment	Hot climates, such as those found in desert environments, cause increased fluid loss due to sweating. [4]
Exercise	Strenuous exercise can cause sweat rates up to 2-3 litres per hour. [5]
Medical Conditions	Excess hydration should be avoided for people with cardiovascular disorders, pronounced chronic renal failure and endocrinopathies, amongst other medical disorders. [6]

So I think that this shows how most, if not all, people are likely to not need the ‘standard’ amount of recommended water intake! So how can I, or anyone else, work out how much their particular body, with its own particular nuances, needs to stay healthy? Thankfully, our bodies have their own built-in alert system…

The Human Body’s ‘Hydration Alert System’… Thirst And Urination!

Our bodies have all the expertise they already need, just packed away inside them. All we have to do is listen and pay attention!

So, hydration… The first and obvious sign of lacking sufficient water is that you will become thirsty. This is your cue to drink. So do so! Unfortunately, in today’s world, the thirst system in the human body can go offline. If you have ignored your body’s cries for water a few too many (thousand!) times, then your body is likely to save its cries for the most extreme times, when hydration is a must. Therefore, if this might be the case for you, check your urine… What colour is it?

If your urine is anything darker than a light summer lemonade, then you are dehydrated (or, if very dark, you could have another medical issue going on and you should go to your doctor pronto!). Each time you urinate, check the colour. In an ideal world, you would check your colour by taking a sample in a suitable collecting container that only has the urine sample in it. However, as most of us probably go to the toilet in the, yep, toilet(!) with the water already in the toilet bowl, we’ll just have to use that as a best guess effort. But, bear in mind, if the urine in the toilet bowl is darker than it should be, then you are definitely dehydrated and need to take action soonest.

Generally, if you have a pale straw-like colour of urine, drink frequently and rarely feel thirsty, then you’re on the right track. I, on the other hand, know that I have some work to do on this! Now where did I leave my water bottle…??

Improving Water Intake

In trying to improve water intake, there are a couple of things that have worked for me. First of all, I have found an app called ‘My Water Balance-Intake Drink’ by Viktor Sharov. It has a nice reminder feature that gently nags (reminds?!) me through the day to take another sip. I like that it shows me what percentage of my water has been drunk whenever I input a drink so that I feel that I’m making progress each day.

I also have a gentle reminder about water consumption every time I visit the ladies’ room! If my urine isn’t clear in the toilet bowl, it automatically reminds me to go and get another drink.

The other thing that has really helped me is creating habits around fluid intake. First thing in the morning, I go downstairs to get a litre bottle of water. That comes with me into my meditation space and I sip on it during that first hour of my day that I devote to my spiritual practices. Having already had 1 litre by the time I finish that hour, I already feel confident about completely my water intake for the day. I also have the habit to sit down with a glass of water with every meal. I understand that drinking water half an hour before a meal helps with digestion and not overeating but that habit’s never stuck with me so I go for the ‘glass with a meal’ approach instead – it’s better than not having any!

How do you track your fluids? What do you do to encourage yourself to hydrate more? I’d love to hear and learn from your ideas too!

References:

1. Food and Nutrition Board. (2004) Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

2. Picetti, D., et al. (2017). Hydration health literacy in the elderly. Nutrition and Healthy Aging, 4(3), 227-237. [Link]

3. Rosinger, A. Y., et al. (2018). Disparities in plain, tap and bottled water consumption among US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2014. Public Health Nutrition, 21(8), 1455-1464. [Link]

4. Sawka, M. N., et al. (1998). Hydration Effects on Temperature Regulation. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 19, S108 – S110. [Link]

5. Shirreffs, S. M. (2009). Hydration in sport and exercise: water, sports drinks and other drinks. Nutrition Bulletin, 34(4), 374-379. [Link]

6. Manz, F. (2007). Hydration and Disease. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 26(5), 535S-541S. [Link]

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The Neuroscience of Diabetes

Showing How Neuroscience Highlights The Fundamental Connection Between Emotions and Physical Health

Summary: Candace Pert’s ‘Molecules of Emotion’ profoundly shifted the author’s perspective on Type 1 Diabetes, revealing its mental and physical connections through neuropeptides. Pert’s research on peptides bridging emotions and bodily functions challenges conventional views, suggesting holistic treatment integrating mental health and physical care is crucial for natural healing.

Candace Pert’s book ‘Molecules of Emotion’ [1] has revolutionised my understanding of my Type 1 Diabetes. I first read this book whilst I was at university (as a mature student!!) and was blown away by the concepts in it. This book truly inspired me to start thinking that healing Type 1 Diabetes is possible.

Who Was Candace Pert?

Candace Pert was an American neuroscientist who was most famous for having discovered the opiate receptor in the brain. This receptor is the place where endorphin – a type of neuropeptide responsible for feelings of euphoria, pain cessation and analgesia, amongst others – binds in the human body in order to become effective. Through her discovery in the 1970s, the field of neuroscience was transformed. Until then, it was assumed that peptides and their receptors were only found in the body – in the bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid. For many years, Candace Pert held highly esteemed research positions with the National Institute of Health. Here, she further explored and developed the scientific knowledge of the peptide system and how emotions work in the human brain and body.

The Psychosomatic Network

Candace Pert’s research focused on a particular kind of molecule in the body called ‘peptides’. Peptides are small molecules that are made up of a string of amino acids.

Peptides were originally thought to exist only in the body and were responsible for communicating messages from one part of the body to another, potentially far-reaching, part. However, Pert and her team have identified that these molecules in fact exist in both the brain and body and can even be produced in the brain itself [1].

Indeed, this is the case for insulin. Insulin, as I discussed in my article here, was originally thought of as a hormone that was produced solely in the pancreas and solely for use in the digestive system to break down food into glucose to be used or stored. However, insulin and insulin receptors have now also been found in the brain, although the source of the insulin (whether from the brain or the body) remains unclear [2, 3].

The idea of the brain running on neurons and the body running on peptides is now defunct. In its place, Pert and colleagues [4] outlined the concept of a psychosomatic network, which is powered by peptides. In this network, peptides are the messengers that take information from one part of the body to another, where they are received onto receptors on cells that adapt their output in response to the information received.

Emotions In The Psychosomatic Network

Pert has conducted a large amount of research on the role of neuropeptides in the brain, particularly in the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for attachment, affect regulation and aspects of emotional processing.

Two of the main components of the limbic system are the amygdala and the hypothalamus. These two brain regions have been found to have neuropeptide receptors that exist in a density forty times higher than that in other areas of the brain [5].

Pert [6] therefore hypothesises that neuropeptides are the ‘obvious candidates for the biochemical mediation of emotion’. She further suggests that, since these neuropeptides are found distributed throughout the body and in all of the major organs, body and emotions are highly interlinked via these neuropeptides. Pert [1] therefore believed that the mind and body could not be understood as distinct entities but were, instead, part of one system that she named the ‘bodymind’.

Emotions Influencing The Immune System

What is particularly interesting for me is when Pert [5] discusses how she can no longer differentiate between not only the mind (emotions) and the body, but also between this combined psychosomatic (brain/body) network and the immune system. Neuropeptides have been found to penetrate the immune system, as much as the endocrine and nervous systems, existing in mutual close physical and communicative contact [7].

Specifically, emotion-affecting neuropeptides, like insulin, have been found to directly control the routing and migration of monocytes, which are pivotal in the immune system. One of the roles of monocytes is to communicate with beta cells, which are responsible for making insulin in the pancreas.

Indeed, Pert [1] discusses how the cells of the immune system also possess receptors for neuropeptides and also make the neuropeptides themselves. In other words, the cells of the immune system are also producing and receiving the chemicals that are responsible for emotion.

Insulin As A Peptide

As I discussed in my post here, insulin has now been re-identified as a neuropeptide [8]. Pert [1] outlines two reasons for this:

Insulin works in the body via the pancreas and this is a location where neuropeptide receptors have been found.
In the brain, insulin has been found to be received by insulin receptors in the limbic system, namely the amygdala and hypothalamus.

Thus, insulin can, like other peptides, now be seen to directly link emotions and the body in a bi-directional relationship.

Peptides Link The Mind And The Body

Neuroscience has proven that the mind and body are not disconnected entities but are, in fact, intrinsically related via the peptide network. This network brings emotions and the body into a direct relationship with each other.

Emotional strain, stress and trauma will have an impact on the body. Similarly, disequilibrium in the body (due to toxicity or illness, for example) will impact the emotions. Peptides are the units that carry this emotional information between the body and the mind. Insulin, being a peptide, therefore carries this emotional information bi-directionally between the body and mind.

Candace Pert in fact hypothesises that each separate emotion could in fact be linked to a particular peptide. Science has yet to prove this but, if it turns out to be true, the search would need to start to find out what emotion insulin is associated with. For example, does insulin production stop (or start) depending on the amount of happiness, sadness, anger or fear a person has? And is there a lack or excess of a particular emotion that causes or contributes to the development of Type 1 Diabetes?

The link between the physical body and the emotions is actually not a new idea. In the 1960s, Solomon & Moos [8] challenged the prevalent Cartesian dichotomy by highlighting how emotional states can significantly alter the course and outcome of biological illnesses previously considered to be purely somatic. However, whilst other autoimmune conditions were considered, diabetes was not under the microscope in that piece of research.

Understanding Type 1 Diabetes Anew

Candace Pert’s [1] neuroscientific work highlights how Type 1 Diabetes can no longer be understood as a purely physical condition. The body and mind are interrelated and therefore diabetes, like every condition that involves peptides, has both physical and mental components. This is really no surprise to the majority of diabetics. I myself know how the amount of insulin (and therefore the amount of glucose in my bloodstream) directly impacts my emotions. When I have high blood sugars, I am often angry. When I have low blood sugars, I can become tearful and feel unlovable.

Candace Pert’s work and my own personal experience strongly suggest to me that, in order to heal Type 1 Diabetes naturally, a combined mental and physical treatment plan must be implemented. Therefore, my approach to healing my Type 1 Diabetes will be multifaceted. Alongside the physical processes that I will be implementing over the next year or so, I also take care of my mental health via psychotherapy. I originally undertook it when I started suffering from anxiety and depression in my teenage years. I am now mainly free of anxiety and depression. However, I now use the therapeutic space to explore ways to heal my Type 1 Diabetes. I will talk about that more in a later post.

References:

Pert, C. B. (1997). Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel. London & Sydney: Simon & Schuster. [LINK]
Brüning, J. C., Gautam, D., Burks, D. J., et al. (2000). Role of brain insulin receptor in control of body weight and reproduction. Science, 289, 2122–2125. [LINK]
Pert, C. B., Ruff, M. R., Weber, R. J., & Herkenham, M. (1985). Neuropeptides and their Receptors: A Psychosomatic Network. Journal of Immunology, 135(2), 820s-826s. [LINK]
Pert, C. B. (2002). The Wisdom of the Receptors: Neuropeptides, the Emotions, and Bodymind. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 18(1), 30-35. [LINK]
Pert, C. B. (1997). Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel. London & Sydney: Simon & Schuster, p. 33. [LINK]
Blalock, J. E., Harbour-McMenamin, D., & Smith, E. M. (1985). Peptide hormones shared by the neuroendocrine and immunologic systems. Journal of Immunology, 135(2), 858-861. [LINK]
Hendricks, S. A., Roth, J., Rishi, S., & Becker, K. L. (1983). Insulin in the Nervous System. In: D. T. Krieger, J. B. Martin, & M. J. Brownstein (Eds.), Brain Peptides. New York: John Wiley & Sons. [LINK]
Solomon, G.F., & Moos, R.H. (1964). Emotions, immunity, and disease: A speculative theoretical integration. Archives of General Psychiatry, 11, 657-674. [LINK]

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Natalie Leader

Get Yourself a Hug!

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Water: How to Hydrate Properly

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The Neuroscience of Diabetes

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