{"id":100640,"date":"2020-04-21T10:41:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T14:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=100640"},"modified":"2020-04-21T10:41:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T14:41:37","slug":"kidspeace-virtual-hug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=100640","title":{"rendered":"KidsPeace Virtual Hug"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cIt\u2019s not fair \u2026 just when we really could use a hug the most, we can\u2019t get one!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

That comment from a young girl in KidsPeace\u2019s residential treatment program resonated with KidsPeace Vice President Ann McCauley. \u201cI realized that it\u2019s a sentiment shared not just by the youth in our programs, but among all of us enduring social distancing and separation from loved ones right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

So she asked her therapeutic colleagues a question:\u00a0 <\/span>Could KidsPeace develop a way for people to show the support and affection symbolized by the simple act of hugging, even when the recipient is separated or socially distant as a result of the coronavirus crisis?<\/i><\/p>\n

The answer:\u00a0 <\/span>Sure. In fact, we already did.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cHugs aren\u2019t just nice ways to show we care.\u00a0 <\/span>In the therapeutic environment, a hug actually has a positive effect on both the physical and mental state of the youth we seek to help,\u201d explains Jodi Whitcomb, director of organizational development and training at KidsPeace. \u201cSometimes, though, the issues a particular child is facing means we can\u2019t give them an actual hug \u2013 even when we know they need the support of one right then.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, she said, KidsPeace therapists several years ago worked out a three-step action that allows both parties to experience the benefits of the action while separated:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Giving a \u201cself-hug\u201d by crossing your arms and grasping your upper arms<\/i>: \u201cThis gives each person the physical sensation of hugging someone, which is shown to have a positive impact on your body chemistry.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Taking a deep breath, and slowly letting it out on the exhale, then repeat:<\/i> \u201cThe calming effect of a hug comes mostly from a slowing of the heart rate, and the deep breath in and out achieves the same purpose.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Telling the individual something positive, such as something about them that you like or admire:<\/i> \u201cObviously there\u2019s so much negative and upsetting information surrounding us right now, so the positive statement about the other person adds a counter-balance to all that. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    -AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-<\/code><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    -AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-END-<\/code><\/p>\n

    And, she added, KidsPeace\u2019s \u201cVirtual Hug\u201d can be used by anyone who wants to show support for those they can\u2019t be with at this anxious time of isolation.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Information Provided By:
    \nRobert Martin
    \nDirector of Communications<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    -AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-<\/code>
    \n

    <\/a><\/div>\n <\/p>\n
    <\/a><\/div>\n-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-END-<\/code><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"… Click here to read more... <\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/virtual-hug.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/100642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}