Dr. Virginia Satir, in a lecture given to over 4,000 members of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, said, "Four hugs a day will help you survive the blues--but a dozen is better!" She went on to say that four hugs are needed for "survival," eight for "good maintenance," and twelve for "growth."

In her book Touch Therapy, Helen Colton writes: "Nothing binds up psychic wounds like the bandage of a hug--a warm clasp around a hurting human being. When I am unusually irritable, flaring up over incidents I would normally take in my stride, snapping in an edgy voice on the telephone, feeling close to tears, I ask myself, 'What's wrong? Why are you behaving this way?' And I become aware that I need a 'fix.' I haven't been held close for a while."