Most people like hugs. They have been proven to release stress, boost your mood, increase your self-esteem, and generally make you happier and healthier.
Apparently, the optimum number of hugs to have each day is eight, but for those who aren't able to get their eight-a-day in, there are professional cuddlers here to help.
Clarissa Berkman, 49, from Santa Cruz, California, USA, is a self described professional 'cuddlist' who provides her clients with cuddling sessions as a form of therapy. Using cuddling as an antidote to stress, grief or health issues, she charges £75 for a 90 minute-long session that leaves her clients feeling much better than when they started.
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Berkman became a 'cuddlist' after giving up her job as a programme developer that left her unfulfilled and wanting to do more for people.
"I had done all the things one is 'supposed' to do," she said. "But it wasn't me, it was a false representation of me. I was living in reaction to the world around me, instead of from the heart within me. I wasn't deeply connected to my truth, and therefore not to others."
She insists that her work is purely platonic and has hundreds of clients of all ages and walks of life. She has a code of conduct that she requires all of her clients to follow, including being free from drugs or alcohol, acceptable personal hygiene and 'not to pursue or encourage sexual arousal', as well as being able to end a session at any time.
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"There's no wrong way to cuddle - as long as the code of conduct is maintained. Some sessions have lots of talk, some very little. Some have lots of touch and cuddling, and some very little," she explained.
Clarissa tailors each session to an individual's particular needs and begins each one with identifying what her client wants to achieve, and usually begins each session with a guided meditation.
But even she had some doubts when she first started her training. I had to take apart all my lingering beliefs and fears about touch and consent. I mean, getting paid to be physically intimate has some seriously stale cultural attitudes around it, which are really misguided," she said.
Cuddle therapy works by releasing oxytocin - commonly referred to as the 'cuddle hormone' - which leads to a feeling of bliss and offers physical, mental and emotional benefits.
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Clarissa points out: "Every person is worthy. Worthy of love, worthy of connection, worthy of relaxation, worthy of being held and heard, worthy of remembering who they are. To that end, I never let money be a barrier. This is sacred work, and I come to it with the humility it warrants."
Featured Image Credit: Media Drum World