If you clicked onto this article, chances are you aren't a super touchy person. Chances are you live in a world of huggers and have no idea what to do. Well not to brag, but being the anxiety tormented person that I am I've found ways to operate to suit my own needs while almost flawlessly suiting the needs of those around me (huge emphasis on "almost").
Hugging is an expression of affection. No doubt you've heard of the five love languages, if someone wants to hug you it means that they care about you and want to show it. Whether it be in a friendly or romantic way. This is perfectly fine, however the hug has become notorious and has dominated the greeting world. If you're more than acquaintances, it seems you're required to hug someone as a greeting. Some people love this, some people (me and people like me) tend to be a little squirmy when it comes to touching other people. I have many exceptions of people I enjoy sharing a hug with, but for the cases that I don't I've figured out the best thing to do in the situation. There are three options when a hug approaches: 1) accept the hug and feel weird, but save the feelings of the other person (who, remember, cares about you), 2) deny the hug and make the other person feel weird or sad and 3) (the most coveted option) finding a creative way to avoid the hug while also conserving the positive feelings of the other person. WOOO!
I have some tips and tricks for this heavenly third option.
Grab their hands. Less physical touch and you get to do the highly stereotypical jump and squeal that comes with this action. This will trick the other person into thinking that you too are a person who values physical touch. However, they couldn't be more wrong. You have deceived them and avoided a much closer embrace and impossibly complicated and unpredictable arm entanglements.
Say you are sick. This is a classic. They are trying to care about you and you trick them into thinking that you are trying to care about them by preserving their health. When really, you are dodging their heat smudge around your chest and sides. This is less believable if the weather is nice and no one is sick; and if the other person says they don't mind or are also sick, then you'll have to delve in anyway. So be careful.
Run. One might think that I mean run away, but on the contrary, I want you to run toward them. Quickly. Then run past them to catch them off guard. Once you've gone past a couple feet, turn around and smile to let them know this was a gag. They will hopefully laugh and think you're funny. But the biggest goal is that they will be distracted and will have forgotten that they were about to wrap their arms around you for a not discussed or agreed upon length of time.
Do karate. It doesn't matter if you actually know what you're doing, just make it impossible for someone to safely touch you. Do this to everyone all the time as a greeting until it is accepted that if someone wants to greet you they will do karate back at you. You can also replace karate with something else that is physically active and slightly strenuous (maybe ballet, cartwheels or bad dancing).
Remember, the people who are trying to touch you are doing it because they care about you and they're showing it the best way they know how. So even though physical touch isn't your love language, take the time to recognize that they like you. Or you can just not be friends with anyone who likes hugs.
