Enough has been said about hugging trees, but many continue to mythologize the contributions that this affectionate gesture could provide, usually directed at other people or at petsand it is that at first it may seem strange or impractical because of how rural it seems, but in reality it can provide several benefits starting from recognizing each tree as another living being that can give us more benefits than we thought.
Many ancient cultures considered trees to be a noble source of natural power directly linked to nature. Druids and Celts are just a few cases of cultures that communed directly with these beings, while in one of the religions with the most followers in Asia, Taoism, trees are recognized as an indispensable part of life, in addition to attributing healing qualities to them .
The Dictionary of the Spanish language recognizes as therapy all “Treatment of a disease or any other dysfunction”so it can be understood that any process that systematically helps to deal with a problem, whether psychological or physical, can be considered a therapy.
In this way, arbotherapy can be seen as the treatment consisting of hugging trees, whose name comes from the Latin (“arbor”, tree) and the Greek (“therapeia”, care, healing), and which seeks to help people through direct contact with trees through hugs.
Alberto Barbieri, in an article for the web portal of the online medium La Vanguardia, confirms that according to the studies of Matthew Silverstone, in his book «Blinded by Science”the benefits of hugging trees are not few, because: “Trees may have beneficial effects on mental illness, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), reaction times, depression or headaches”. Likewise, Silverstone argues in his work about the cognitive benefits that children have in green spaces after having interacted with plants as part of their «Improvements in health and well-being».
Thus, it is clear that seeking relief from some evil by hugging trees is a good and fresh idea to deal with the problem that afflicts us if it lies in some emotional state, such as stress or sadness, since apparently this affectionate gesture or contact with the trunk, influences the person who does it, according to many due to the energies that this other form of life transmits.
The tree therapy is included in what is understood as balneotherapya set of treatments carried out in the open air that seeks to cure and prevent diseases through natural elements such as mud and clean river water, which has been recognized as a therapy since 1927.
Due to all this and much more, the practice of hugging trees as a therapeutic resource is a real help that nature provides within the reach of many people.