How a hug can help ease anxiety

They say a hug is worth more than a thousand words. Hugs don't only make you feel good, but researchers have found that hugging has shown to actually help individuals heal.

"Isn't connection a great thing?" Debbie Augenthaler, a psychotherapist in New York City. "How good does it feel to receive a really good hug and how good does it feel to hug back?"

Augenthaler said one particular hug can help when one is feeling anxious or stressed. It is called the butterfly hug.

"It's since become a very common technique that therapists use to teach people how to self-soothe when they are feeling really anxious," Augenthaler said.

The butterfly hug was created in 1998 by therapists who worked with children in the aftermath a natural disaster in Mexico City.

"They call it a hug because, I think, the connotation of connection," Augenthaler said. "It is like holding yourself close."

The benefit? It calms your nervous system. It only takes two minutes. Augenthaler said you will start to feel your heart rate and breathing slow down.

No doubt a hug makes everything better. It can put you in a better mood even when hugging a complete stranger.