A woman has emotionally described how "overwhelmed" she was by the positive response she received after posting online that she needed a hug.
Carrie took to Reddit recently after feeling "very low" due to the lack of human contact during the pandemic.
She told users she was desperate for a hug - saying she'd pay somebody to meet her and give her a "decent hug".
While many might expect such a request to be met with a negative request online, Carrie instead received a huge amount of positive and warm responses to her request.
On Lunchtime Live, Carrie said the post received a lot more attention than I was expecting.
She explained: “I put up a post on a subreddit for Ireland. I basically said I was desperate for a hug, and I would pay somebody to meet me and give me a decent hug. It got a lot more attention than I was expecting.
“I haven’t really had many hugs this year, given what’s going on. I was at a very low point in my mental health, and felt I needed the comfort of a human being to hold on to me and tell me I’m OK.
“I included a couple of rules just for safety’s sake… but I needed people to understand I was serious.”
Her simple rules included that the hug would be 'fully decent' - “standing up and fully-clothed” - and that she’d tell neighbours about what was happening.
The response was overwhelming.
Carrie explained: "I received hundreds of responses of people offering virtual hugs, and from people who said they felt the same way. I got messages of people saying ‘I’m not nearby but I’ll be a listening ear’... I had people from India, New Zealand, Brazil and all over Europe messaging me.
“I lost count of the number of serious offers to come hug me. I had someone from Belfast offer to take the trip down.
“[It shows] there are a lot of people who need and understand the human touch that some of us are starved for. The fact that the replies were so wholesome… that also brightened people’s days and lives.”
Carrie estimates ‘just 1%’ of the responses were from trolls - a negligible amount compared to the sheer volume of overwhelmingly positive responses.
In the end, Carrie did get her hug (two, in fact) - making sure to vet the 'hugger' beforehand.
She said: “I felt safe with the knowledge I had about that person. We met the next day on a street corner, and I got actually two hugs from the same person - who gave them to me for free.
“They were exactly what I had been looking for - comforting and warm.”
Carrie said her experience shows how important it is for people to look for help when they're feeling low.
She observed: “I know there are so many resources out there for help with mental issues… at the point I was at, I just felt talking wasn’t enough for me.
“Asking for help is the most important thing a person can do. If they ask for help… keep asking until they get that help. There are so many people out there willing and caring enough [to help].”
