Social media digest

Tree therapy

Science has found long ago that hugs with people or our pets can significantly reduce stress and loneliness by boosting the oxytocin levels in our bodies. And, in fact, hugging trees also works the same and is now becoming a new craze among Chinese young people.

A young woman in Shanghai going by the name "Qishishiqi" on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu first posted a picture in April of her hugging a tree by the street late at night. "When I was hugging the tree, I felt like it was the tree that was hugging me," she explained in a video in June. "Nature has the power to empower you."

At present, tree-hugging — together with city walking and walking dogs for other people — have become the latest ways for youngsters to heal themselves.

But Qishishiqi wouldn't call it "healing "even though she shared her experience of how her tinnitus — a symptom she got from stress at work — magically disappeared after hugging a tree. She said that it probably had more to do with her subconscious than any healing powers from the tree. She reminded people that they should seek professional medical help if troubled by mental issues.