It's that time of year when college and grad students alike return to campus to face the daunting challenges and expectations in everything from academics to socializing to dealing with roommate nightmares. If you are stressed, overwhelmed, teetering with high levels of anxiety or on the verge of a panic attack, I'm here to help. Hugs are proven to boost self-esteem, reduce stress, ease depression, and even boost immunity. This is largely down to the cascade of hormones released when we're touched, such as oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.

Sometimes, simply being held with the confident assurance of loving arms can be more therapeutic than anything in a pill bottle, rolling paper or can. I'm not offering anything else. No bait and switch sex, no reciprocation. If you just need to get away from it all, for a little oasis of radiant healing and a sense of paternal protection, send me a message.

About me: I moved to the Worcester area about a year ago and am a researcher in linguistics and philology. I'm 43, DWM, 5'9", black hair with a little salt and pepper, Mediterranean complexion, deep brown eyes and an "ever smiling face" as a colleague said this week. lolol. I've been described as a calming presence. I love to read and speak 4 languages -- I can read a couple more. Before Worcester, I spent a decade living in Vermont while teaching at Dartmouth. I'm working on my second PhD at one of Worcester's fine universities, this time in patterns of the development of languages after Latin and before the divergence of Spanish, Portuguese and Galician.

I mention Vermont because, back then, I was in a workshop on hugging therapy or cuddle therapy as it's now known. I enjoyed it so much that I went on to run workshops myself in NH and Maine. If you want to explore it, let me know. Ask me anything.