Needing to be squeezed without human contact

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Some people feel comfortable with getting hugs, and some don't. I personally can't have another human being touch me in any way without having a meltdown.

Sometimes I get this strange feeling of needing to be squeezed. But the only thing is that I hate hugs. I've resorted to squeezing my right arm with my left hand and vice versa. But that is not having the same effect as it used to.

Any alternatives rather than getting a hug?
Does anyone else feel the same?

Some info on Temple Grandin's squeeze machine: here.

You can read more about this in her book Thinking in Pictures as well.

I'd quite like to get a squeeze machine too.

Don't know how much they cost though.

I find that wrapping myself up tightly in a heavy duvet helps, or squeezing myself agains the duvet and the wall, or squeezing myself into tight spaces (e.g. behind sofas etc.).

Just an idea.

We made an alternative squeeze machine for our daughter. We put two air mattresses inside a sleeping bag and snaked hoses from an, ah shoot, I lost the word, a motor that pushes air, yes, an air compressor to them with a squeeze bulb (specifically a baby snot bulb with a long neck) as the regulator. Our daughter would crawl into the sleeping bag and hold onto the bulb. As long as she squeezed the bulb air would be pushed into the air mattresses. If she let go the bulb, the air mattresses would deflate instantly. She would hold the bulb until she was bright red in the face. One thing we never found a good solution for was the hideous racket the air compressor made.
When I say we, I mean me and a friend after we went to one of Temple's lectures in Anchorage. We drove back to North Pole problem solving all the way (and what a high that was!) and then told her husband who ran an HVAC business what we wanted. We did the sewing and velcro straps and he did the machinery. That was fifteen years ago. After four or five years of use, she didn't want to use it any more, so we dismantled it and gave away the pieces. I can't recall how the mechanical pieces worked. I'm sorry I can't give you more detail, but maybe you can find an HVAC guy who could make something similar for you.
We had hoped to start a business selling this less costly way to provide pressure for autists, but after we factored in the costs of insurance, shipping from Alaska, etc etc it ended up the same price as Temple's plywood squeeze box (which our daughter tried once and really liked).
We live in another state now, so maybe costs would pencil out, but I am not a businessman. So, if somebody want to make a business making squeeze sacks, you are welcome to do so.

To me, nothing can substitute for a hug.

Tim

I'm guessing I'm in the minority on WP; I totally love hugs. To me, a hug indicates feeling comfortable with someone, and damn it, it feels so good. However, I can only tolerate, as opposed to enjoy, hugs from family members, and to a lesser extend, co-workers. I'm perfectly willing to give a hug to a family member who wants one, but the enjoyment comes mainly from giving the other person something they consider important (is that what empathy is supposed to feel like?). Why? Because I had a bad relationship with my family all my life, and until the age of 16, viewed all adults as my enemies; I don't feel that way anymore. The people I truly enjoy hugging are girls I date, random girls I danced with in a club (some want a quick hug before parting ways), and escorts. Hugging my friends isn't in the equation here, because I'm male, although would have no problem whatsoever with hugging a platonic female friend.

I read on another forum where an Aspie mom plays with her Aspie son by making "people sandwiches" with the couch cushions. Sounds like fun.

There is another thread that describes "Hug Machines", weighted blankets and other pressure therapy devices.
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=39643

i seem to be on the minority on here, as well... and found it quite strange thinking about this topic.
for me, when im really down, being hugged by someone i trust and who told me that they care for how i am probably is the best that could happen to me. however, even tiny things mean a lot to me. recently, a friend wrote me in an email that i shoudlnt think so much about whether she likes or not likes reading about me describing how i feel - that she cares. i was so moved by that... i so need to buy her some chocolate when i see her again. also, being touched only remotely, but in a way that basically is not necessary. like, to get my attention, not only calling me by name but also slightly touching my forearm... i dont know what it is, and it works only with the handpicked inner core of people...

hifive each other really hard