Protesting may be good for your health
seasonal greeter | 24.12.2002 12:23
A new British study suggests that taking part in protests and demonstrations can be good for your physical and mental health.
This was on A-Infos:
Protesting May Be Good for Your Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
- Taking part in protests and demonstrations can be
good for your physical and mental health, a new British study suggests.
Psychologists at the University of Sussex
found that people who get involved in
campaigns, strikes and political demonstrations
experience an improvement in psychological
well-being that can help them overcome stress,
pain, anxiety and depression.
The finding fits in with other studies
suggesting that positive experiences
and feeling part of a group can have
beneficial effects on health.
"Collective actions, such as
protests, strikes, occupations and
demonstrations, are less common in the
UK than they were perhaps 20 years
ago," researcher Dr. John Drury said
in a statement.
"The take-home message from this research
therefore might be that people
should get more involved in campaigns,
struggles and social movements, not
only in the wider interest of social
change but also for their own personal
good."
The results emerged from in-depth
interviews with nearly 40 activists from a
variety of backgrounds. Between them,
they had more than 160 experiences of
collective action involving groups of
demonstrators protesting against a
range of issues. These included fox-
hunting, environmental damage and
industrial matters.
Volunteers were asked to describe what
it was about taking part in such
collective action that made them feel
so good.
"Many published activist accounts refer to
feelings of encouragement and
confidence emerging from experiences of
collective action," said Drury. "But
it is not always clear how and why such
empowerment occurs, so we aimed to
explain what factors within a collective
action event contribute to such
feelings."
He said the interviews revealed that
the key factors were that participants
felt they had a collective identity
with fellow protestors. They also
derived a sense of unity and mutual
support from taking part.
Such was the strength of the feelings
they experienced that the effects
appear to be sustained over a period
of time.
"Empowering events were almost without
exception described as joyous
occasions," said Drury. "Participants
experienced a deep sense of happiness
and even euphoria in being involved
in protest events. Simply recounting the
events in the interview brought a smile
to the face of the interviewees."
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Protesting May Be Good for Your Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
- Taking part in protests and demonstrations can be
good for your physical and mental health, a new British study suggests.
Psychologists at the University of Sussex
found that people who get involved in
campaigns, strikes and political demonstrations
experience an improvement in psychological
well-being that can help them overcome stress,
pain, anxiety and depression.
The finding fits in with other studies
suggesting that positive experiences
and feeling part of a group can have
beneficial effects on health.
"Collective actions, such as
protests, strikes, occupations and
demonstrations, are less common in the
UK than they were perhaps 20 years
ago," researcher Dr. John Drury said
in a statement.
"The take-home message from this research
therefore might be that people
should get more involved in campaigns,
struggles and social movements, not
only in the wider interest of social
change but also for their own personal
good."
The results emerged from in-depth
interviews with nearly 40 activists from a
variety of backgrounds. Between them,
they had more than 160 experiences of
collective action involving groups of
demonstrators protesting against a
range of issues. These included fox-
hunting, environmental damage and
industrial matters.
Volunteers were asked to describe what
it was about taking part in such
collective action that made them feel
so good.
"Many published activist accounts refer to
feelings of encouragement and
confidence emerging from experiences of
collective action," said Drury. "But
it is not always clear how and why such
empowerment occurs, so we aimed to
explain what factors within a collective
action event contribute to such
feelings."
He said the interviews revealed that
the key factors were that participants
felt they had a collective identity
with fellow protestors. They also
derived a sense of unity and mutual
support from taking part.
Such was the strength of the feelings
they experienced that the effects
appear to be sustained over a period
of time.
"Empowering events were almost without
exception described as joyous
occasions," said Drury. "Participants
experienced a deep sense of happiness
and even euphoria in being involved
in protest events. Simply recounting the
events in the interview brought a smile
to the face of the interviewees."
*******
********
****** The A-Infos News Service ******
News about and of interest to anarchists
******
COMMANDS:
lists@ainfos.ca REPLIES:
a-infos-d@ainfos.ca HELP:
a-infos-org@ainfos.ca WWW:
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seasonal greeter
