Protesting May Be Good for Your Health
by Wage Slave Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002 at 6:31 AM

LONDON (Reuters Health) - 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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