certo che protestare fa bene alla salute! specialmente quando, poi, non
farlo è sicuramente dannoso...
byez,
Pat.
______________________
----- Original Message -----
From: iradedeus
To: debate@??? ; fori-sociali ; rekombinant@???
Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 8:00 PM
Subject: [fori-sociali] Fw: [pf] Protesting May Be Good for Your Health
Tom Wheeler wrote:
>
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20021223/hl_nm/protests_d
> emonstrations_dc
> Protesting May Be Good for Your Health
> Mon Dec 23,11:02 AM ET
>
> 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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>
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