Community connections formed through activism can ease stress

Activism can be a form of self-care, according to a November 7, 2018 Salon article. Research suggests that taking action on an issue you care about can ease stress and help you feel more connected.

The article quotes Ichiro Kawachi, John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Social Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on the phenomenon of “bounded solidarity,” which occurs when communities come together in response to a threat such as a natural disaster. When neighbors help neighbors, Kawachi said, “these social connections are just as important—if not more—than the physical material needs after a natural disaster, such as disaster kits or medical supplies.”

Read the Salon article: Don’t give up the fight: Post-election activism is self-care, too