Action is both necessary and good, but they can also involve stressful experiences. When we enter an action, we purposefully put ourselves in a possibly vulnerable position. The emotions can run high in different ways. There is often adrenaline involved with civil disobedience; (a form of) violence or intimidation can be used against you or your comrades. This can have an impact on you.
One of the good practices in supporting each other, is to make use of a Support & Recovery Team during actions, alongside with a Legal Team and medics. The team is trained for S&R, experienced in offering it and also experienced as activists themselves. The task of a S&R team is to support activists who experience strong emotional or mental reactions after high-stress events such as police violence or repression. Sometimes you notice the impact right away, sometimes not until you’re back from the action environment.
Part of the S&R team offers a walk in at NieuwLand to get to get informed when going in to action, recovery when returning from action or just to get to know us.
Every third Tuesday of the month at Nieuwland, Amsterdam. Door is open from 7pm.
Questions? Please email to s-r(at)riseup.net