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Emotions, the Inner Lives of Those Who Work Toward Suffering Relief

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Book cover Alleviating World Suffering

Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 67))

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Abstract

The alleviation of world suffering requires action on the part of individuals. Yet, for these persons, awareness of and attention to suffering combined with a felt sense of connection may function as both assets and liabilities. While these capacities enable the galvanization necessary to incite actions aimed at the relief of suffering, they may come at powerful costs, undermining the well-being of advocates and the efficacy of their labors. Personal and social resources have a part to play in how we manage our experience of emotions and our beliefs about social change. Privately, caregivers, advocates and activists might learn to deliberately recognize and direct their individual capacities for attention, awareness, and connection toward more effective responses. Socially, communities within the advocacy field play an equally imperative role in the emotional experience of its members. Communal norms that construct advocacy as necessarily onerous may fail to acknowledge the limitations of caregivers and advocates, while supportive communities that prioritize connection and celebration may alleviate helping stress. Sustainable social change will require an awareness of the ways in which individual beliefs and behaviors, institutional policies, and cultural norms may hamper the alleviation of suffering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN, 55106, USA

    Caitlin O. Mahoney & Laura M. Harder

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  1. Caitlin O. Mahoney
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  2. Laura M. Harder
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Correspondence to Caitlin O. Mahoney .

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  1. Faculty of Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Ronald E. Anderson

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Mahoney, C.O., Harder, L.M. (2017). Emotions, the Inner Lives of Those Who Work Toward Suffering Relief. In: Anderson, R. (eds) Alleviating World Suffering. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_8

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