Since the start of this year, Minneapolis has endured an onslaught of ICE-led immigrant detainments, protestor arrests and violent street clashes that no community should have to endure. By invading schools, daycares, homes and workplaces — and threatening immigrants both documented and undocumented — ICE has ratcheted up fear and ire across the community.
Minneapolis residents have shown up in remarkable — and inspiring — numbers to protect and support their vulnerable neighbors. By doing so, Minneapolis is modeling community allyship to counter state-sponsored aggression towards immigrants.
But, of course, they …
Since the start of this year, Minneapolis has endured an onslaught of ICE-led immigrant detainments, protestor arrests and violent street clashes that no community should have to endure. By invading schools, daycares, homes and workplaces — and threatening immigrants both documented and undocumented — ICE has ratcheted up fear and ire across the community.
Minneapolis residents have shown up in remarkable — and inspiring — numbers to protect and support their vulnerable neighbors. By doing so, Minneapolis is modeling community allyship to counter state-sponsored aggression towards immigrants.
But, of course, they are not alone.
Since President Trump’s inauguration last January, record numbers of protests have been happening in the streets across the United States — in urban centers like Los Angeles to small towns like Lawrence, Kansas. From 2017 to 2025, there was a 133% increase in political protests, marking a massive uptick since Trump’s first term in office.
Americans are chronically stressed right now.
Despite ICE’s invasive tactics, the collective response is heartening. Perhaps it will mark a shift towards the long-overdue repair work of our politically fractured nation.
A hopeful by-product arising out of these gatherings is the surge of cooperative energy felt collectively, as well as individually. For those who are fortunate not to be under high duress, here are some of the mental health benefits from political protest they might be experiencing:
1. Social Connection
Supportive social connection is an effective way to comfort a hyper or hypo-aroused nervous system, reducing cortisol levels and increasing oxytocin (the bonding hormone). Moreover, through a process called co-regulation, calm nervous systems help to stabilize other nearby nervous systems, lowering heart rate, and even inflammation. Social connection can be a buffer in crisis situations, such as the standoffs with ICE over the past year.
Studies ranging from LGBTQ+ to Black Lives Matter activism show that it is correlated with both a sense of community belonging as well as a decrease in internalized discrimination. Both outcomes are powerful protective factors against depression and anxiety.
More and more, in communities engaged in active political resistance, Americans are tapping into a feel-good state that comes out of mass assembly — countering a concerning trend in increased stress and loneliness. Collective effervescence, coined by French sociologist Emile Durkheim, describes a transformational state of excitement that occurs within a group united in purpose or action. Of course, this is more readily experienced when there is community safety versus a heightened state of tension and violence.
2. Stress Reduction
At protests, chanting, cheering, marching, and music are frequently present. People are often emotionally moved through the sensations sound creates: the staccato pulse of drum beats, the pleasure of vocal harmony, a lone instrument piercing the din, a timed whistle, leaders chanting slogans, bodies moving in synchrony to a call-and-response. The sounds alone can fortify solidarity and confidence.
Research shows that aural chanting fires up regions of the brain associated with stress reduction and social connection through synchronized brain wave activity. Similarly, music has benefits that improve mood and stimulate attention and cognitive function, fostering neuroplasticity.
Of course, another stress-reducing aspect of protests is that they usually occur outside, in fresh air, in all types of weather, whether urban or rural landscapes. A recent study found that greater exposure to urban nature provided substantial mental health benefits, such as lowering depression and anxiety. Spending time in nature has countless positive benefits, wherever you live in the world.
3. Meaning and Purpose
We are in the midst of what philosopher Jonathan Rowson calls the "metacrisis" — a crisis of meaning related to a modern state of disconnect from the world around us. People are starved for connection in a way that they don’t always appreciate. The digital world, false realities and relationships through AI, and consumerist ethics are a source of grief, loneliness and discontent. The power of people, presence, and a sense of embodiment and interbeing in the world is like a salve breathing life (and meaning and purpose) back into people.
Martin Luther King Jr. called music "the soul of the movement" and understood that singing offered people a shared sense of hope, courage and unity – and thus held great power. To engage in political protest is to forge deep connections with others and establish deep roots wherever you are.
From Minneapolis to Chicago to Atlanta to New York City, in the U.S. today, political protest, solidarity and noise-making are not only addressing societal issues — they’re helping people to feel more connected, hopeful, and resilient.