Emotional Costs and Rewards of a Decade of Activism: The Well-Being of Lebanese Women Activists and Social Movement Leaders (2015- 2025)

Joanna Azar, PhD. Department of Psychology and Social Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon. Dr. Grace Azar, PhD. Lebanon has a dynamic civil society, and civic organizations demonstrate against the government, while also frequently taking over the role of the state's welfare establishment (Kiwan, 2017). The period from 2015 to 2025 witnessed several social movements, protests, and demonstrations in Lebanon aimed at achieving social change. However, extensive social change necessitates rigorous work. When such efforts do not achieve concrete effects, activism may cause burnout, a psychological mechanism that impacts emotional health, leading to decreased motivation (Gorski and Chen, 2015). Formerly committed activists responded to the 17th October 2019 Revolution's rising uncertainty by adapting, disengaging, and abstaining (Grimm, 2025). Protests had already reduced significantly during the winter of 2020, and they never recovered (Grimm, 2025). Some activists were unable to cope with the circumstance, get themselves to react, or respond to the crisis with a decision, a pathological state that Chamas has referred to as 'a sense of existential stuckedness' (Chamas, 2021, p. 539). This study analyses the mental health of Lebanese Women activists and social movement leaders involved in protests and social movements such as You Stink movement (2015-2016), Beirut Madinati (2016-2018), October 17th revolution (2019-2020), post-Beirut blast mobilization (2020), and ongoing feminist and gender justice movements, LGBTQ+ rights movement, environmental activism, anti-sectarian movements. The study aims to explore the psychological and emotional obstacles faced by Lebanese Women activists in Lebanon, uncover their coping methods and support structures for managing burnout and maintaining participation. References Gorski P. C., Chen C. (2015). “Frayed all over”: The causes and consequences of activist burnout among social justice education activists. Educational Studies, 51(5), 385–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2015.1075989 Kiwan, D. (2017). Emotive acts of citizenship, social change and knowledge production in Lebanon. Interface: A Journal for and About Social Movements, 9(2), 114–142. Geha, C. (2024). Activists Escaping Lebanon: Disruption, Burnout, and Disengagement. Migrations in the Mediterranean, 153. Annis Julien Grimm (28 Jan 2025): Revolutionary burnout: Subjective crisis responses and the demobilization of mass protest in Lebanon, Mediterranean Politics, DOI: 10.1080/13629395.2025.2459553.