According to a study by Malte Klar and Tim Kasser, politically active young adults report being "happier" than those that don't engage in political events.

BPS Research Digest summarizes:

Klar and Kasser recruited hundreds of college students and found that those who identified themselves as activists and who said they were planning some activism were happier and more fulfilled than non-activists. A second study made a similar finding with a sample of activists recruited through the website www.campusactivism.org compared with a control group of non-activists matched for gender and education. An exception to this general pattern was that extreme activism, such as that likely to lead to arrest, was not associated with more happiness.

Too often political engagement is framed as a responsibility, a duty, or a privilege. I was crudely reminded throughout middle school that many people didn't enjoy the rights I took for granted. Alice Walker once said, "Activism is my rent for living on this planet." Although the study is tentative, I'd agree that people tend to feel happy/productive rather than solemn/productive when returning from a phone bank. Politics should be more about geeking out and less about self-important gravitas.