Journalists are suffering from psychological distress
The effects of covering the pandemic caused stress and anxiety
This research about Ecuadorian Journalists Mental Health Influence on Changing Job Desire published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health mentions (see cite 43) the article about journalism in mental health I wrote for Cuadernos de Periodistas, the Madrid Press Association (APM) magazine.
The debate
Let’s talk about… distress and anxiety
A survey of National Union of Journalists members found that many journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland have faced higher workloads, stress and anxiety that led more than half of those surveyed to cite mental health concerns. The all-members’ survey revealed many found juggling work and the effects of Covid-19 caused stress and anxiety. They said feelings of isolation, anxiety about losing their job, symptoms of long Covid and higher workloads led to depression and insomnia.
The research
Very few studies distinguish (and none compare) the distress of journalists in their daily work from the distress of reporting major disasters.
Dr. Anthony Feinstein, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a neuropsychiatrist, and Meera Selva, Director of the Journalist Fellowship Programme at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, surveyed 73 journalists from international news organizations in June 2021. Of the group responding, about 70 percent said they were suffering from psychological distress. The study found a significant correlation between psychological distress and the absence of counseling: a little more than half of journalists in the survey said they’d been offered it. More than a quarter of respondents demonstrated symptoms like worry, feeling on edge, insomnia, poor concentration, and fatigue that were “clinically significant” and compatible with the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
A 2019 study on the impact of covering trauma published in the Newspaper Research Journal used a national survey of journalists from 254 daily newspaper in the U.S. plus information collected during in-depth interviews with 24 journalists from 16 states which revealed examples of the emotional drain, painful flashbacks, anxiety, depression, guilt and coping mechanisms employed, including crying and substance use, such as drinking alcohol.
The tools
Mindarma
Mindarma is an online evidence-based training program by senior senior psychologist Dr. Sadhbh Joyce and former journalist Dean Yates, which includes real stories of personal resilience and growth in a podcast series.