Journalists and Mental Health

May 5, 2023

Dee was always on edge. She detested calls from her husband while she was at work. Any phone calls or text messages from her family irritated her. She would lash out at them, claiming they were disturbing her. The truth is, each time she saw a call, she feared something terrible had happened. Her anxiety and fear drove her to snap at those closest to her.

As she shared her challenges with other journalists in group therapy, it soon became apparent that hers was not an isolated experience. And her vulnerability opened the floodgates of stories that until then had been (not so) safely locked up under the calm demeanour observed in most news reporters. Narratives of insomnia, constant panic, and helplessness soon came pouring out.

These experiences are a snippet of journalists’ unspoken mental struggles. But unfortunately, in the face of all the conflicts and adverse events happening in Nigeria, especially in the recent past, mental health among journalists is grossly overlooked.

Secondary Trauma

Journalists are among the first responders in accident and conflict scenes and are constantly on the receiving end of heart-wrenching stories. They witness the worst tragedies before passing the information to the masses. As a result, and due to this prolonged exposure, many journalists unknowingly suffer from secondary trauma – a kind of emotional distress experienced when someone is exposed to people who have been traumatized or to raw descriptions of disturbing events.

The symptoms of secondary trauma are not easy to spot. And even when identified, we quickly dismiss them as just the person being temperamental or moody. For example, in the case of Dee, her imbalanced mental state presenting as mood swings, irritability, lashing out, and sadness – may be chalked up to arrogance or rudeness.

While most people can tolerate short-term stress, prolonged stress or exposure to stressful events leads to burnout and dangling on the verge of mental breakdown. And the stigma attached to mental health struggles deems the topic difficult to address freely.

Mental Health Stigma, the Role of Trained and Mindful Journalists

Many people still view mental illness as a religious or superstitious matter culturally. As a result, it’s not uncommon to hear discussions about “spiritual attacks” or “witchcraft” when talking about mental health. However, without exposure to mental well-being approaches, many people have not looked beyond religious and ethnic rituals.

Until recently, Mental Health Act, formerly referred to as the Lunacy Act, did not help to demystify the issue. The derogatory undertone implied in the name- did nothing to soften the blow of the stigma attached to mental health. Instead, it sought to punish mentally ill people by granting authority to doctors and magistrates to detain mentally ill people.

However, in January 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari finally enacted the Mental Health Bill after several failed attempts to overhaul the previous one – last revised in 1958. Signing the bill into law is a significant first step into caring for and protecting the rights of those struggling with mental health.

That said, the media will be pivotal in normalizing mental health among the Nigerian population. But first, journalists need to be mentally healthy and fully conscious of how their state of mind influences the collective mood, attitudes, temperaments and even the personality traits of the people. Their role as the link between information and the population is influential.

Journalists undergo extensive professional training, such as effective communication, interviewing techniques, accurate reporting, and timely storytelling. However, they often receive minimal or no coaching in mental health, self-awareness, or emotional regulation. Their college or university curriculum may briefly touch on psychology, but it only scratches the surface of what they will encounter in the real world. Unfortunately, the coursework for journalism training fails to provide them with the crucial psychological tools necessary to stay grounded when faced with harrowing events.

This lack of primary mental health awareness and resources, coupled with stressful events, strict deadlines and the high expectations placed on them to deliver accurate and timely news, leaves them with no options but to grapple in the dark to cope.

And how do journalists cope? 

Many journalists “soldier on,” believing their job has toughened them. However, this toughness does not translate to strength. Authentic resilience results not from numbness to pain but from feeling and knowing how to handle mental or physical pain.

Ummi Bukar, a filmmaker and storyteller, knows this well. A former journalist and the Executive Director of PAGED Initiative, a non-profit that works with the media, reporting on gender issues in conflict areas, she understands how emotionally draining listening to painful stories can be.

“When I was interviewing one of the girls abducted by Boko Haram – Boko Haram brides as the community call them – the details were so gruesome we had to take breaks between filming. Yet, I had to remain strong as she told her story. Even so, we could not air parts of the story due to their disturbing nature”, says Ummi.

Through experience, Ummi has learnt to intuitively tell when exposure to painful narrations of victims of abuse or conflict is no longer helpful to her, the interviewee and the people meant to consume the information.

But unlike Ummi, not all journalists have the insight to take breaks in between extreme events. And to be fair, some don’t have the option to stop and ground themselves – as in the case of live reporting and a looming deadline. As a result, many journalists absorb negativity and even start to expect it.

Healthy ways to cope, breaking the silence.

Group therapy for journalists would be a great starting point. The irony of working as a journalist is constantly working with people, listening to their stories, yet feeling isolated and cut off. But the challenges start to feel less personal when journalists speak up, come together to share their experiences, and listen to one another in a safe space. Knowing their struggles are not due to a deliberate failure on their part is enough validation to help journalists pay attention to their mental health.

If all 50 media houses in Nigeria recognized and prioritized the pressing issue of mental health among journalists, the result would be a significant shift towards mindful journalism, ultimately fostering a more composed and thoughtful nation.