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.