Erin Smith (CEO, Dart Centre Asia Pacific) and Trina McLellan (Board Chair, Dart Centre Asia Pacific)

There are a many ways journalists are exposed to trauma.

In the field, they bear witness to disaster and tragedy, or hear the stories from those most closely affected. In newsrooms, they process, edit or produce coverage. In their personal lives they are not immune.

In most cases, the impact of trauma exposure will diminish over time. For some, symptoms may persist. For others, the effects of repeated exposure can be cumulative, much like a cup filling up.

Research over recent decades shows that, eventually, our capacity to handle repeated exposure to traumatic incidents may lessen, seeing that “cup” overflow.

By then, psychological, emotional, relationship, physical and moral harm may have occurred, yet not necessarily be connected to traumatic exposure.

Where there is a lack of control, safety, or trust, researchers have proved the effects of exposure to trauma can be exacerbated.

Journalism is a pressured environment: endless deadlines; full and frank feedback from inside and outside newsrooms; ratings and readership targets; growing expectations from managers and audiences; expectations to master new technologies, and much more.

Journalists deal with sharp, even brutal, criticism and harassment via social media, and in recent years they also managed the social, professional, and personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite all that, trauma response symptoms are not always immediately evident to an individual, let alone to others.

Signs may appear immediately after exposure, or become evident after days, weeks, months, or years.

Being aware of the impact of trauma can help journalists prepare and protect themselves from the potentially harmful effects and seek help early.

So, how does exposure to trauma affect journalists?

After exposure, common emotional reactions include shock, confusion, disbelief, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, irritability, sadness, or anger.

Physical reactions can include trouble sleeping, nightmares, sweating, panic attacks, headaches, nausea, and chest pain.

Symptoms may begin – or, if pre-existing, worsen– after being exposed to trauma.

There could be other, not-so-obvious symptoms: emotional numbness, depression, intrusive memories, flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of the events, and dissociative episodes (where your mind takes you somewhere else to avoid the pain and anguish of the present).

Behavioural changes, however, often prove the most personally and professionally disruptive: withdrawing or avoiding usual events, strained personal and work relationships, loss of interest in routine activities, substance abuse, an abnormally intense focus on work at the exclusion of other areas of life, feeling distant or cut off from others.

All these are perfectly normal, human responses to trauma exposure. It’s when symptoms persist that they can do harm in the absence of adequate support.

Newsrooms that embrace a system of trauma awareness along with trained peer supporters can ensure that traumatised individuals have somewhere familiar to go if they need it.

Trained peer supporters – who respect colleagues’ privacy unless someone’s life is under threat – can simply be a listening ear. Or they can help affected peers seek professional support, if required, either via a confidential Employment Assistance Program (EAP) or a psychologist or counsellor.

How did we come to understand the impact of trauma on individuals?

At the beginning of last century, soldiers affected by trauma were said to be “weak” and “unsuitable for duty”, suffering “war neurosis”. During World War II, those showing signs of being so affected were said to be suffering “shell-shock”.

By the Vietnam War, psychiatrists and psychologists were formulating the basis for how we now understand the impacts of trauma exposure.

In the 1970s, cases of what became Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were being reviewed and, in 1980, formal diagnostic criteria were made available for practitioners to use with combat veterans.

During the 1980s, a member of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) panel that first described PTSD, Dr Frank Ochberg, was among mental health experts who realised that trauma not only left its mark on defence personnel, but also on civilian victims and survivors of rape, torture, natural disasters and other forms of violence.

In the 1990’s, the realisation that journalists could be affected by trauma exposure began to be researched and confirmed.

Today, PTSD remains one of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s recognised psychiatric disorders arising from exposure to death, the threat of death or the likelihood of serious personal harm, either to one’s person or to another individual.

Such a diagnosis requires traumatic stress symptoms to be present for more than a month.

Research now suggests that between 80 and 100% of journalists have been exposed to a work-related traumatic event.

Work-related trauma may be experienced by direct exposure, or indirectly via frequent, repeated, and prolonged exposure to violent graphics and/or video footage, including user generated content.

Despite repeated exposure to work-related traumatic events, most journalists exhibit resilience. This is evidenced by relatively low rates of PTSD and other psychiatric disorders, despite high trauma exposure.

A significant minority, however, are at risk for long-term psychological problems, including PTSD.

More notably, journalists may experience a strong reaction or set of reactions to covering harrowing events such as war, disasters, and other human suffering. This is not necessarily a problem, but simply a signal of the emotional challenges of news gathering, and a signal to practice self-care.

The Dart Centre Asia Pacific helps journalists and news organisations understand and manage traumatic stress. For more information, contact DCAP’s CEO at erin.smith@dartaspac.org