Feeling FINE

You would not send a reporter to cover finance if he did not know the difference between the FTSE and NASDAQ, but journalists are sent into hostile environments without knowing anything about dealing with trauma. So says Mark Brayne, a former BBC journalists who now runs the Dart Centre for journalism and trauma in Europe.

Extreme stress affects not only those out in the field, but also people like picture editors exposed to violent images, such as the beheadings in Iraq.

Mark said that dealing with stress made for healthier journalists and healthier journalism, and gave examples of the effects of trauma. These can include depression, loss of sleep, guilt, anxiety, substance abuse, as well as difficulties with relationships and sexual problems.

Mark quoted BBC correspondent Jonathan Charles, who witnessed the full horror of Beslan:

"During more than sixteen years as a BBC foreign correspondent, I’ve covered conflict after conflict, catastrophe after catastrophe. I thought that I’d seen death in all of its possible forms but the ending of the school siege in Beslan, in which hundreds of children and adults died amidst a cacophany of gunfire and explosions, had burned disturbing images in to my mind — images which were proving hard to shake-off."

A colleague might tell you that he felt fine, but this could be an acronym for Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional.

In a worse case scenario, this could lead to Acute/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder A/PTSD. But, said Mark, recovery and even personal growth were likely outcomes.

I have led a very sheltered existence: even when I was working as a journalist, the most hostile environment I ever faced was a parliamentary news conference. But I do know there is a very macho culture in many newsrooms and the feeling that if you can't stand the heat, you should get out of the kitchen.

But thanks to the work of people like Mark, I can also see that things are changing and that news organizations are becoming more sensitive to these problems.