Managing stress and trauma as journalists��A Bio-Psycho-Social Approach�

Kate Porterfield, Ph.D.

Agreements when talking about trauma

• Learning and sharing space: confidential, respectful
• Recognizing our own and each other’s histories and backgrounds: Taking care of ourselves and each other
• Recognizing privilege, spaces we occupy, lack of understanding
• Open and in good faith

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Let’s learn about stress and trauma…

Stress and trauma are not the same thing�

STRESS

• Normal
• Every day things can cause us stress:
• Financial stress
• Stress with families, colleagues
• Stress with deadlines
• Stress with health
• Positive stressors

TRAUMA

• Overwhelms the person
• Requires a bodily reaction for survival (BIO)
• Can be a life or death situation
• Can be witnessing a trauma also
• Cumulative

JOURNALISM IS A TRAUMA-FACING PROFESSION: HIGH DOSE and HIGH EXPOSURE

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• Direct trauma – personal witness, present at scene
• Vicarious trauma – empathic engagement with traumatized sources & communities
• Secondary trauma – viewing, hearing traumatic material
• Targeted trauma - threats, abuse, harassment
• Stories that interact with our personal history and identity
• Cumulative – career-long, gradual exposure

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�JOURNALISTS ARE RESILIENT!

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• Trauma exposure in journalism higher than in the general population but PTSD rates comparatively low.
• Majority of journalists return to their equilibrium and are fine.
• Craft, ethics and colleagues are all protective factors

Trauma and stress affect human biopsychosocial functioning

BIO PSYCHO SOCIAL

Wired to

survive

Wired to

make meaning

Wired to attach

Traumatic stress overwhelms the organism

• “Normal coping” stops working or doesn’t work as well
• Our nervous system activates to protect us:

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• UPROAR REACTIONS (Sympathetic nervous system)

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• SHUTDOWN REACTIONS (Parasympathetic nervous system)

The human nervous system protects us

Our body protects us

Parasympathetic nervous system

“Rest and digest”

• Lowers consciousness
• Body at rest
• Urination/Defecation
• Salivation
• Crying
• Sexual arousal

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Sympathetic nervous system

“Fight or flight”

• Helps us FOCUS
• Dilates pupil
• Increases heart rate
• Increases lung capacity/fx
• Activates sweat glands
• Dilates and constricts blood vessels
• Inhibits gastrointestinal activity

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What if the trauma is chronic or ongoing?

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Dissociation: The brain’s escape when there is no escape

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• Pain is too much So the brain releases
• Horror is too much anesthetizing chemicals

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These chemicals decrease:

• Pain
• Sensory experiences
• Consciousness

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These survival reflexes can stay with us and return AFTER the trauma

….even years later

Why are memories of bad events hard for a person?��Because the trauma reaction gets attached to the memory

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PTSD –Remembering means reliving�

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Why does talking about a

trauma cause a survivor

such discomfort?

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Fear reaction gets linked to the trauma memory

Then, memories trigger fear

Survivor then tries to avoid memories

Don’t forget that we told you journalists are resilient!

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)

Seeing or hearing about traumatic events can lead to these same problems…

Signs of trauma/stress reactions:

Secondary Traumatic Stress

Symptoms

• Nightmares
• Irritability
• Anger
• Intrusive imagery
• Numbness
• Fatigue
• Concentration problems
• Isolation
• Changed meanings about the world

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So, what’s burnout? (Maslach et al., 1996)

• Feelings of depletion, exhaustion
• Negative feelings or cynicism about the job
• Less effective or feel less effective

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C. Maslach, S.E. Jackson, M.P. Leiter, Maslach Burnout Inventory manual (3rd Ed.), Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA (1996)

What helps?

Research has shown the following can reduce the stress of journalism:

• Strong social support
• Rest
• Someplace to talk about the work
• Taking breaks

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SOCIAL SUPPORT TAKES MANY FORMS

• Just listen to me (Emotional support)
• Help me with this task/problem (Instrumental support)
• Give me some advice or helpful info (Informational support)
• Help me think through my options and capabilities (Appraisal support)

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• ASK and TELL!

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Learning to pay attention to ourselves and each other

Let’s practice– My stress at the moment is…�

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1 5 10

No stress at all Severe stress

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What is your body telling you?

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Heart racing

Breathing change

Sweating

Irritable

Feeling on edge

Trouble concentrating

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Feeling down

Low energy

Hard to focus

Feeling numb

Feeling disconnected from people

Adding some body-based skills

BREATHING: 4 /4/ 4

• A simple and very effective breathing technique is the following pattern:  

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• Breathe in through your nostrils with your mouth closed for a slow count of 4
• Hold the breath you have just inhaled for a count of 4
• Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 4 

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Practicing this in unstressed moments makes it easier to use when stressed

GROUNDING

• Place your feet flat on the floor with your legs about 6-8 inches apart.
• Place your hands, flat and palms down, on the top of your thighs.
• Focus your thoughts on the sensation of your feet on the ground
• Feel how your hands feel against the fabric of your clothing
• Feel how your feet feel against the ground
• As you focus on your feet securely on the ground, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Continue this breathing with a conscious awareness of how your feet are securely and strongly on the ground.
• You can say a simple meditation, such as: 

I am feeling my feet on the ground in this moment. I am here and I am in the present moment, safe and secure with my feet on the ground. The ground is strong beneath me and I am strong as I sit here.

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TOOL: RESOURCING

• Visualize a positive image of a person, place or moment in your life
• Sit focused on that image, using sights, sounds, smells – visualize fully with all your senses – and notice what positive feelings arise
• Imagine that image as a file that you call on as needed
• Put an image in your phone or a brief few word reminder of the resource image that you can look at

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*https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/health/resilience-trauma-emdr-treatment.html

Paying attention to our meaning-making…

Self assessment: My job description

Remember…

• You are doing meaningful work
• Having a stress reaction response is NORMAL and to be expected
• Start to NOTICE your reactions
• Pay attention to your bio/psycho/social needs

What can I do for my own wellbeing?�Add one thing in each category

My labor was valuable today…

Must reads….

Reading

• Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma www.dartcenter.org
• Tragedies and Journalists Handbook
• Handling Traumatic Imagery: Developing Your Own Standard Operating Procedure
• Online Abuse: A Self-Defense Guide
• Staff Care Tips for Managers and Editors of News Personnel Exposed to Traumatic Events
• Eyewitness Media Hub
• Making Secondary Trauma a Primary Issue: A Study of Eyewitness Media and Vicarious Trauma on the Digital Frontline
• Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting on Victims and Trauma, Second Edition. Simpson & Coté, Columbia University Press, 2006 (Book)
• Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide, Second Edition https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//pfa_field_operations_guide.pdf

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