ISLAMABAD:A research study has found that Pakistanijournalistshave been suffering fromthreats and mental health issues, including sleep deprivation, disturbing memories and nightmaresdue to their line of work.
Journalists, camerapersons and photographersin Pakistanareoften found to be suffering fromposttraumaticstressdisorder(PTSD), especially those who reportonnatural disasters. They often experience higher levels of anxiety,stressor depression, whichcauses them to feel lowonenergy, experiencelow moodsandevokesfeelings of hopelessness.
“Pakistanijournalistsare facing mental health issues due to the topics they reportonand work-related threatsthatthey receive,”DrJamil Malik, an assistant professor at the National Institute of Psychology thatconducted the study in collaboration with The Vrije Universiteit in The Netherlands, told Arab NewsonSunday.
He said over half of thejournalistswho participated in the study were stalked at least once during their career, adding thatthe levelsof depression were also “considerably elevated.”
The study found thatjournalistswho reported more oftenonnatural disasters suffered more severeposttraumaticstresssymptoms than those who reported less oftenonthe subject. Men and women, staffers and freelancers did not significantly differ in their mental health problems,thetopics they reportedon, orthethreats they faced, exceptforkidnapping.
The research concludedthatjournalistsworkingforforeign media received significantly more electronic threats and were more often detained, than those whodid not workforforeign outlets. “Tragically, a third of thejournalistspersonally knew a colleague who was murdered,” it said.
Shahzada Zulfiqar,presidentofthePakistan Federal Union ofJournalists(PFUJ), said it was a fact thatamajority ofPakistanijournalists, especially field reporters,weresuffering fromtrauma and mental health issues due to the nature of their work.
“Pakistan isn’t a peaceful country,” he told Arab News. “Our reporters, photographers and cameramen have been covering terrorism-relatedincidentsforthe last 20 years and the impact ofitontheir mental health is quite obvious.”
Zulfiqar saidjournalistswere attacked and kidnapped inthePakistanicapital of Islamabadwith complete impunity and “it leaves a mental pressure andstressonthe whole community.”
“Ourjournalistsremain constantly under pressure from the government, state institutions and other powerful groupsforcovering stories, which they usually don’t want to get published or broadcast,” he said.
The PFUJ president urged the federal andprovincial governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to set up mental healthcounselingcentersforjournalistsacross the country.
“It is a sad reality thatthemajority of our field workers don’t have enough resources to consult psychiatristsfortheir mental health,” he regretted.
According to areportby theWorld Health Organisation, mental health facilities are not readily available in Pakistan, where only one psychiatrist is availableforevery 100,000 people.
Sadaf Khan, the co-founder of Media MattersforDemocracy non-profit organization that is providing online, free-of-cost mental healthcounselingservicesforPakistanijournalists, saidjournalistsdeveloped “serious mental health issues” due to their constant exposure tocrimeandterrorism-relatedincidents.
“We have noticed that somejournalistsdo share their mental health issues with our psychologists and therapists, butamajority of them don’t return after the first session,” she told Arab News. “Unfortunately, mental health still remains a taboo in Pakistan.”
She said there was a need to sensitize the whole journalist fraternity about their mental health and its proactive and sustainable treatment to deal with the issue.
“We should all play our part to normalize mental health issues in our society and supportjournalistsgoing through the challenge,” she added.
