A consultant psychiatrist with Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Dr Adeoye Oyewole has said lack of proper stress management killed journalists discreetly.
He disclosed this at a seminar organised by Fountain University for practising journalists and final year Mass Communication students of the institution, themed; Effect of Poor Stress Management among Nigerian Journalists on Mental Health Productivity, at its campus, Osogbo on Monday.
He said Nigerian journalists carry Nigeria on their shoulders at a mental cost, and struggle daily to gather information in spite of humiliating cultural and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
According to him, the physical and mental stress journalists are exposed to daily created a mental disequilibrium which manifests psychologically and physically which if not dealt with properly could lead to mental shutdown.
He added that journalists need not just relationship support to overcome stress, but financial support to manage the stress that accompanies the calling.
“There is a need for journalists to be proactive in managing time, value relationships and posses the will to break through barriers to achieve daily goals.
“Financial freedom is also essential. No journalists should be underpaid in discharging their responsibility as a professional in order to meet their daily demands both personally and as a family. A journalist must be able to meet his daily diet and supplement demand to be physically and mentally ready for the rigours of the job”, he said.
Speaking at the event, former Managing Director, of Monitor Newspaper, Dr Liad Tella said what complicated the stress of professional journalists is non-commensurate pay for work done, saying reducing journalism to struggling for a brown envelope at an event could be mentally depressing.
