It has been over 20 years, but those images still haunt me. The photos are from plane crashes, car wrecks, fires, lost children, and others I was covering as a newspaper photographer. It was my first job right out of college at the Hickory Daily Record.
Having just graduated with a degree in Social Work, I was probably better prepared than my colleagues who went to journalism school. Social work has trained me to deal with emotional issues. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s book On Death and Dying introduced me to grief’s stages. She outlined the following steps in her book:
- Denial and Isolation
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
I was using some of this to process the traumatic events. Probably the best thing I did was talk with other photographers about my experiences. I was processing.
Today we understand these events and how to avoid Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). Processing these events through journaling and talking with someone is very important.
The Dart Center(www.dartcenter.org) was set up to help journalists know how to deal with trauma and cover trauma. It still is not being taught in most journalism schools, so today, many journalists have PTSD. We need to raise awareness of this problem and prepare journalists, so they do not develop PTSD. We also need to help many heal from the disease.
Here are some ways to treat PTSD:
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy aims to modify and gain control over unwanted behavior. The person learns to cope with difficult situations, often through controlled exposure to them. This kind of therapy gives the person a sense of having control over their life.
Cognitive Therapy
The goal of cognitive therapy is to change unproductive or harmful thought patterns. The person examines their feelings and learns to separate realistic from unrealistic thoughts. As with behavior therapy, the person is actively involved in their recovery and has a sense of control.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Many therapists use a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies, often referred to as cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT. One of the benefits of this type of therapy is that the person learns recovery skills that are useful for a lifetime.
Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques help people develop the ability to more effectively cope with the stresses that contribute to anxiety symptoms and some of the physical symptoms of anxiety. The courses taught include deep breathing and exercise.
It is best to seek professional counseling. Prevention is a good course of action if you are a journalist. Check out the resources at the Dart Center.