Journalists have long operated in high-pressure work environments with tight deadlines and the demands of hyper-connectivity. In the face of increasing political hostility, funding cuts and a rapidly changing media landscape, media workers around the world are battling stress and burnout at alarming rates.
According to The Self-Investigation, 60% of media professionals reported high levels of anxiety and 20% revealed that they experience depression. Meanwhile, 50% of journalists have considered leaving their jobs over the past year, and 38% have experienced a decline in their mental health, according to Muck Rack's 2025 State of Work-Life Balance in Journalism report.
I’ve compiled tips below for media workers seeking to care for their mental health, so that they can continue telling the stories the world needs most.
(1) Create — or join — a support network with colleagues
Media workers who are seeking support outside the confines of traditional therapy may consider starting an email list, listserv or Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram group with colleagues facing similar issues. If coordinating a support group with colleagues seems daunting, consider instead joining an existing journalist support network.
Creating or joining a smaller network offers journalists the opportunity to open up about their experiences in a more private setting. It can serve as a support channel for members to check in with each other through the ebbs and flows of mental health and the ongoing stress of media work. Effective support groups will offer journalists space to discuss workplace stressors they’re unable to talk about with family and friends, and identify common struggles and solutions, enabling members to feel less alone when navigating their mental health concerns.
Peer support can be an empowering part of a holistic approach to mental health care, according to Change Mental Health, due to the frequent check-ins with colleagues who are similarly battling stress, burnout and other mental health challenges. This community care may also encourage media workers to seek professional support when necessary.
(2) Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness, for instance through mindfulness-based meditation, can be an empowering approach for reducing stress. “Mindfulness-based meditation offers promise to help journalists build resilience to post-traumatic stress,” reads a 2019 study by the Centre for Social and Cultural Research at Griffith University.
A 2020 report by CompareCamp found that mindfulness-based meditation reduces post-traumatic stress disorder by up to 70%, increases employee productivity by 120% and reduces employee absenteeism by up to 85%.
Simple techniques such as focusing on your breathing can help you center yourself in the face of stress. Sites like Mindful.org provide comprehensive guides for beginners and experts alike.
(3) Strive for a healthy work-life balance
This one’s easier said than done. It can feel nearly impossible to escape news notifications and messages from work, but setting healthy boundaries — both internal and external — is important for sustaining one's well-being, and in turn, their career.
Start with internal boundaries. Define your personal work hours and stick to them! This could mean no screen time in bed, no news broadcasts after a certain hour and no emails once you log off from work. Assess how you cross the boundaries you set for yourself, leading you down a rabbit-hole toward burnout.
Setting external boundaries with colleagues and employers can be easier when you have a better grasp of the work-life balance and boundaries you’re aiming to uphold. Once you set those, you can update people that, for example, you won’t be available on Friday nights but you’ll respond to all emails on Monday by 9 a.m. sharp.
“Almost all journalists, 96%, say they have trouble switching off from work at least some of the time,” according to Muck Rack. This is an industry-wide issue that colleagues and employers could be mindful of, once we learn how to switch ourselves off.
(4) Seek professional help
Relying on community care and meditation alone can leave an array of mental health issues undiagnosed and untreated. No matter which of the above tips you pursue, seeking professional support for mental health should not be a last resort. Tackling mental health concerns head-on can enable media workers to rebuild enthusiasm in their field, boost morale and sustain their well-being.
Mental health professionals range from counselors to clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. Even if your mental health doesn’t feel like an emergency and you simply need someone to speak to, book a session with a counselor and let them take the wheel. They’ll be sure to make suggestions based on the needs and concerns that arise.
The cost of therapy can be a daunting thought, too, leading to many people to avoid seeking it out. Networks such as the Journalist Trauma Support Network provide directories of therapists trained to work with journalists. During active training cohort sessions hosted by the network, free therapy is available for eligible journalists.
The Journalist Trauma Support Network also provides directories of free and low-cost therapists, as well as queer and trans-affirmative mental health professionals, covering a diverse range of concerns.
Photo by Tara Winstead via Pexels.
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