By Uzair Adam Imam
A psychiatrist, Dr. Adeoyo Oyewole, said the physical and mental stress journalists are exposed to daily has psychological effect on them that could lead to mental shutdown.
The doctor said the pressure used to create a mental disequilibrium which manifests psychologically and phphysically.
Dr. Oyewole, who is a consultant at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, also added that lack of proper stress management killed journalists discreetly.
He made this shocking revelation on Monday at a seminar organised by Fountain University for practising journalists and final year Mass Communication students of the institution.
The seminar was themed: Effect of Poor Stress Management among Nigerian Journalists on Mental Health Productivity, at its campus, Osogbo.
The doctor further stated that 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.
He added, “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.