Editorial: Journalists are adrenaline junkies on the border of regular junkies

The first fire I ever covered was a devasting and exhilarating day. The smoke poured upwards for hours, and my adrenaline climbed up with it. The breaking news hit before the day ended, but so did my adrenaline dump. I needed something to keep me at that high – whether it be a story or a substance.  

That was when I was hit with a sobering reality from reporters far more experienced than 18-year-old me.  

“Alcoholism swallows journalists. Don’t let it get you.”  

The adrenaline rushes you get as a journalist are a high you are constantly chasing. The rush of a source finally saying yes to an interview. A juicy leak spilling into your inbox. Releasing breaking news before another publication.  

But when the day winds up and your adrenaline plummets, you want something to keep you afloat. A glass or a few of wine, a beer with co-workers, a puff to soften the blow.  

My first year in journalism was an intoxicating cycle of thrill. But outside of work — I was the grumpiest, meanest, cruelest version of myself. When I wasn’t working, my heartbeat felt too slow, and I chased the high of a good story.  

We’re taught ‘the news never stops’ — so I couldn’t either. 

Two years ago, journalist Paddy Gower opened up about his alcohol struggles, describing the moment he broke down after overworking himself during his time in Parliament’s Press Gallery in 2017. On the Mental As Anything podcast he said, “At the end of that five years, I had a breakdown. And I actually just couldn’t work.”  

“I was scared to go into work, I didn’t like driving down the motorway to Parliament from my house and it’s very hard to explain, but you know, it just felt like the wires in my brain had disconnected or something. And I felt very — it was very scary, to be honest.”  

He realised he wanted out while covering former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It should have been a career highlight, but instead he didn’t want to do the job at all. “I was in a hotel there and just staying up all night and taking sleeping pills to sleep and to get through the day.”  

He goes onto to describe how he could get grumpy at work, “I could snap, never felt fully happy.”  

It’s true that the news never stops. But Gower’s experience shows me that journalists will break if they themselves don’t stop.  

I’m still getting used to cherishing seeing an article in print before running to build the next. Enjoying a slower heart rate after starting a new story. Switching off the scoop hunting when I’m off the clock.  

And I need to make sure I take the time to do this, so my innocent adrenaline addiction can stay just that.