Is the Stress of Writing Killing You?

Internet

The constant stream of news and the never ending hunt for the good story to write about, can be stressful to say the least. Is it stressful enough to kill you?

There have been no scientific studies done on the topic and the evidence presented in a recent New York Times article titled, "In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop", is anecdotal at best, but the report does bring up some interesting questions and thoughts for writers to consider.

Have they ever been kept up at night thinking about that article they found themselves too tired to write before logging off that evening?

Have they ever laid in bed wondering what the news dump was going to drop out at 1am and if they were missing the "big" story?

The number of blogs around the world are growing each and every day and many complain of maladies such as weight loss or gain, or sleep disorders from the constant stress of producing news on the Internet which never sleeps.

The article points out the recent deaths of a couple of prominent bloggers, one being Russell Shaw, a technology blogger who died in North Lauderdale, Fla., of a heart attack at the age of 60. Another they mention is Marc Orchant, another tech blogger that died in December of last year at the age of 50, of a massive coronary.

Before Shaw died at a hotel in San Jose, Calif., where he had flown to cover a technology conference, he wrote one last email to his editor at ZDNet which said, "Have come down with something. Resting now posts to resume later today or tomorrow."

A third blogger, Om Malik, surviuved a heart attack in December and he is only 41 years old.

No official diagnosis has been given that blames their writing for contributing to their deaths and out of the tens of thousands of people that make a living from writing blogs or citizen journalism, the few mentioned is why I called it anecdotal evidence at best.

Their families, friends and fellow workers, all express their belief that the stressful nature of blogging somehow ties in, to the point that they themselves are thinking of the dangers of their own work styles.

Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch. which is another popular technology blog, says, "I haven’t died yet. At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen", he goes on to add, "This is not sustainable."

Arrington's site brings in millions in advertising revenue but claims that success came with a price tag. He has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees.

Then there are those that actually fall asleep at their computer after pushing themselves so hard to make sure that next story is written and out there.

One example is Matt Buchanan, a 22 year old graduate of New York University that works for Gizmodo, a popular Gawker Media, that keeps their readers informed of new technological gadgets.

Buchanan has a small apartment in Brooklyn where his bedroom doubles as his office and he says he often gets about 5 hours of sleep a night and doesn't eat properly and according to his editor, Brian Lam, Buchanan "passes out" at his monitor.

“If I don’t hear from him, I’ll think: Matt’s passed out again,” said Lam, “It’s happened four or five times.”

Lam himself has an even harsher schedule and he worries that his blogging staff might be burning out, and he urges them to take breaks, even vacations.

To be fair, someone from ZDNet, Larry Dignan, who was interviewed about the New York Time article, but since his take on the situation didn't match the theme of the article, his words were not published and he does ask some pertinent questions.

Yes, blogging is stressful. Yes, it can be insane. But is it any worse than being a corporate lawyer? How many of those folks dropped in the last six months? How about mortgage brokers? Hedge fund traders? FBI agents? Any job where you gnash your teeth together? We write for a living, yap all day and don’t have to wear suits. You could do worse than blogging.

Writers, those that choose to make a living writing, decide their own hours, decide when to eat and sleep and if they are pushing themselves too hard, is it really blogging or writing that is causing the stress? It could be said that the stress is self-imposed, could it not?

Then again, Arrington, from TechCrunch, makes a statement that I know will echo the thoughts of many a writer. He says, "There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story."

Sound familiar?

.