"Objectives: To determine the emotional wellbeing of journalists who work in Iran. Methods: A website was established and journalists in newsrooms in Iran and the Diaspora were given information to access the site. Responses were received from 114 journalists (76 per per cent cent). The mean age was 37.8 years and 57 per cent were male. Primary outcomes measures: Impact of Event Scale-revised for posttraumatic stress disorder, Beck Depression Inventory-II for depression. Results: Stressors included arrest (41.2 per cent), torture (19.3 per cent), assault (10.5 per cent), intimidation (51.4 per cent) and family threatened (43.1 per cent). Eighty-nine (78.1 per cent) journalists had stopped working on a story because of intimidation. Arrest, torture, intimidation and family threatened were associated with more PTSD symptoms and assault and intimidation with more depressive symptoms. Almost a third used barbiturates, with use correlating with symptoms of intrusion, avoidance, arousal and depression. Conclusions: Iranian journalists confront an extraordinary degree of danger. Self-medication of emotional distress with barbiturates gives additional cause for concern." (Abstract)