Journalist Suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Covering the War in Gaza (Exclusive)

• Trey Yingst suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after a decade as a war correspondent
• The journalist learns to manage his mental health after reporting on the ground on the war between Israel and Hamas
• In his new book he describes in detail the psychological effects of his job. Black Saturday

For Trey Yingst, the smell of barbecue triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder. It reminds him of the burning corpses he saw in Gaza after the sudden outbreak of war in October 2023. The smells are eerily similar, he says, adding that his brain has trouble distinguishing between them.

“I try as much as possible to separate things in my head, but it can be difficult,” he tells PEOPLE. “The spirit will flash back very quickly.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise terrorist attack on Israel, killing about 1,400 people and taking more than 200 others hostage – a day that later became known as “Black Saturday,” which is also the title by Yingst is new book.

Yingst – Fox News' chief foreign correspondent – spent nearly 200 days on the ground covering the war and calls it “one of the scariest assignments I've ever had.”

“We were in southern Israel on the morning of October 7th and witnessed the massacre first hand. There were people dying in front of me and we saw the aftermath… dead bodies everywhere,” he recalls. “It was then that I really realized what influence working as a war correspondent can have on the mind.”

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Over the past decade, Yingst has traveled the world reporting on the realities of war, violence and human conflict.

The job, which requires him to be away from home most of the year, has taken a toll on his mental health – he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The 31-year-old often has nightmares about what he saw at the front and are triggered by certain sights and smells.

“When you come back from a reporting assignment and wash other people's blood off your boots… you don't learn that in journalism school,” he says. “Little things like seeing a coffee stain on the floor. It looks like blood that was on the ground in these houses that we entered. It's a pretty sad thing.

In addition to his “cruel” flashbacks and nightmares, Yingst also struggles with “reintegration” – separating from work and balancing private and professional life. He talks about what he calls a moment of vulnerability, saying that he is actually “scared” of going to a friend's wedding because the small talk that comes with meeting others often leaves him lonely.

“For the past year I have been focused on what is happening in Gaza. What does the military say about an attack being carried out? How many civilians were killed? How many militants were killed? And then when you go to a wedding, you have to talk about the weather and what people have been doing in the last week, and that can feel really isolating,” he explains.

Yingst admits that in dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder, it has been challenging to accept his own mental health issues while reporting on people whose lives are more difficult.

“There is so much suffering and I tried to capture it all through a very sensitive lens,” explains the journalist. “I'm trying to really humanize the story by recognizing that if I'm having mental health issues just covering the story, that's what the people who are going through this hell on earth are feeling. So I try to keep that in mind.”

Yingst remembers meeting a man evacuating Gaza City and seeing “the look in his eyes of sadness and deep despair.” When he comes home from a long assignment, he often reminds himself, “I don’t have to live it.”

“In a way, I can go,” he says. “And that's the only difference and probably the reason why I'm still doing this job. I find value in being a voice for the voiceless. That’s why I do what I do.”

That's one of the reasons Yingst wrote his book Black Saturdaywhich will be released on October 1st.

“I find Black Saturday is truly the gold standard for reporting on the October 7 massacre because it is a story about people,” he shares. “It’s about the human experience in southern Israel and Gaza. The goal is to help people better understand what happened that morning and in the weeks after, not just through my storytelling, but also through the stories of other people I interview.”

While most of the book tells these emotional stories, Yingst says 20% is about his own experiences, going into detail about the psychological impact of covering the war and coping with his mental health issues. He says it was helpful to get things “out of my head” and onto paper.

“These are parts of the job that we don't talk about as journalists, but it's the time between live shoots when we experience these things that you really take the job home with you,” he explains. “You can’t escape. And I think that was the biggest challenge for me, and I tried to acknowledge that and then deal with it in a healthy way.”

Although there are tough days, Yingst says he is proud of how he has learned to deal with the stress.

He is a proponent of therapy, cold exposure, physical activity to reduce stress, meditation, breathing exercises, and a clean diet. He also no longer drinks alcohol and says he has been sober since January 2023.

“This job requires long hours in stressful, dangerous environments. So having a healthy outlet was really helpful,” he says. “I just think that taking care of your body and mind together prepares you to go back to war zones and do the work that we do.”

“I want to be an example for others to let them know that you don’t have to turn to drugs and alcohol if you’re struggling in that way,” Yingst tells PEOPLE. “There are healthier alternatives.”

Black Saturday will be released on October 1st and can be pre-ordered now.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.