‘Contagious disease’ is a term we by heart by the time we turn 13. And reciting a list of contagious diseases is a piece of cake. But have you ever thought if mental disorders can be contagious as well? We have seen highly contagious virus’ spread across the globe to be massive pandemics; the Spanish flu, plague, COVID, etc. But has there been a mental disorder that spread from one person to another? Well if you are here for a clear cut answer- it is 99% No and 1% Yes (explained in the last para). When I say contagious, I exclude the element of heredity. If genetics is added into the equation, it is a big old Yes.
There is no possibility for a clinical mental disorder to be contagious- whether it’d be something as common as mild depression or something very rare like lycanthropy. This is because like contagious diseases, none of the mental disorders are caused by pathogens. Different from the popular belief, this is the truth. And as Dr. Saltz says “When people avoid being with someone who has depression or anxiety because they fear catching it, it’s really unfortunate because it further isolates the patient who is actually struggling and needs support — support which will not harm the person giving it”.
The only possibility for a mental disorder to be transferred from one person to another is through genes. If one of the parents has a neurological impairment or psychological abnormality, it is possible that the child might have the same too (obviously, not in every case). There is a high heritability rate in disorders like schizophrenia and autism. So quite frankly, there is no point in saying that ‘spending time with someone would make me crazy’ (at least not in the clinical sense) if you don't share your genes with that person.
Now let’s take a look at the remaining 1%. There is a possibility for some of the symptoms of certain mental disorders to be transferred by spending time with a person having it. This concept is known as ‘emotional contagion’- nothing new; it just means we get affected by the emotional status of the people we spend time with. If your partner is depressed or feeling low, it is normal for you to feel the same too and vice versa. However, this phenomenon isn’t observed in emotional extremities. But it is true, the people we spend time with, actually influence our mind and brain chemistry. So if you spend time with an optimistic person, you will turn out to be positive too. If you spend time with people with a negative world view, you will probably acquire that mentality.
So, choose your friends wisely as they are fragments of your yet to be completed brain puzzle.
