Is Mental Illness Contagious?

Mental illness is not a virus that you catch and attacks your immune system. But did you know that your mood could be contagious and influencing the moods of those around you? Yes, it’s true, and it works both ways—moods of others can influence your mood too. When you think about this concept it is kind of common sense. If you’re in a room full of sad people, it would be quite hard not to empathize and feel sadness. But it gets interesting when considering clinically diagnosed mental illnesses.

            In his book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt (2024) describes a set of studies done in Framingham, Massachusetts where initially it was found that happiness was indeed contagious and that it spreads through social networks. If someone became happier, their friends became happier, even effecting the friends of friends, and happiness was spread throughout mutuals. But in a follow up study, the experimenters, Christakis and Fowler (2001), found that depression was more contagious than happiness. In fact, they found that when a woman became depressed, it increased the odds of depression within her friends by 142%, regardless of the friend’s gender. But, when it came to a man becoming depressed, his mental health had no effect on his friends because men are proven to be less likely to share what they are feeling within their social groups.

            Haidt describes how these particular researchers ended their study before the creation of social media. Could you imagine how perceived moods and mental health through social media has an effect on the public’s mental health today? Regardless of virtual influence, it is important to surround yourself with people who are going to have a positive effect on your mood and mental health. Know how to be there for those you care about who are going through a rough time without absorbing their negative energy.

            If you wish to talk to a professional about your mental health, please contact us at Olive Branch Counseling Associates! Our counselors offer a wide variety of services both via telehealth calls and in-person at our office located at 6819—167^th St. in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477. Call 708-633-8000 to book an appointment today!

Myleigh, undergrad intern, 2025

Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc.

Reference:

Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an

            epidemic of mental illness. Penguin Random House.