Is Depression Contagious?

Do you think depression is contagious? I don't mean literally, like a germ. But if someone close to you is depressed do you end up feeling that way too?

My mother-in-law is severely depressed. Her health is failing, she lonely, and she cries and keeps saying she just wants to die. It's difficult to see her going through this. All of the platitudes about depression go through my mind, but I can't really help her.

Now I'm depressed and I feel like crap because I "shouldn't" be depressed. Bleh! Caught in a self defeating loop of thinking "she's the one that's depressed, you should be there for her, you have no business sliding down the drain when she and my husband need help." Gah!

I want to rip my hair out. She is my third MIL, and I know where this is going. It's gonna get bad, then it's gonna get really bad, then it's gonna get even worse. Then it's going to be a family fight about how to force her to get better even if she doesn't want to.

Trying to take it one day at a time, but right now I'm overwhelmed.

Yes, I do think depression can be contagious. When I was at my worst and was bedridden 24/7, one of my family members got depressed and went to bed for a year as well. I'm sorry you're going through this experience. That's a lot of stress to be under. Sending big hugs.

yes I always heard that you can only be as happy as the happiest person in any sort of relationship, it's much easier to go down than to bring the other person up.......

Yes I can agree with that. Especially someone your close to.

When my husband is depressed it sucks the life out of me,it's like I can feel it throughout the house or something.

100% yes!!!!! I can feel in my body when someone is depressed, angry, nervous, etc. people effect me very much with their emotional and mood energy. For this reason, I rarely share how I'm really feeling with the people I love. Sometimes it bursts out and I cannot help it but mostly I try to sound as upbeat as possible for them so as not to "infect" them with my negative energy. Even my dogs.....they get terrible energy when I cry so I fight hard not too because I don't want them to feel bad.......but I feel suffocated from having to hold it all in sometimes.

Hopelessness brings me down even when it isn't mine.

How close are you to your mother-in-law? If mine were depressed I don't think it would affect me much. My wife can't stand her and I'm apathetic to slightly sympathetic of her situation at any given time. So I guess I would say I would have to be invested or immersed to have it weigh on my psyche, and that wouldn't happen for me with my mother-in-law unless I somehow became her caregiver, or my wife became more invested in her.

For me the contagion is a weird one. When my wife is deeply depressed I get anxious, when she's manic/agitated, I get very anxious. When she's meh, I'm pretty good.

Imagine what it must be for the kids, mom is off her rocker and dad has a look in his face like a grizzly bear is 10 feet away and running straight at him. We might almost seem indistinguishable from outside looking in, especially for a kid. I'm just the one to pull his crap together long enough to reassure them, all the while showing them my crazy eyes.

You know I wonder about this. I've been in a three week bad depression. My poor husband! He's got up gone to work everyday, cooked, did laundry, ran dishwasher. Visited me every night while I was on the hospital. Reassured me that he was here for me and loves me. It had to have brought him down to though but he kept everything together.

I get concerned about my husband. He also lives with BPII. If he were to get into a bad episode, we could both be in deep.

He is very supportive and devoted. He has trouble allowing himself a break.

I do things like surprise him with concert tickets for him to share with a buddy, etc. Sometimes, this involves an overnight trip.
I encourage him to go to lunch with a buddy, etc.
(If I am well enough, we do these things together.)

I do this to get him away from the depression when I am in a deep depression.
He is strengthening friendships, which I feel is very healthy.

It also strengthens our relationship.


WC

I love my mother inlaw like she was my own mother. She treats me like the daughter she never had. She seems to be comforted when I hold her hand and just listen to her. So I do that when I can.

Husband and I are her primary care givers and we live a block away.

I've been depressed the last few days but I seem to be climbing out of the hole and feel better today.

I find it's contagious when I'm in a sensitive state of mind. If someone's emotions affect me, it's a warning bell that I'm likely to go through an anxious/depressive episode. It's a trigger for what I'm already heading into.

No, I do not think depression is contagious.

I do believe that we can become depressed when we feel overwhelmed, such as from being a caregiver.

If we're not inclined toward depression within ourselves, I don't believe it's any more contagious than schizophrenia (for example) is.

I agree with Laurie.

You are under a huge amount of stress with her, your husband and just your Bipolar and daily struggles.

Its hard to take a step back and care for oneself when you have another person so down and needing help or not wanting help.

I have had a few friends in the past that I thought of as " emotional vampires" I felt like my life was being sucked into there struggles.

Make sure you take time to yourself.

Glad to hear it that you're climbing out. It sounds like y'all are doing the right thing for her too. I struggle to do right by my mom. She's not that needy, and when she's sick I step up, but day to day I could do better. Talk about something that will mess you up as a caregiver...guilt. I try to do right sometimes just to keep away the guilt, not out of altruism.

I hope things keep improving for you.

Hi Shazerac,

Much has been written about theories surrounding "emotional contagion," mirror neurons, etc.

A quick overview:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_contagion

Incase you are interested.


WC

Interesting article. I'm outraged by that facebook experiement our lives are complicated enough without FB f**king with our heads!

Is the word empathy. Where you feel sad for someone who is feeling sad

Sympathy is where you feel sad.....empathy is where you feel their feelings as if you are going through it too

Mood and emotions are contagious whether people believe it to be true or not. Before this study was conducted or I read it anywhere I came to realize emotions and moods were contagious. Around 2005, I went to my boss on a few occasions and told her we had a hostil work environment going on. I explained that negativity is like a disease and was infecting everyone in the office. Not much good it did but it was a fact, not an opinion. I didn't need years of training or to read a book to see this....it's very obvious.

I too am pissed off at FB for conducting this fracking study. What a bunch of turds!! They need a permanent vacation from life for doing something this harmful and destructive.