Is Stress Contagious?

Everyone knows you can catch someone’s cold, but did you also know that you can catch their stress? Mirror neurons in your brain allow emotions to spread and help us empathize with those around us. Understanding how others are feeling can be positive as it helps us build relationships with family, friends, coworkers and even strangers, however, we can also pick up the feelings of stress and negativity from those around us.

Stress is defined as any uncomfortable “emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes.” Stress can be beneficial when it provides the extra boost of energy to meet a deadline or the adrenaline rush to get out of a dangerous situation, however, chronic stress can lead to emotional and physical disorders including depression, anxiety, hypertension and immune system disturbance. It is not just our own stress that can lead to these emotional and physical disorders; evidence shows that empathic stress can negatively impact our health as well.

In a recent study that included 362 participants, researchers investigated the impact of empathic stress on the observer. Participants were paired with a loved one or a stranger of the opposite sex. One individual in the pair was exposed to a psychosocial stressor while the observer watched through a one-way mirror or via live video transmission. Results showed that 26 percent of observers experienced elevated levels of cortisol from watching someone who was stressed. When the body is stressed, the brain sends signals to produce cortisol and epinephrine, the “stress hormones.” The empathic stress response was strongest among observers paired with a loved one and those observing the stressful situation through the two-way mirror.

In a world where we are constantly connected, we are able to spread happiness, love and joy, along with stress, uncertainty and anxiety. An article in the Harvard Business Review gives a few suggestions to help thwart the negative effects of secondhand stress:

• Change your response. Research shows that creating a positive mindset about stress rather than fighting it can result in a 23 percent drop in the negative effects of stress. Try to focus on the benefits of stress such as greater mental toughness, heightened awareness, new perspectives and strengthened priorities. 
• Create positivity. Instead of returning a friend or coworkers negative comment or nonverbal cues, return it with a positive message or a smile. Rather than starting a conversation with “I’m so busy” swap it with a positive greeting such as, “It’s great to talk to you.”
• Build your self-esteem. When you feel capable of taking on any situation, you are less impacted by others moods or worries.
• Prepare. Before going into work or a stressful environment, practice positivity. This may mean writing a positive email or hand written note, meditating for five minutes, practicing deep breathing, writing down three things you are grateful for or exercising.

Bottom Line: A negative or stressful environment can impact your mood and performance. Take steps each day to create a positive mindset to improve your life, as well as the lives of those around you. 

Source 1

Source 2

Visit Wellness Workdays for more information about our worksite wellness programs.