Is depression contagious?
Is depression contagious?
No, depression is not contagious. Depression is not an infectious disease. Only infectious diseases are contagious. However, if you have depression people around you might become sad.
Pathologists categorize diseases as
- infectious
- non-infectious
Diseases which are caused by viruses, bacteria, and protozoa are contagious. Other diseases which result from genetics, hormone imbalance, etc., are not contagious.
Depression results from disruption of neurotransmitters in the brain. The disease is not caused by organisms such as bacteria. Hence, it is not contagious.
However, if you suffer from depression, your friends, family, and others around you who care about you will become sad when they see you depressed. This is because they want to see you happy. And when you are depressed they become sad. Remember their sadness results because they love you and do not want to see you depressed and not because depression is infectious.