Is Stress Contagious?

[A.R]

im wondering if anyone else on the forum also experiences this,

Whenever I am around someone who is very mentally stressed, I seem to almost feel their anger/anguish, and sometimes when it's very bad I seem to almost in a way catch/adopt that emotion- which then makes me also suddenly stressed and aggrieved! I'm struggling to really explain this feeling, but I hope you guys understand.

i would love to avoid these said stressed individuals, but I'm not able to do so due to relations. So any ideas how to manage this problem?

 

[Regina]

im wondering if anyone else on the forum also experiences this,

Whenever I am around someone who is very mentally stressed, I seem to almost feel their anger/anguish, and sometimes when it's very bad I seem to almost in a way catch/adopt that emotion- which then makes me also suddenly stressed and aggrieved! I'm struggling to really explain this feeling, but I hope you guys understand.

i would love to avoid these said stressed individuals, but I'm not able to do so due to relations. So any ideas how to manage this problem?

I am working with this problem too. It doesn't cause me anger/anguish, but it makes me sad. I tend to get knotted up feelings in my guts, get intrusive thoughts and feel guilty that I just want to get away from them--even though I know they are suffering. Their condition leads them to want to project their suffering into anyone they can.

 

[A.R]

. Their condition leads them to want to project their suffering into anyone they can.

This is quite interesting and explains a lot. But why is it that we feel so effected? I'm wondering if it might be that we're people with a high level of empathy in us.

"but it makes me sad. I tend to get knotted up feelings in my guts, get intrusive thoughts and feel guilty that I just want to get away from them--even though I know they are suffering."
^^^These words explain my feelings a lot better

 

[Cirion]

Yes I think the energies tend to exude from all people you come into contact, positive or negative. All the more reason to have a circle of positive friends. This effect is even more pronounced with a significant other.

I made the mistake of dating someone with serious mental problems. It screwed up my health too.

 

[thisoldtown1978]

I know exactly what you mean, and it's especially hard to manage when it's your direct relation or partner (in my case). It can be very frustrating because it's easy to believe that they're being selfish and dragging you into their mood.

I have found 2 productive solutions, which sort of work in tandem. First is ordinary mindfulness. Be aware that their negativity is usually only fleeting and it in no way reflects on you as a person, or the life you're living. It's easy to feel as though the negative atmosphere is going to last forever, but you have to remind yourself that it'll usually pass by the next day.

The second is changing your perspective on their negativity. The natural reaction is to submit to their atmosphere and mirror it subconsciously. But the truth is, what they probably really need is for you to just be yourself and act normal. If you slip into their mood, chances are this is validating how they feel and you'll feed off of one another and clash. It's hard to be normal when someone close to you is being downbeat, negative, or stressy, but it really pays off and helps you to develop some thick skin.

 

[Amazoniac]

The problem is hasing a person around with repressed stress: for being unresolved, people around will be tense waiting for it to realize and it results in a heavy atmosphere where the sensation is that danger is imminent. But in cases of expressive stress, where the person is freaking out or panicking, the stress is already resolving, so it occurs the interesting phenomenom of taking the pressure off of everyone in the group and easing their stress. The distracting performance also helps to divert the focus from inner to outer, so it's relaxing in a sense.

 

[Makrosky]

Definitely. It happens. The degree of how much it affects you depend on many things and the implicated mechanisms are diverse. Some of them are unescapable, for instance you cannot block smelling their dysfunctional pheromone signals.

But it is like anyother kind of stressor, if it is a chronic expossure you have to manage thr best way you can with your attitude or chemically.

 

[Makrosky]

The problem is hasing a person around with repressed stress: for being unresolved, people around will be tense waiting for it to realize and it results in a heavy atmosphere where the sensation is that danger is imminent. But in cases of expressive stress, where the person is freaking out or panicking, the stress is already resolving, so it occurs the interesting phenomenom of taking the pressure off of everyone in the group and easing their stress. The distracting performance also helps to divert the focus from inner to outer, so it's relaxing in a sense.

I can totally relate to that, people with repressed stress/anxiety feel reeeeally disturbing to me. Even when I myself are in that situation, I can notice how it deteriorates all social relationships specially with strangers.

 

[haidut]

im wondering if anyone else on the forum also experiences this,

Whenever I am around someone who is very mentally stressed, I seem to almost feel their anger/anguish, and sometimes when it's very bad I seem to almost in a way catch/adopt that emotion- which then makes me also suddenly stressed and aggrieved! I'm struggling to really explain this feeling, but I hope you guys understand.

i would love to avoid these said stressed individuals, but I'm not able to do so due to relations. So any ideas how to manage this problem?

Of course it is. Highly so, and even if you are not in direct contact with the stressed people. As long as you are in their vicinity, you will "catch" the bad vibes even if you never see those people face to face. Why do you think everybody is in such a bad health nowadays? Why do you think nurses/doctors working with stressed, or critically ill people (especially cancer) tend to come down with the same condition as most of their patients?
PTSD / Trauma Is Contagious, Can Be Transmitted Via Odor/pheromones

 

[Makrosky]

Btw, haidut has posted many studies and thoughts about these issues. Every kind of illness even cancer is "contagious".

Edit: lol! Here he is.

 

[Cirion]

Yes I agree with Haidut. As I have been more in tune with improving my health, I can "feel" peoples' vibes going down the hallway. I can "feel" peoples' stress, conversely I can "feel" peoples' good moods... all without even talking to them... in some cases without even looking at them and just judging by other things like the sound of their footsteps or the way they talk to people. I literally can feel my body "tense" up if a stressed out person is coming near me.

 

[smith]

Everything is contagious, but the degree to which you will be infected is determined by your capacity for empathy.

* this is one of several other contradicting particulars that need to be equally considered

 

[Cirion]

Everything is contagious, but the degree to which you will be infected is determined by your capacity for empathy.

I dunno, doesn't a high capacity for empathy tend to make it worse? Because it makes you feel other peoples' energy even more so than a normal person.

 

[InChristAlone]

I have issues picking up other people's energy. It really effects me. You have to kinda create an invisible barrier to keep these energies out. I have even been triggered by watching something traumatic.

 

[Makrosky]

I have issues picking up other people's energy. It really effects me. You have to kinda create an invisible barrier to keep these energies out. I have even been triggered by watching something traumatic.

You can create as many invisible barriers you want, which might work for certain kind of bad vibes, but you can't avoid smelling their pheromones. Well... unless you pinch your nose or something.

 

[Dobbler]

Question is - how long does the stress stay in air / same space as you? Say you live with 2 highly stressed people and the environment is really toxic , but those people leave the house.

 

[InChristAlone]

I think that's the main cause of 'hauntings' it's not necessarily that there is a demon or something but just a very bad energy that never left. So there may be some truth to cleansings. The house I grew up in I was always scared of a certain area of the basement, I would run up the stairs thinking there was something chasing me. Then when the lady who bought our house contacted me asking if we had done some weird ritual or something in the house because there was a negative energy in that same spot I felt affirmed! I think they did some kind of cleansing to clear it out.

 

[Makrosky]

I think that's the main cause of 'hauntings' it's not necessarily that there is a demon or something but just a very bad energy that never left. So there may be some truth to cleansings. The house I grew up in I was always scared of a certain area of the basement, I would run up the stairs thinking there was something chasing me. Then when the lady who bought our house contacted me asking if we had done some weird ritual or something in the house because there was a negative energy in that same spot I felt affirmed! I think they did some kind of cleansing to clear it out.

It could very well be. I have experienced stuff like that. That is another kind of things, not stress.

 

[Makrosky]

Question is - how long does the stress stay in air / same space as you? Say you live with 2 highly stressed people and the environment is really toxic , but those people leave the house.

Leave like forever? Or just go to work?

It takes a couple of days in my experience specially if you clean and ventilate the house but YOUR elevated stress hormones because of them can take up to a week or two to come down.

 

[morgan#1]

I think society has us all smiling and expecting us to be happy. Look at old photos, their not smiling. It’s hard just to live with that.

When I have all my ducks in a row, I’m not affected by anyone. It’s like I have an inner confirmation. It’s like an airplane, put your air mask on first, and then you can do what you can for others. And I do believe that I’m my best friend and my worst enemy. I get stuck in many funcks in my head.

I believe that each of us has the same variables in the mind, and that’s why we feel the vibes of others. But I do know some, who are oblivious to that, and they get a lot done in their lives (baking pies, cleaning their house, Martha Stewart-ish) because their not ruminating on the inner. I think that it’s the healthiest to let things be, and be there as long as I am able. Just to show that I am a human being.

I never want to “burden” someone with my junk. I’m like a cat, going off on my own until I’m better. Just my instinct.

Oh to answer that question “is stress contagious “, I think if you don’t know you. And if you look to others to tell you who you are. You’re the only one who knows, and if you look to others that’s where the mess comes in.