We humans are empathetic by definition, and this is a fundamental feature of how we build relationships with one another. Most people subconsciously mirror the feelings of those around them.
Stress is almost a reality of modern life. We know it’s not good for us, and there are tons of studies proving what we already knew, but there’s no way to fix it (or we don’t know how).
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health links chronic stress to a number of serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
Also, science is not without recommendations on how to get rid of stress, only not all of them work.
However, did you know that stress “takes off”?
How contagious stress really is: one hot, the other cold
In a 2017 study, data was collected from 63 subjects while they watched videos of people talking.
The video recordings were divided into three categories, with the speakers in a state of no stress, stress or post-stress. The results showed that when observers looked at someone in distress, their own heart rates dropped.
This might sound counterintuitive, we normally associate stress with a higher heart rate, but the researchers have an explanation: “heart deceleration may indicate a stress response frozen.
“Cardiac deceleration responses generally occur in situations where no behavioral response is required or during periods of information gathering,” it pointed out.
This is important evidence to support the idea of ”taken” stress, but the authors again caution that more research is needed and that this effect may be mediated “in a more complex way than previously recognized.”
They also highlight another important piece of the puzzle: It’s not yet clear whether second-hand stress has the same negative health consequences as first-hand stress.
Despite what you might think, there are actually some benefits to sharing stress with those around us.
“It’s the foundation of empathy, and without emotional contagion, it would be harder to understand what others are going through,” said the 2017 study’s lead author, Stephanie Dimitroff, in an interview with Vogue.
In other words, stress seems to be, indeed, contagious. Even so, empathy can bring significant benefits to the power of relating between people.
Two European countries UNITE! A HUGE worldwide power is emerging! It was decided, SHOCK wave across the continent
