Depressive Thinking Can Be Contagious

[M Winther]

"Depressive Thinking Can Be Contagious"

We don't think of emotional states as passing from one person to
another, but a new study suggests some depressive thoughts can go
viral.Researchers studying a group of college students found that
certain types of depressive thinking can spread from close-living
roommates like a lingering flu.Although many people see depression as a
chemical imbalance in the brain, scientists say social context and the
way you see yourself and the world can be critical in causing and
sustaining the illness, which affects around 10% of college-age adults.

"Thinking styles are a really important factor in risk for depression,"
says the study's lead author Gerald Haeffel, associate professor of
clinical psychology at Notre Dame University. "How one thinks about life
stress and negative moods is one of the best predictors that we have of
future depression"...
http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/depressive-thinking-can-be-infectious/

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"Rashness & Rumination: New Understanding About the Roots of Depression"

Two studies explore some of the developmental roots of depression in
childhood and adolescence.
http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/08/rashness-rumination-new-understanding-about-the-roots-of-depression/

Mats Winther
http://home7.swipnet.se/~w-73784/