Among friends, happiness is contagious, not depression

Often, we tend to pull away from a friend who is going through a prolonged low phase. It may be the inability to help them that could lead to frustration or simply that one is worried about feeling low in their company. However, current research implies that a friend going through depression will not necessarily bring you down too. The good news, according to a study led by the University of Warwick, is that you may end up lifting their mood instead.

First, why does depression feel contagious in the first place? Dr Gail Saltz, psychiatrist and author of Becoming Real: Defeating the Stories We Tell Ourselves That Hold Us Back is quoted as saying, “Some people over-identify with a depressed friend, and this can make them feel drawn into a depressive state of their own. This fear of becoming depressed makes them anxious and causes them to pull away, even though they know their depressed friend needs them.” 

Coming back to the recent study, focussed on adolescents, it found that spending time with friends who may be struggling with depression doesn’t adversely affect one’s own mental health. On the other hand, friendships can support teenagers in their recovery journey and may even keep depression at bay in the first place.

Among the factors linked to depression are living alone or experiencing abuse in childhood. Simply having someone to talk to can be the catalyst in recovering from depression. The study looked at how being part of a network of friends may affect one’s chances of developing or recovering from depressive symptoms.

Professor Frances Griffiths, Head of Social Science and Systems in Health at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, noted that depression is a major public health concern worldwide and the results offered implications for improving adolescent mood. It showed that encouraging friendship between teenagers could reduce the incidence as well as prevalence of depression.

The study classified individuals as either having “depressive symptoms (low mood)” or “not being depressed (healthy mood)”. These are some of the findings:

• Over six to 12 months, friends with a “healthy mood” can “halve the probability of developing, or double the probability of recovering from, depression”.
• Adolescents with five or more mentally healthy friends are half as likely to become depressed as compared to those who don’t.
• Teenagers with 10 “healthy friends” double the chances of recovering from depressive symptoms compared to those with just three “healthy friends”.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, titled “Spreading of Healthy Mood in Adolescent Social Networks”. Using data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, it studied the behaviour of nearly 2,000 adolescents across US high schools in an attempt to gauge how they influenced each others’ moods.

Relying on a mathematical model, the academics took the help of methods normally utilised in tracking the spread of infectious diseases to establish if depression spreads among friends. According to the lead author of the research paper, University of Warwick mathematics researcher Edward Hill, “Our results suggest that promotion of any friendship between adolescents can reduce depression since having depressed friends does not put them at risk, but having healthy friends is both protective and curative.”

While more work needs to be done, the paper supported the hypothesis that depression does not ‘spread’ and a stronger social network can support mental health. According to co-author of the research Dr Thomas House, senior lecturer in applied mathematics from the University of Manchester, this paves the way for “cheap, low-risk social interventions”. For instance, setting up youth clubs where teenagers get the opportunity to form healthy friendships can have a positive effect in the long-term.

Remember, a friend who’s depressed or simply feeling low may tend to isolate themselves, but that doesn’t mean they want to be alone. Reach out and spend time doing things together, even if it’s sitting quietly enjoying music or a walk near a fountain. Chances are, you’ll both feel better!