There is an idea that someone can "catch" depression, but research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B challenges that idea. Their research actually shows "Depression doesn't spread … but a healthy mood does." The research surveyed 2,000 high school students. As the article says, "Kids who initially scored as clinically depressed did not 'infect' their friends, but if they had enough friends who had what the study called a 'healthy mood,' that double their chances of recovering from depression."
Thomas House, one of the researches from University of Manchester, summarizes, "We were pretty much directly observing this process of your friend influencing you. And the nice conclusion that we got was that your friends can protect you from depression and help you recover from it."
Possible Preaching Angle:
Of course, fighting depression is not as simple as building friendships. But according to this study, friends can help. And even more importantly the study begs the question: what kind of friend am I to others?
