Can a phobia be contagious

Answer 1

Not logically, no.

However if your around someone who is Agoraphobic (fear of being outsides/ open areas) and they go on about all the dangers outside and why they fear it so much, it IS possible for you to similarly develop the fear yourself. Though it's more a matter of you were persuaded to fear the outside rather than you "caught" the phobia.

Note: Agoraphobia was just an example, it is possible to do this with any phobia if the person is persuasive enough and detailed enough.

Answer 2

Phobia's are contagious but only in a crowd-like atmosphere. When one person panics because they see something they fear, it might cause others in a group to panic. Phobias can be learned, though. If a parent is afraid of something it can make a child afraid of the same thing by watching the actions of the parent.

Answer 3

No, not like a disease.

It may seem stupid to suggest such a thing but until i was with my last girlfriend, i had never had anxiety attacks. She suffers from anxiety very badly and used to panic all the time. We would spend a lot of time together and i always found myself trying to relax her and calm her down. Gradually over time, i noticed myself feeling more anxious. We split up almost a year ago now and ever since then, ive had terrible panic attacks. I walk around most days with the feeling of panic constantly inside. Its like an empty sick feeling, i feel jittery and almost like im constantly on the edge of a heart attack.

Im now with someone new but the panic attacks still happen every now and then. I would never have suggested that anxiety was contagious and ofcourse i don't mean in a physically contagious way but my ex had told me when we were in the relationship that her previous boyfriend had told her the same thing. So now, that's two people who suddenly start suffering from anxiety after being with an anxiety sufferer.... I don't know what to think but i know i hate the way it feels and i also hate the way that cigarettes seem to be the only way to calm myself down.

Answer 4

No, although the hysteria from a person with the fear of the number 13 can you lead you to have the same fear.