Can stress spread like a virus? What animals tell us.
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on October 30, 2022
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Yes, says neuroscientist Tony W. Buchanan, a professor at St. Louis University. In 2010, he measured the response of people who were simply observing stress in others. Buchanan found that the observers’ cortisol levels spiked via a phenomenon known as stress contagion — the spread of stress from person to person like a virus.
