Fear can sometimes take over your thoughts, especially when you are feeling down. It’s worth asking if fear actually spreads and how, and what you can do to manage it—especially when your fear comes from others rather than yourself.
Contagious much?
Dr Tarun Sehgal, psychiatrist and co-founder of Solh Wellness, calls fear a biological signal. “And like any strong signal, it can spread. You only need to see someone panic to feel your own pulse quicken. When one person reacts with fear, others around them unconsciously mirror that response through a process known as emotional contagion. Fear is the brain’s survival broadcast. In primitive societies, this mechanism was crucial: if one member saw danger, the group’s collective fear response ensured safety. In modern contexts, though, this once-helpful reflex often misfires, creating disproportionate anxiety over perceived threats.”
According to Dr Keni Ravish Rajiv, Senior Consultant – Neurology and Head of Epilepsy Services, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, the contagious fear is partly neurological and partly psychological. “Our brains are designed to obtain emotional information from others through a network of mirror neurons that allow us to empathise with and mirror what we see others emotionally display. When we witness someone else being terrified or hysterical, our amygdala (the area of the brain that processes emotion) becomes activated, causing the brain to attach or pair our emotional reaction with the fear the other person is expressing, even in cases when we have no reason to feel any real threat ourselves.”
This very reason helps fear spread easily in groups, in emergencies, during market panics, and even on social media, he states. “The human brain evolved to prioritise safety and survival, and mirroring fear previously allowed the brain to respond bridged to ancestral threats. This is less helpful in our modern social settings, where fear can manifest by way of an immediate response, amplifying anxiety and misinformation.”
The evolution
There is a whole process behind fear’s contagiousness. Dr Rajiv reveals, “When fear spreads from one person to another, the body is biologically activated due to the same fight or flight response, releasing stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol, causing increased heart rate, blood pressure, and awareness.” He feels the longer we are exposed to sharing the fear, the chances are higher of compounded collective anxiety, poor decision-making, and mental exhaustion.
“When fear passes from one person to another, it reshapes perception. The body’s stress systems — particularly the sympathetic nervous system — gear up for survival,” reveals Dr Sehgal. “On a collective level, this can result in group panic, misinformation spread, and impaired decision-making.”
He considers chronic contact with others’ fear as even leading to vicarious trauma, in which the person starts showing symptoms of anxiety, sleeplessness, or intrusive thoughts, despite no direct threat.
Stopping fear
Dr Sehgal wants everyone to be aware of this as their first step in managing fear. He wants to identify when the fear comes from the other’s emotional state rather than their own experience. “Pause and ground yourself before responding to someone else’s distress. Breathing exercises and body awareness help deactivate the amygdala-driven response. Acknowledge another person’s fear without mirroring it. Calm acknowledgment creates psychological containment. Limit exposure to alarming news or fear-driven discussions, especially in digital spaces that algorithmically amplify anxiety. Emotional regulation is also contagious. Just as fear spreads, so does composure.”
For Dr Rajiv, only one simple method can help stop the fear from spreading. It involves taking the moment to stop, check, and manage. “When we are under stress, especially collective stress, simply being grounded (to the evidence and staying calm) helps to break the chain of fear.”
Drawing the line
Dr Rajiv raises awareness of the difference between caution and bravery. “Cautiousness means being informed and prepared, while bravery means acting rationally in spite of fear. And if we can recognise whether fear is helpful or an over-exaggeration, we can act sensibly instead of reacting only.”
Dr Sehgal adds, “Bravery is about acting despite it, guided by reason rather than panic. Clinically, this line is drawn when fear starts distorting judgment or limiting functioning. A cautious person assesses risks rationally. A fearful person catastrophises. A brave person acknowledges uncertainty but maintains action grounded in evidence and self-control.”
It is time to fight fear from its root, so that it does not become contagious.
