Yes, hope is definitely contagious,
When I attend a Depressed Anonymous meeting I hear hope spoken. My own mood is elevated listening to how others are feeling better because of using the Twelve Steps of Recovery for their lives. Now, because of online Depressed Anonymous groups on SKYPE and ZOOM, the depressed have the opportunity to feel and find hope. And once they move through the most painful experience of their lives,they come back and share with the group how their life once was and how it is now.
Persons find hope. They will find a fellowship that speaks their language.
Yes, hope is definitely contagious.
In the very helpful book The Depths: The evolutionary origins of the depression epidemic, the author Jonathon Rottenberg shares with the reader how our deep moods can lead to depression. He calls his study a mood science.
“…The mood science perspective tells us that depression, deep or shallow, is a natural product of the mood system. However a person gets there, facing deep depression is a supremely difficult trial. Rather than assuming weakness or defectiveness . We should acknowledge that getting through depression requires considerable strength .Rather than assuming permanent debility, we should recognize that some depressions are followed by thriving. Writing these words fourteen years after my episode, I recognize that I am not broken. Getting beyond the disease model will require us to honor the strengths of formerly depressed and the ways that, once reborn , they can help others build enduring recovery from depression.
It is possible.”
Yes, hope is contagious!
(c) The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic. Jonathon Rottenberg (2014) Basic Books, New York, NY. Pages 199-200.