20/02/2026
Mental health issues aren't biologically contagious like a virus—no one "catches" depression, anxiety, or most disorders through contact. But they can spread through social mechanisms like emotional contagion (unconsciously mirroring moods via empathy, facial cues, tone) or broader social contagion (peer influence, shared stressors, modeling behaviors, normalization via media). Evidence shows modest spread for moods/stress in close networks, but limited for full clinical disorders.
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) differs: It's a genuine brain-based condition where symptoms (e.g., weakness, tremors, non-epileptic seizures) stem from disrupted signaling, not structural damage. FND itself isn't biologically contagious.
However, specific FND presentations—especially functional tic-like behaviors—show stronger evidence of social contagion, amplified by social media during/after the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been termed mass social media-induced illness (MSMI), a modern form of mass sociogenic illness spread via platforms like TikTok/YouTube, not requiring physical proximity.
Key points:
Outbreaks of rapid-onset, complex tic-like movements/vocalizations (often unlike classic Tourette's) surged in teens/young adults (mostly females), linked to watching influencers with similar symptoms.
Symptoms often mimic viewed content (e.g., specific phrases like "beans," abrupt/complex tics).
Predisposing factors: Anxiety, depression, OCD traits, prior tics/TS, bullying, stress, social difficulties.
Not "faking"—symptoms are real/disabling, but functional (brain misfires top-down, influenced by attention/modeling).
Unlike general mental health contagion (mostly small mood effects), this shows rapid, patterned spread via visual media.
Sources:
Hull et al. (2021): "Tics and TikTok: Functional Tics Spread Through Social Media" – Describes cases tied to one influencer; suggests social media enables spread previously needing proximity. PMC
Müller-Vahl et al. (2022): "Stop that! It's not Tourette's but a new type of mass sociogenic illness" – Proposes "mass social media-induced illness" (MSMI) for global outbreak via virtual index cases. Oxford Academic/Brain
Fremer et al. (2022): "Mass social media-induced illness presenting with Tourette-like behavior" – Details characteristics, predisposing factors in 32 patients. Frontiers in Psychiatry
Additional reports (e.g., The Conversation, Harvard Health, Practical Neurology) confirm rise in functional tics linked to TikTok exposure, distinguishing from Tourette's.
This highlights how online environments can amplify vulnerability in predisposed people, turning symptom modeling into rapid "outbreaks." Stigma hurts—FND is treatable (physio, psych, education). If seeing trends/symptoms in yourself or others, seek specialist input (neurologist/psychiatrist familiar with FND). Resources: neurosymptoms.org, fndhope.org.
