“It’s really an interesting concept—these infectious agents that you’re calling them. Maybe you’re a person who doesn’t have enough ‘Teflon’ (emotional armor), so things stick to you. Turn off media and social media at a certain point. I think social media can make it hard to have ‘Teflon’ these days because sometimes you can be constantly reminded of what is negative. I think there’s something to it, it’s like you get this virus, you get this infectious agent.”

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley; Vice-Chair of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Editor, Psychological Bulletin

“It’s really interesting. We’re social creatures and we do give off energy and vibes. An event or influence can have a small effect and start to work on you in a positive or negative way. You probably don’t realize that you are starting to think differently, so it really is like you’re catching a silent factor that you might not be aware of.”

—Dr. Gerald J. Haeffel, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame

“We live in an age when everything we do affects not only our own health, but also the bio-diversity and health of the planet on which we depend. We all proceed through life taking so much for granted, tuning-out our inner-selves, oblivious to the ways in which our inner beings impact firstly on our own health and then on our surrounding environment.”

Peter Egan, British actor best known from Downton Abbey, Unforgotten, and Ever Decreasing Circles; animal rights activist; Ambassador for Animals Asia Foundation