catching insanity

I'm mentally planning the next few paragraphs... My character is meeting with a shrink. She has lots of ghosts buried deep in her subconscious. Not that I've suffered the emotional trauma of the character, but I can identify with her. I have compassion for her. When I'm writing I get deep into her identity. Will I spiral down the drain into her hell? Will her twisted reality affect the way I see my world? Can you catch insanity?