Newswise — This year has seen the loss of several celebrities, and many people can feel this loss very deeply, despite having no personal connection to them.
Terri Erbacher, PhD, a clinical associate professor of psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, studies grief, and says that it’s actually perfectly normal for people to feel grief over the loss of a celebrity, and many times, it can feel the same as losing an extended family member.
“They’re larger than life—they’re who we aspire to be,” she says. And now, with so many celebrities sharing their daily lives on social media, that feeling of familiarity is even more palpable. “We’re now being supplied with intimate details of their personal lives on a daily basis,” she says. “That can make it feel even more like we’ve lost a family member.”
She notes it’s important to be respectful of other’s feelings—and our own—when it comes to grieving a celebrity.
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