Why Celebrity Deaths Affect Us So Much

It's kind of strange that the death of someone who we have never even met before can affect us so deeply sometimes. We psychically can feel our hearts sink and we shed real tears. The grief can even be similar to when we lose someone who is close to us. When a celebrity dies people all over the world are collectively feeling the same pain together which seems to only amplify the grief.

We make real connections to athletes, actors, singers - even if we do not personally know them. We are familiar to their work and their achievements so much that we have incorporated those pieces of them into our own lives.

Sometimes celebrities even feel immortal to us. According to Mumbai-based psychologist and psychotherapist, Hvovi Bhagwagar, because we do not know them personally, the exist to us only as figures we just assume are always there and will always be around. When they do pass though, it is more difficult for us to connect their deaths to reality.

Chadwick Boseman passing away over the weekend felt all to similar to when we lost Kobe Bryant earlier this year. The death of Kobe and his daughter Gianna really hit me hard. I cried daily for weeks straight. During that time I was trying to process why we as a society were all feeling how we were feeling. I came across a quote that gave me some helpful perspective: "To feel affected by a death of someone you don't know, is to realize that our reach, our impact, our energy extends beyond the circle we perceive to be our own. A reminder to be careful with words, to love, and accept. Share, inspire, and live an authentic life. After all, life is fleeting and you are powerful."