Celebrity deaths have always made an impact. You read a headline and your heart drops to the pit of your stomach, realizing that someone who had an impact on thousands is gone. Maybe they were someone you followed closely. Maybe you simply recognized their name and the impact behind it. One way or another, even if you weren't a "superfan" a celebrity death can still shake you up, placing you into a headspace of grief.
It may seem weird or strange or inappropriate to grieve the loss of someone you didn't personally know, but it's actually very normal.
1. Our bodies physically react to shock
Our bodies always physically react to shock, whether you consciously see if happening or not. Sometimes this is strictly because of the event that shocked us — bad news or a loud noise, for example. Sometimes our bodies already have stress and trauma that hasn't been released and use moments of shock to do so — have you ever randomly started crying over something you wouldn't normally cry over? Your body is probably reacting to more things than just that one event.
2. Celebrities seem immortal
We all, logically, know that this is not true. Yet when you see someone on a big screen, playing a professional sport, or being "larger than life" in other ways, it's easy to forget.
3. They're artists
When someone who contributes so much to the world passes, it's too easy to consider what more they could've given if they would've had the time. While their talent was clearly not wasted, it's sad to see that talent leave us (even though it remains in the work they've given us).
4. You may personally resonate with how they died
When someone dies the same way that someone you personally know died — an illness, a car crash — their death may bring back the trauma of losing your loved one. This can impact your mindset and bring back the emotions you associate with that previous loss. This also means you understand what the individual's friends and family are going through on a deeper level, and you may begin to grieve for them.
5. Grief is universal
Grief is often a community event. When one of us feels a deep loss, that resonates with those around us, and they pass it on to those around them. We are often more empathetic in times of grief, meaning we take on that sad, emotional state of others who are grieving. It's not abnormal for grief to have a domino-effect.
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6. Someone's hero died
We all have the people who motivate us, teach us, and give us something to aspire to be. Celebrities play this role on a much larger scale, able to fill a "hero" hole for many of us. Even when a celebrity dies who was not necessarily your hero, understanding that a hero to many has passed can be devastating.
7. Death is always sad
Sometimes your grief is as simple as that and that is OK. Grieving is a healthy, natural process we all go through — let yourself grieve.
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