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Why We Grieve For People We Don’t Know

Losing someone is usually a heartbreaking moment. Losing someone we don’t know, such as a celebrity, can be a confusing time for many. After all, we didn’t know them personally, so why do we feel so sad? Learning why we grieve for people we don’t know might help to explain it all.

They are often part of our lives for a long time

One of the many reasons that people start to grieve for people we don’t know is that they can be a major part of our lives for a long time. After all, our favorite actors might have been on our screens since childhood, or people like Queen Elizabeth II could be the only monarch we’ve ever known. Whatever the case, losing them can feel like losing a sense of the world we know.

People we don't know can feel like a calming presence

People we don’t know can feel like a calming presence

The chances are many of us feel a calm presence from the people we like so much. Perhaps you watch your favorite actor in a movie when you feel down? Maybe they’ve always done good things for the world that lift your spirits? Losing them can oftentimes take away that sense of calm we’ve had for so many years.

Feeling grief shows that we’re empathetic

Grief is a completely normal emotion and one that we need to embrace if we stand a chance of healing. It can also show that we’re empathetic. After all, seeing them lose their lives can leave many of us thinking about the people they’ve left behind. This is more than just their fans. What about their family or their friends? Sometimes, our grief can be linked to us worrying about those close to who has passed without us realizing.

We need to learn to understand our emotions

We need to learn to understand our emotions

One of the best ways to learn about the grief that comes from losing people we don’t know is to learn to understand our emotions. What is it about losing them that makes us feel so sad? It could be that we’ll never see their work again, it marks the end of an era, or anything else that brings us down. Grieving for people we don’t know can give us a chance to reflect inward and think about why we feel the way we do.

Reaching out to others can help with our grief

Losing a public figure usually means we’re not the only one who’s grieving. In fact, the headlines and social media are often filled with people sharing their stories. Reaching out to some of those could be one of the first steps to recovery. Now, we can lean on people who feel the same way and share what it is we’ll miss about them the most.

Learning why we grieve for people we don’t know might not be easy, but it can help us understand why our brains work the way they do. After all, their passing can leave a huge hole in our worlds, even if we never realized it before they were gone.