Hello Everyone,
I’m just wondering if there is a name, condition, whatever for a feeling of loss when someone dies that you never personally knew. Also, is it uncommon to have these feelings? What I am referring to is, in my case, the deaths of Andy Griffith as Don Knotts. Even though I never met either I grew up watching them on TAGS (The Andy Griffith Show) and continue to watch the site until today asst almost fifty years old. When both of these men passed I’m not shame to admit that I teared up a bit and occasionally have a sad feeling when watching the shows.
And quite honestly I also feel the same way about Ronald Reagan. With all three I get a feeling as if someone I knew had passed. It just seems very strange to me that I, our any one could feel this way about an actor that never had crossed our paths in real life. I like to think that the reason is that watching TAGS for five decades made me feel as if I was a part of Mayberry and these fictional television characters were somehow my friends. (Yes, I know how strange that sounds, but I can’t be the only one).
So is there a psychiatric explication for a connection like this?