Here's why you get teary eyed over fictional characters

May 10, 2015 11:18 AM

A 2014 American University study found superfans can feel a strong sense of loss in the aftermath of a character death

The Greys Anatomy cast

I for one, am and always will be a huge fan of the popular Tv series, Greys anatomy.

Its all the memorable because i cried non stop From start till date.

The good news is, I'm not the only person who behaves this way.

Many fans had visceral reactions to the most recent "Grey's Anatomy" death, from a petition to bring the character back to fans posting photos of themselves sobbing.

Fact is, and i am relieved to discover this after concluding that i had tear gland malfunction, there's a psychological explanation for this.

A 2014 American University study found superfans can feel a strong sense of loss in the aftermath of a character death.

There's a psychological reason we get so attached to fictional characters, Robert Rowney, a staff psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic, told The Huffington Post.

"These characters are an escape from some of the stresses of life," he said. "Watching these shows allows you to decompress and not have to think about things for a little while".

"You're exposed to different aspects of the characters' lives, their losses, their loves and their own griefs, everything that goes into the human condition, and you eventually begin to empathize with them and form an attachment. We see some of ourselves in them." He says.

Due to these emotional bonds we form watching certain characters, it's perfectly understandable that we mourn their loss when they die on a show, Rowney continued.

"There's reasoning behind it," he said. "It's obviously going to be different than grieving someone you lost in your actual life, but the reality is what you experience. If you're invested enough, the death of a character is going to be very real to you."

In the case of McDreamy for example, Rowney explained that the media coverage surrounding the news alone indicates that grieving the death isn't totally absurd.

"Tons of people felt affected by the loss of that character," he said. "Having some tearfulness, feeling upset by it that's absolutely normal."

This means i have no tear gland malfunctions and i am a 100% normal, so do not antagonise me the next time you see me crying over a favourite movie character.