How to Overcome Celebrity Worship and Get on with Your Life
by Celebrity worship has reached epidemic proportions in this country. Here’s how to overcome your obsession with celebrities and regain your free time.
Are you obsessed with every move that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie make? Do you follow the antics of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears as if they’re a religion? If so you may be a victim of celebrity obsession or celebrity worship. Celebrity worship is at epidemic levels in this country as sales of celebrity focused magazines such as People, In Touch, and Us skyrocket. Is this really a good use for your precious time? If you’re tired of wasting your days reading about the privileged lives of celebrities who don’t even know you exist, why not channel your energy into something more useful? Here’s how to get over celebrity worship and get on with your life:
Stop reading the tabloids
Do you rush to the newsstand each week to see who made the cover of People magazine? Do you spend your hard earned money on a stack of celebrity news magazines and tabloids such as the National Enquirer? Now would be a good time to start weaning yourself from this habit. If you indulge your celebrity worship habit by buying several celebrity magazines each week, buy one less magazine on a weekly basis until you no longer buy them at all. Pat yourself on the back for the time and money you’ve saved by not bringing them home with you. Ask yourself if you really miss them all that much. Chances are you don’t.
Realize that celebrities have their flaws.
Some people focus on celebrity worship because they believe they have flawless faces and figures as well as perfect lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. Celebrities are real people with real problems like you and me. Surely their high divorce rate will convince you of that. Even their looks are not as pristine as photos would have you believe. Celebrities are almost always airbrushed before their photos are viewed by the public. Check out some of the internet sites that show celebrities without makeup if you need convincing that the stars aren’t perfect.
Find out what’s happening in the real world.
If you’ve been myopic enough to only follow the lives of the rich and famous, broaden your horizons a bit and educate yourself about what’s happening to the rest of our country and the world. Instead of buying another celebrity worship magazine, get a copy of Time, Newsweek, or the New York Times and keep abreast of what’s happening beyond the golden boundaries of Hollywood.
Develop a new interest or hobby.
Use the time you previously devoted to celebrity worship to start a new hobby, join a club or learn a new skill. It will make you a more interesting conversationalist and give you a newfound sense of confidence. When you have stimulating projects and activities of your own, you’ll have less time to spend focusing on what the celebrities are doing.
Exercise
Instead of envying the svelte bodies of your favorite celebrities, go out and build one of your own. Daily exercise will not only improve your health and physical appearance, it’ll give you a new sense of confidence. You may start to feel like a celebrity yourself!
Yes, you can break the celebrity worship habit and become a more fulfilled person in the process. Give some of these tips a try and watch your celebrity obsession melt away.
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Post CommentGeorge Leard
On December 26, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Hi Doctor,
Your article is timely and speaks to the core of the problem.
It is really a waste of valuable time and resources focussing on these people who are sometimes big adulterers and addicts.
On a spiritual level worshipping them could be classified as Idolatry.
Food for thought.
Regards
George
Marie
On April 4, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I think your article is highly selective and biased. Just because you don’t like celebrities doesn’t mesan you have to villify those who enjoy this pasttime. What about people who obsess about other things like sports, religion, politics or even their own pets? How it that any different?
j
On August 17, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I like it because I am in the middle of trying to get over an fantasy with a celebrity. It may be Idolatry, but when you are in it, it is hard to overcome. There needs to be more help and less criticism. Some people are able to separate themselves from celebrities. Others, like my self, do not. It does not make sense, I know but I am going to work on it.
evangeline
On October 20, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I think that “Marie” misses the point of your article. You are not putting down those who enjoy this pastime, you are offering a plan of action for those who have been sucked into something that they want to get out of. I appreciate the article and am going to take the steps you suggest to overcome my struggle with celebrity obsession. I am probably more sick of celebrity culture invading my mind and my life than celebrities are sick of the paparazzi. Thank you for your article.
Paul Bob
On May 23, 2009 at 11:23 am
This article is weak, but nonetheless celebrity worship is always wrong. It is never healthy to be interested in celebrities, besides perhaps slight curiosity. That is my opinion and belief. People are interested in celebrities not because they are good people, but because they are merely famous. This is wrong, and sad.
Addressing Marie.. Obsessing over anything too much can be damaging. Sports, religion, politics, and pets are hardly different. Pro athletes are indeed celebrities. Religious figures can be celebrities, politicians too, as well as animals even! She said “obsessing” though. Obsessing is damaging like I said.
When people stop worshipping and obsessing over people merely due to their fame then we will grow stronger and more close to each other as human beings.
Celebrity worship MUST stop.
h
On May 25, 2009 at 7:26 am
hi,
Like others have said, I also think “Marie”, missed the point of your article. Some people, like me, start gathering info about celebrities because it gives us a break from our own lives, but at some point it starts to take over your life, becomes the main focus of your day.
Thanks for the article. I want to get out of celebrity worship and get on with my life.
GratrefulGirl
On June 3, 2009 at 8:53 am
Hello.
Thank you for helping me and giving me such good tips. I have become obsessed with a particular celebrity but now that i know what to do, I feel jubilant and excited to get rid of my obession. Thanks again!
ocd
On June 5, 2009 at 7:54 am
i’m also obssessed with a celeb, i can’t help myself. i have withdrawal symptons and i cant concentrate. i check his forum everyday and follow his every moves. i’m so pathetic. if the energy spent on this could be directed at my job, i’d be a millionaire now.
Marie 2
On September 20, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I stand by my previous comments, and I did NOT miss the point of this article. I still think it’s biased and trying to make people feel guilty when they shouldn’t. Substituting anti-celebrity sentiment for so-called ‘celebrity worship’ isn’t much better IMO. The haters can be just as obsessed as those who worship the ground a star walks on…and probably a lot more dangerous. If you wanna stop “worshiping” a celebrity fine…just make sure you’re not switching one “addiction” for another…and don’t judge those who do happen to enjoy things that have to do with celebrities. It’s their right if they want to do that and they don’t need some guilt trip.
Lost Girl
On October 15, 2009 at 11:23 am
doctor, i faced tons of problems and actually lost my one beloved family member before i know came to know a music band.(problems still coming right now into my damn life) This band wrote songs which seem to spoke everything out of my heart, that their songs are close to my heart, and I finally have one thing to focus on my life. After that i just became very very obsessed with the band especially the lead singer. I keep thinking of them everyday and just want to search about their news all the time. And it gives a very negative effect on my studies. I’m no longer study or doing my homework anymore even in school because i cannot concentrate. I’m only interested in doing things related to the band. But without the band i have nothing else to focus in my life, and i would feel the life is meaningless at all and totally be lost. I really want to stop myself but i just cannot. I’ve tried your methods but they just did not work. Please help me
Mthoko
On June 1, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I wrote a similar article in which I outlined that there is a difference between celebrity worship and celebrity interest. Nothing wrong with an interest but obsession and worship are a big NO NO!
admirer.
On April 26, 2011 at 9:53 am
Well, I recently went to a concert of my favorite band. I read so much about them, had been on their web sites/fb pages, spent time in their chat rooms. They used to be real famous, but not really much anymore. Still popular but don’t draw millions anymore, I guess you could say has beens. As I was standing and talking to some people, I accidentally backed into one of the band members. I said “hello,” and he just walked away. He didn’t know me. I knew all about him, his likes, dislikes, all his history wrote on his page and he didn’t even give me a second glance. It hurt, but it served as a reminder that this admiration is is all one-sided. If I were to drop dead, he wouldn’t care. Well, that is that. I now need to focus on my own fan base more, in my case, husband, children, mom and dad while I still got them, grandpa while I still got him.
samantha
On October 6, 2011 at 4:29 am
hiya. i have celebrity worship at the moment and i have no idea how to get rid of it. as nothing seems to be working that i try. i mean i try to convince myself that i will never be with him but that isn`t working . plus i always hear his songs on the radio.. but what herts me even more is the fact that he`s in a relationship. please help me….
Diane
On November 15, 2011 at 10:38 pm
I don’t think Dr. Leong knows what she is talking about and I find she is a cliche’. She thinks it all has to do with expecting a celebrity to be perfect. Dr. Leong thinks it is an easy fix, just stop buying celebrity mags, exercise, get a hobby. Instant fix. It isn’t I wrote three books on the subject of celebrity obession. You can get a copy of Overcoming Celebrity obsession online. I wonder how many books Dr. Leong has written on the subject? None probably. I think how a fan feels towards a celebrity is an individual thing. Some think celebrities are interesting, some think celebtrities are perfect, and some fans are just in love with a particular celebrity. It it is celebrity worship, I think the fan should be the one to decide that. It takes working through the layers of the obsession and the fan’s personal life to be able to reach that level.