{"id":954,"date":"2013-09-03T16:21:18","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T20:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/?p=954"},"modified":"2013-09-03T16:21:18","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T20:21:18","slug":"celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html","title":{"rendered":"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"worship\"<\/a>Everyone is aware of the problems that many celebrities have with addiction, but what about the average person that becomes obsessed or addicted to a famous individual? Is this a true addiction or is it a simply a way for people to feel a part of something famous and special?<\/p>\n

In fact, there is a mental health diagnosis that is recognized as Celebrity Worship Syndrome. There is actually a scale that has been developed to rate just how obsessed a fan may be over a famous person. The object of the obsession can be a movie or television personality or star, a sports figure or a true celebrity; but they all have in common the fact that they are all individuals that are highly visible.<\/p>\n

Celebrity addiction or celebrity worship often starts out rather benign, just like the admiration most of us have for someone famous. However, once it grows from this harmless pastime the individual begins to be obsessed. They spend excessive amounts of time learning every detail about them, watching them and attempting to have some type of interaction. This could be through following the celebrity on social media, sending emails or letters or attending events where the celebrity is a known guest or regular.<\/p>\n

Not everyone that develops Celebrity Worship Syndrome or CWS has a mental health disorder but there is increasing research that suggests that along with the symptom and behaviors of CWS there is a high rate of anxiety, depression and stress. Often as the obsession progresses into a true addiction the individual will begin to believe there is a real relationship with the celebrity. This can lead to detailed fantasies that could potentially escalate into more dangerous behaviors and delusional thoughts.<\/p>\n

Treating people with CWS is no different than treating any other type of addiction. My book, \u201cThe Law of Sobriety\u201d, stresses that it is essential to see yourself living the way you want, in this case free from the envy and desire to be in a relationship with the celebrity, as one of the major components of recovery. Looking for the positive aspects of that celebrity in the people around you and learning to focus on what is already in your life is a key factor in breaking this addiction.<\/p>\n

Sherry Gaba LCSW, Psychotherapist, Life, Love<\/a> & Recovery Coach is featured\u00a0 Celebrity\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rehab\u00a0\u00a0 on\u00a0 VH1. Sherry is the author\u00a0 of \u201cThe Law of Sobriety\u201d<\/a> which uses\u00a0\u00a0 the\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 law\u00a0 of\u00a0 attraction<\/a> to\u00a0 recover from any\u00a0 addiction.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please\u00a0\u00a0 download your free E book\u00a0 \u201cFilling The Empty\u00a0\u00a0 Heart\u201d\u00a0 and\u00a0 your \u201cAre You\u00a0\u00a0 a\u00a0 Love Addict Quiz?\u201d at www.sherrygaba.com<\/a> Contact Sherry\u00a0 for\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 webinars,\u00a0 teleseminars,\u00a0 coaching\u00a0 packages and speaking\u00a0\u00a0 engagements.\u00a0\u00a0Take\u00a0 Sherry\u2019s quiz for a free eBook\u00a0 Filling\u00a0 the\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Empty\u00a0 Heart: 5 Keys to\u00a0\u00a0 Transforming\u00a0 Love\u00a0\u00a0 Addiction.<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone is aware of the problems that many celebrities have with addiction, but what about the average person that becomes obsessed or addicted to a famous individual? Is this a true addiction or is it a simply a way for people to feel a part of something famous and special? In fact, there is a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,147,13,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-steps","category-aa","category-addiction","category-agoura-psychotherapist-westlake-village-psychotherapist-calabasas-psychotherapist-malibu-psychoth","category-beyond-addiction","category-celebrity-addiction","category-celebrity-news","category-celebrity-rehab","category-law-of-sobriety","category-love-addiction","category-mental-health","category-sobriety"],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction? - The Celebrity Therapist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction? - The Celebrity Therapist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone is aware of the problems that many celebrities have with addiction, but what about the average person that becomes obsessed or addicted to a famous individual? Is this a true addiction or is it a simply a way for people to feel a part of something famous and special? In fact, there is a…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Celebrity Therapist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-09-03T20:21:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2013\/09\/worship.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sherry Gaba\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction? - The Celebrity Therapist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction? - The Celebrity Therapist","og_description":"Everyone is aware of the problems that many celebrities have with addiction, but what about the average person that becomes obsessed or addicted to a famous individual? Is this a true addiction or is it a simply a way for people to feel a part of something famous and special? In fact, there is a…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html","og_site_name":"The Celebrity Therapist","article_published_time":"2013-09-03T20:21:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2013\/09\/worship.jpg"}],"author":"Sherry Gaba","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html","name":"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction? - The Celebrity Therapist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2013\/09\/worship.jpg","datePublished":"2013-09-03T20:21:18+00:00","dateModified":"2013-09-03T20:21:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#\/schema\/person\/0741dfc75bdebc7207322576ec56d97e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2013\/09\/worship.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2013\/09\/worship.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2013\/09\/celebrity-addiction-is-celebrity-worship-an-actual-addiction.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Celebrity Addiction: Is Celebrity Worship An Actual Addiction?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/","name":"The Celebrity Therapist","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Sherry Gaba","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#\/schema\/person\/0741dfc75bdebc7207322576ec56d97e","name":"Sherry Gaba","description":"If you think you might be codependent or a love addict, get Sherry\u2019s FREE Ebook, \u201cThe Truth about Codependency\u201d https:\/\/wakeuprecovery.com\/codependency-quiz\/ Sherry maintains a private practice in Westlake Village, and is a sought after transformationn and recovery coach. For more information visit www.sherrygaba.com or sign up today for Sherry\u2019s online group coaching program for codependents for $19\/month https:\/\/wakeuprecovery.com\/become-a-member-co\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/author\/sherrygaba"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":956,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions\/956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}