The Disney-like love story of Prince William and Meghan Markle has lots of people a twitter these days. It’s the stuff dreams are made of. Romance, courtship, gowns, royalty. It’s enough to make any get obsessive. It’s exactly why this fairytale unfolding in front of our eyes should come with a warning: don’t lose touch with reality.
Sue Varma, a psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at New York University Langone Medical Center, told Reuters that this type of fandom can “safely intensify” into a mild obsession and if it deepens, it can raise red flags.
It’s the lack of other activities, the lack of flexibility, the fact that you’re taking away time from something else. Is this time that you could have been spending with your kids? Is this time you could be talking with your partner?
“This is a problem when you’re living in a fantasy world at the expense of creating real relationships,” she said, warning that celebrity obsessions in general can lead to body image issues, because you begin to feel like you aren’t as good as the people you’re putting on a pedestal.
“They start feeling like they need to get plastic surgery,” she said.
Earlier this year, The Sun reported that Meghan Markle lookalikes are making bank in the U.K., charging 400 pounds for a couple of hours of “service,” whatever that means. And in February, The Daily Mail reported that Meghan Markle’s lips had replaced Angelina Jolie’s as the preferred pout at the plastic surgeon’s office.
The next time you start obsessing over the royal wedding, ask yourself: If I were actually at the wedding, would I be escorted out? If the answer is yes, time to Netflix binge and chill the heck out.
