Is there a name for this? (strange grief behaviour)

[DrHouseMD]

My ILs to be, MIL and SIL in particular, grieve people they have never met.

When they read on Facebook or in the papers that someone, particularly a child, is unwell or has had an accident, the outpouring of grief is such they will change their Facebook photograph to a picture of the person with a heart and flower frame, solicit prayers and such, but they don’t know these people. If the person is to die, particularly if it was suicide, they are almost hysterical in their posts.

It goes on for a long time, a year later they will doing the same in memory of this person. Sometimes they will post that they have had a bad day thinking about a person who died, couldn’t do anything, couldn’t go to work, but they've worked through it and need to tell everyone that you live your life as if it’s your last day...

I’ve noticed that quite a few of their Facebook friends do this also (I clicked on a few who were writing long comments on their page). Is it a regional thing? (Liverpool area.)

MIL is a very morose person, I have never seen her happy about anything. I’ve seen SIL nearly cry because she didn’t win the lottery. They both complain a lot, nothing is ever quite right for them. SIL’s children are a bit like this also. They talk a lot about people who have died who they don’t know. They know their names and everything.

Is it depression?

Sorry, should have been ‘heard over the radio’. He obviously didn’t die over the radio ha ha.

There is a 10 year dip in life expectancy in their borough as opposed to 5 miles away

Are you sure they're not sucking the life-force of their neighbours? Like dementors?

I know someone who latches onto anyone seriously ill and then considers herself 'indispensable' to that person and their family irregardless of whether she previously knew them or not. This has extended to her being praised at the funeral/being a beneficiary of the Will etc even if previous to their final illness she did know them from Adam.
It's nauseating and very strange behaviour imo.

In Ireland most funerals are just an opportunity for a big piss up !!! Not really though but being Irish and living in Ireland I wouldn't say that this is the norm. I would very rarely go to a funeral unless it was someone close to me and I definitely don't post things on Facebook or get upset when people I don't know die. I do have a good friend though and she seems to get herself involved in a lot of tragedies and can get very upset when people she doesn't know dies but I think that is her way of expressing strong emotions. She is unable to feel things for herself so it is easier to project them on to others and live vicariously through their tragedies.

Urban dictionary also calls this grief thieving, seem it labeled as OCD or pure old attention seeking!! If you unfollow them on FB you never see their posts!! I've done this to a few people who I really like, but can't stand their running commentary on their life 😂

Fake.

@DrHouseMD
I am from Liverpool and my mums side of the family are exactly like this. They share tonnes of posts everyday, mostly those “like this post if you would love me” with a picture of a one eyed dog or a poorly child, it’s awful.
Also pictures of dead relatives, neighbours, school friends and bloody pets graves with some random quote they found on google.
They are actually the only people who do the hospital check-in with a picture of a drip in their hand and an obscure “in Hospital, finally some answers” etc..
Can’t say for sure it’s the area but I lived there until I was 18, it’s extremely deprived and it wouldn’t surprise me if the life expectancy was lower than most places. Having said that my sister lives there still and she is an amazing person, charitable and selfless and never feels the need to tell the world 🤷🏼‍♀️

Dr and Unicorn - agree that it might be to do with the social concerns surrounding the area. I have FB friends over a large part of the UK and abroad and these types of posts only come from the Liverpool area.