Every now and then I get what I call the heebie jeebies about being a "fan". Most of the time it doesn't last, but I have the jitters at the moment. The result of all this is that I feel a short break from the RA fan/blogging scene is warranted. .... I should explain that last year, a person very close to me was hospitalised with an acute form of psychosis that took the form of a celebrity addiction. For a few weeks I could not bring myself to visit the RA forums as, rather than find the humour in a lot of the posting, I was more inclined to be horrified by what I, in that time frame, perceived as behaviours bordering on obsession. I also felt that my own behaviour by being involved in a fandom was in part setting a bad example for the person close to me who was vulnerable to behaving irrationally.
As time passed and things settled, I slipped back into the fandom and began to enjoy many of the antics. Just recently however, I have yet again started to feel uncomfortable. I think it is time to back off ......
Just how I will do this, I'm not quite sure ..... Being part of a fandom is habit forming and I have to break this habit.
My Strategies:
1. Decrease the numbers of visits to Twitter, forums and other RA internet sites. Start with once every second day and then increase the time spent offline. (New information will remain current for a few days anyway). ...... admittedly, I haven't been terribly successful at staying away.
2. If it's no fun then why bother. Maintain sense of humour. Not sure I can do this at times .... the written word can be misinterpreted.
3. Immerse self in Tolkien and other works. Diversify .... maintain balance.
.....
4. Have regular reality checks. RA is a real person. At times he must feel overwhelmed by the sea of faces that is his fandom and the rather intense scrutiny.
5. Be wary of placing Mr RA on a pedestal.
6. Avoid gushing over images.
One of my old cyberfriends from years ago started a thread on a forum called "100 ways to be a fan and stay sane". I'm not sure we ever got to 100, but we came close.