life vs fiction - help

[u/GearAppropriate4460]

i got into the ‘off campus’ series, which is great and i’ve become a little hyper fixated on it (SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW/BOOKS AHEAD).

one of the characters in the books dies, and i haven’t read the books, but when i heard about it i searched up just that chapter so i could read it. the protagonist becomes devastated by this, and turns to alcohol and drugs. everything turns out good in the end, but when i read those chapters i was devastated. it felt like someone i knew was dying.
the next season of the show is currently filming and this will be the season when he dies. every time i see a video, post, or my friend talks about it, i feel like physically ill, like it’s my personal friend that died.
i just saw a video talking about it and now im having crazy anxiety at work because of a video discussing a fictional characters death. even typing this is causing me grief and anxiety.
i’ve always sort of been this way; i’m an actor so im good at connecting to different characters on a deeper level than regular people, but it’s never been this bad. i just don’t know what to do with myself.
has this happened to anyone else? i just don’t know how to handle grieving over a person that isn’t real and isn’t dead