Literally incorrect

One of my pet peeves is the rampant incorrect use of the word "literally." It has become the standard adjective for emphasis, and in general use today, is almost always used incorrectly and just as filler, not adding anything to what's being said. People have forgotten that "literally" is intended to modify an idiomatic phrase when it describes something in a literal sense, rather than its usual figurative sense.

For example, the only correct interpretation of the sentence "The woman literally lost her mind" is that she misplaced her brain. If she went crazy, then she figuratively lost her mind.

These incorrect uses, especially in the professional media, bother me so much that I now try to find the humor in them by mentally picturing what the literal translation would be.

Here's another: the sentence "John is literally dying to see the new movie" could be correct if John is on a hunger strike because his parents won't let him go to the movies.

I would start tracking down and pointing out more of these abuses, but I was very happy to find that someone has already started a blog dedicated to this subject.