When you go through places where you spent happy times in your childhood, or when you smell a perfume associated with you in times gone by, or when you are exposed to anything that provokes your memory, memories and associated feelings begin to pour down on you, so you feel nostalgic for these moments and you feel the same feelings as if the moment is being repeated again.
This nostalgia for the past, or what is called "nostalgia", and the feelings that overwhelm you while remembering previous times, is not only a passing thing, but also has a positive and effective effect in improving our mental health.
Nostalgia is usually related to important memories, such as the anniversaries of an important event, birthdays, and the special moments in our lives since childhood that we shared with family members and friends, during which we felt warmth, contentment, tenderness, and joy, and with their recollection, you may now have the same feelings, and feel a warmth in your heart that spreads Trace it all over your body, and you may realize that you are now smiling while remembering these moments.
This connection to the past helps us feel safe and connected to our loved ones, it boosts our confidence to resist current challenges, and helps relieve negative feelings.
How can a short trip on the memory train help you improve your mental health, and what are the negative effects of nostalgia that you should beware of?
Nostalgia helps improve mood and promote positive feelings (Pixaby)
The feeling of authenticity
A recent study published in the Scientific Journal of Experimental Social Psychology concluded that a short trip into our memories can increase our sense of authenticity and intimacy, which enhances psychological well-being. The study defined authenticity as one's sense of consistency with one's true self.
The research team found this positive effect across different cultures in the countries included in the study, including the United States of America, China and the United Kingdom, and the number of participants reached more than 2,400 participants, whose ages ranged from 18 to 78 years.
The originality resulting from nostalgia for the past improves our psychological health, as it positively affects social relations, the level of activity, vitality, and efficiency, and increases optimism, and helps to have a meaning for life, all of which is reflected in the psychological state.
Strengthening social ties
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in the United States, nostalgia is an emotion that strengthens our relationship with others and enhances social bonding.
Recalling memories while you are with your family and friends, and watching videos of your childhood and your old photos helps you feel closer and more connected with those who share these moments with you, and strengthens your bond with them.
Mood improvement
According to a study published in Consciousness and Cognition, nostalgia helps improve mood and promote positive feelings. If you are overwhelmed with negative feelings, recalling happy memories can help you calm yourself down and temporarily relieve those feelings.
American psychotherapist Diana Woodhouse explained to Everyday health that the effect of nostalgia in promoting positive feelings can be used to help people who have difficulty regulating their feelings, as recalling happy memories can transform negative feelings into neutral or even positive ones. This helps them self-soothe and use healthy coping mechanisms.
Research indicated that nostalgia for the past increased during the spread of the Corona virus, and helped calm individuals and improve their mood during times of isolation, according to the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
Nostalgia can be a measure that shows us the extent of our progress and self-development (Getty Images)
A measure of self-development
Woodhouse says that nostalgia can be a measure that shows us the extent of our progress and self-development and the change that has happened to us over time, so change does not happen overnight.
And she adds, "Remembering the past helps us to benefit from past experiences and learn how we evolved to become what we are now."
Anticipatory vigilance and nostalgia
Sometimes we go through an event and feel nostalgic for it while we are still going through it. Have you ever been in the midst of happy moments and had thoughts that these moments with their feelings will become a happy memory and you would like to keep them and focus on their details to stay with you in the future? This is what is called anticipatory nostalgia that allows us to stop. Realizing the magic of unique moments in our lives and saving them to help us in the future.
Anticipatory nostalgia helps us stay mindful of the here and now, present with our minds and feelings in the moment and enjoyment of the event, and increases our sense of appreciation for positive times and for those who share these moments with us, and for the places where our most memorable memories take place.
And while anticipatory nostalgia may be a future-focused feeling, it takes place in the present moment and connects us to the present.
Beware of being a prisoner of the past
On the other hand, remembering the past can trigger feelings of longing for those happy and precious times, and make you feel sad because some of these memories are from things that cannot be repeated, or from what you shared with people you lost or lived in places that you cannot return to.
In her article on Psychology Today, Susan Degges-White, a professor of psychological counseling at Northern Illinois University, warned against indulging in memories and times gone by.
This immersion makes our minds captive to the past and stuck in our memories with people we lost, or times in our lives that were better and more luxurious, and we think all the time about how things were before, and we reject the current reality and its challenges, which negatively affects our mental and psychological health.
You can always open the box of memories and pick out what makes you feel nostalgic and warm, and remember that you are here now in the present and you have the ability to create happy moments that will be memories of the future.