If we are too focused on the future, we can become anxious, we can wait too long to do what we want to do, or we don’t enjoy what is right in front of us. If we dwell in the past too much, then we can be more susceptible to developing low mood, or ruminating over past “mistakes”. It can also cause us to miss the present moment, or downplay the good things that are happening now.
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Research has shown our memories tend to be biased in that we minimise the negative and maximise the positives; and this is how and why nostalgia works so well.
Our hankering for “better times” from the past can also allow us to make our social connections and relationships stronger by reliving common experiences with others and keeping those bonds strong, thereby reducing loneliness. Nostalgia may also allow us to feel some sense of familiarity and certainty about who we are and how the world is, which can make things seem more manageable.
Research has shown that nostalgia can reduce both our cortisol (the stress hormone) levels and feelings of depression. It can also protect us against stress and anxiety. We can trick our memories into being triggered by using nostalgia, and thereby manifest more happy feelings.
Our senses of smell, sight, touch, taste and hearing can all transport us back to a place or time that our memory has labelled as happy or safe. That might be something as simple as the smell of a perfume or a body cream. Hearing a certain music track that your brain has linked with a happy event or era can flood our brains and emotional systems with good feeling chemicals and memories. Eating a favourite childhood dish or finding our favourite sweets can also bring that sense of comfort.
People
When we spend time with people from our past or recollect shared times, we can relive certain feelings. This can help us bond and strengthens our relationship, not just with them, but also sometimes with ourselves, by remembering a part of ourselves that we may have lost when life got busy. Those people who could always make us laugh, or make us feel safe, are worth spending time with. We can also use nostalgia to help us feel close to people we love who are no longer with us; perhaps it was a certain activity or place you used to spend time in with them, or a habit they used to have that you can adopt. Nostalgia can help us remember them and feel that their legacy continues. Looking at photos, or old texts or letters or cards can bring happy feelings back.
Looking at pictures can make us experience happy memories (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty/Digital Vision/Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images LLC)Things
Most of us will have some objects from our childhood that we never want to let go of, and handling, looking at or restoring them can bring back a sense of nostalgia. That might be a favourite teddy bear, a precious toy car or a collection of cards. Many of us are starting to collect old games, toys or vintage clothes that remind us of the good old days and starting to play with or wear them again.
Activities
Nostalgia is, to some degree, a little bit of escapism from reality; but as long as it isn’t too dominant in our lives, that escapism can actually be helpful to our present by making our current reality a tiny bit easier to manage.
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