Nostalgia Does the Brain Good
by Richard Kensinger, MSW | October 1, 2013
Being introspective, being prospective, even being retrospective is productive and constructive for many. And according to an article in New York Times, nostalgia — which is retrospective — is shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety.
Nostalgia renders us to be more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. Couples report feeling closer and feeling happier when sharing nostalgic memories. On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer.
However, it has long been considered a disorder ever since the term was coined by a 17th-century Swiss physician who attributed soldiers’ mental and physical maladies to their longing to return home — nostos in Greek, and the accompanying pain, algos. In the 19th and 20th centuries, nostalgia was variously classified as an “immigrant psychosis,” a form of “melancholia” and a “mentally repressive compulsive disorder”.
Yet nostalgia makes us feel that our life has roots and continuity. Psychodynamic practice highlights the significance of “object constancy”. It makes us feel good about ourselves and our relationships; it provides a texture to our life and often gives us strength as we advance into our future. Some research shows that people who regularly engage in nostalgia are better at coping with concerns about death.
Nostalgia can have a painful side — it is a bittersweet emotion — but the net effect is making life more meaningful and death less frightening. When people recall and speak wistfully of the past, they typically become more optimistic and inspired about the future.
And nostalgia is different to homesickness, which many clinicians consider a form of separation distress. Erica Hepper, a psychologist at the University of Surrey in England, and her colleagues, demonstrate that nostalgia levels tend to be high among young adults, then dip in middle age and rise again during old age. So it reveals a time-related pattern. It is suggested that “nostalgizing” two or maybe three times a week is an optimal dosing of these experiences.
References
John Tierney, (8 July 2013). What is nostalgia good for? Quite a bit, research shows. New York Times.
Image via Africa Studio / Shutterstock.
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Richard Kensinger, MSW
Richard Kensinger, MSW, has over forty years of clinical experience in behavioral healthcare as a psychotherapist, trainer, consultant, and faculty member in the Psychology Department, Mount Aloysius College. He has also taught at Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University. He is also a lover of "football", known in the USA as soccer. He is currently associated for over 30 years with youth "football", 26 as a referee. See All Posts By The Author
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