Nostalgia: What It Is, Characteristics And Functions Of This Feeling
We have all experienced nostalgia on more than one occasion. It is a feeling that arises when we look back and remember good times, moments in our lives when we were happy or, at least, that is what we believe now.
When we went out with a boyfriend or girlfriend, when we played in the park with our friends, when we ate on Saturdays at our grandmother’s house… there are many “whens” that evoke truly nostalgic experiences.
What is nostalgia? Does it have any use? Could it be a problem? These are some of the questions that we are going to resolve below.
Nostalgia is a feeling anchored in the past, in fact, it is understood as longing for a better time This emotion is experienced when we feel sorrow, sadness and melancholy towards our homeland when we are far from it, we feel the absence of our loved ones, we miss someone who died or we remember an object that was very valuable to us. It is wanting a past time to be revived. It is nostalgia that speaks when it is said that times past were always better…
Its etymology offers us a good description of the feeling that nostalgia implies. It comes from the combination of the Greek words νόστος (nóstos), which means “return”, and the suffix -αλγία (-algía), which means “pain” So nostalgia is the “return to pain”, a pain resulting from remembering times when we were happier, or at least that is what we believe.
Although today we see nostalgia as a feeling that arises when thinking about those good times that are part of the past, There was a time when it was considered a mental pathology or, more in line with the thinking of the time, a disease of the soul This word appeared for the first time in a medical thesis in 1688. Its author, Johannes Hofer, described this emotion as an illness, a clinical picture manifested by students who went to the academy in Basel who longed for their hometown.
In the 19th century, the term nostalgia stopped being used to refer to a supposed mental illness, although it was considered a possible symptom of a mental disorder. This is actually partly true for certain disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders. As time went by, the term was used to simply refer to any situation in which the past was missed in a melancholic way and longing to relive those better times, removing the pathological character with which the term had been conceived.
Today we know that nostalgia is a state of mind whose experience is not pathological in itself. In fact, we could see it as a defense mechanism, an escape route from a present that is often complex and full of problems It can even improve our mood, remembering our strengths and attitudes in the past that contributed to making that time so happy. Nostalgia helps us understand that there have been good precedents in our life history, moments in which we have learned what to do to move forward and that have helped us grow as people.
However, it also has its bad side, since experiencing this emotion too many times It can involve navigating feelings of loneliness, lack of meaning in life, and disconnection from those around us It can cause us to stay stuck in the past, forgetting what exists is now.
What is the use of nostalgia?
For many, nostalgia may no longer be another element in our emotional repertoire. However, the truth is that each emotion and feeling has its meaning and usefulness, and nostalgia is no exception to this. If we live it in a healthy way, this state of mind captivates us in the glorious past, helping us to be aware of the good that was in it and to see what was going so well at that time, but without trapping us in it and making us forget that the present, if it is not lived, is lost
The potential usefulness of nostalgia has been addressed by science. We have an example of this in the study by Wildschut and colleagues from 2006, published in the Journal of personality and Social Psychologywhose conclusion was that people usually experience this state as a motivation, something that pushes us to move forward at a given moment in our lives It is an emotion that brings with it feeling a vital impulse that tells us “go ahead.” Thus, this emotion would have both a psychological and emotional purpose, two fundamental aspects of motivation.
We have another example of addressing the usefulness of nostalgia in the work of Svetlana Boym. In her book “The Future of Nostalgia” (2001) the author exposes the existence of two types of nostalgia: the restorative and the reflective
Restorative nostalgia would have an emotional purpose, being one in which one tries to return to the past because one sees in it a moment of happiness and well-being, something opposite to what the person is experiencing in their most immediate present or after having had some bad experience.
On the other hand, reflective nostalgia, in which one also returns to the past, does not necessarily occur after having had an upset in the present but rather with the intention of learning from the past to make the present a better moment. It is looking at the past but valuing the here and now.
In addition to this, Other authors consider that nostalgia could have the following three main functions
1. Emotional preparation
Nostalgia prepares us for new experiences but similar to those we already experienced in the past. Here, This feeling is complemented by expectation, filling us with enthusiasm and excitement for what we expect trusting that it will go as well as it did before.
Remembering past experiences in which we were successful and imagining the future in which we will use the same strategies makes us feel stronger and more confident. It is easier to fulfill a goal or a dream if we emotionally associate it with past success, seeing that we were capable, that there are satisfactory antecedents in our life history.
2. Behavioral activation
As long as we feel nostalgia in a healthy way, this experience can make us more active. As? When we remember the past we feel that there are things in it that we no longer have in the present. This It can motivate us to get going, to try to make those things we miss come back
We may feel nostalgic for playing sports, painting, bowling or any other activity. By feeling this emotion, it invites us to return to old habits, to stop allowing time to continue passing without us doing anything. Whether it is something old or something new, the point is to feel that happiness from the past again by doing something that fulfills us in the present.
Nostalgia helps many friendships last because, after spending time apart or not knowing anything about each other, two friends cherish the good times they had together
This emotion causes people to focus on the good and downplay the bad that happened in the past. Whether they are two friends, two old boyfriends, family members or any type of social relationship between two people, remembering past times helps them connect with each other once they see each other again.
Related article: “The 12 types of friends: what are yours like?”
Dangers and disadvantages of this feeling
As we have seen, nostalgia is an emotion that helps us value the past to face the present, either by applying strategies that worked well for us previously or to try new things.
It is a feeling that makes us feel good seeing that we were once happy, which It can help us see what was going well in our lives back then and what we can apply to our present to make the most of it
However, it is also true that dwelling on the past has its disadvantages. If it traps us, it may prevent us from innovating, sabotage our drive to grow as people and advance in our work, sentimental and social lives It can become a danger because we will stop valuing our present, taking refuge in a past that we consider glorious while doing practically nothing to change our here and now.
This emotion becomes a problem when it distorts our view of the present and the past, belittling one and idealizing the other As a result, we let go of many positive things that happen in our present, remembering over and over again moments that, although happy, no longer exist. The past is past. We must find balance, learning to live in the present, turning to nostalgia to motivate ourselves to move towards the future.
