Mendja

Nostalgia: Why think about the past is good for you

Shkruar nga Anabel

4 Maj 2022

Nostalgia: Why think about the past is good for you
Photo Credits: SHUTTERSTOCK

When we become nostalgic we have a mix of feelings within ourselves, including confusion. Why do we feel nostalgic for the past and does it do us any good to be so?

Nostalgia in itself is "a feeling of pleasure and also a pleasant sadness that overwhelms you when you think about things that happened in your past". 

Studies have shown that on cold days, people are more nostalgic than on hot days. In other words, warm memories make you feel warmer during the winter period. 

But what really happens when we become nostalgic and why is it a good feeling for our mental and physical health?

1 / Nostalgia makes us feel more positive about ourselves and the future.

2 / Nostalgia makes us see life with more meaning.

3 / Being nostalgic also increases our social interactions.

4 / Nostalgia is a kind of feeling that improves our well-being and is completely different from "remembering", which sometimes makes us feel bad.

Nostalgia is a way of looking at the past with longing and without making comparisons.

When we think about important life events that make us nostalgic, we add even more value to our lives. We reflect on the person we are, on the person we were, at what point in life we ??are now or how our life was 5 years ago. In other words, nostalgia is a story we tell ourselves, a key element to being happy in everyday life.

Do not think that you are constantly nostalgic because you are simply not happy with your reality. When you enter this world, do not compare memories, just focus on the past and try to relive them.