Science shows that thinking back on your memories is primarily a positive experience, and that nostalgia, practicing nostalgia, or the act of feeling nostalgic supports people’s ability to find, maintain, and restore meaning in life.
Here are five other benefits linked to nostalgia:
1. It May Promote Sense of Self
Reminiscing about the past can help you feel connected to who you were in the past, who you are in the present, and who you will be in the future.
“If you are fondly recalling memories that align with your values and morals, this can affirm movement toward those ideas,” Woodhouse says. “This would definitely increase the sense of self and motivate confidence.” She adds that oftentimes thinking back on your former self reunites you with your values and what truly matters to you.
2. It Can Serve as a Barometer for Personal Growth
Nostalgia can also show you how far you’ve come. “Change doesn’t happen overnight,” Woodhouse says. “When we can draw upon those positive experiences and reflect upon our own growth, nostalgia can be a good barometer to gauge how we have stayed aligned with our own values (which may change over time, and that’s okay) and our authentic selves.”
She says looking back at the past can help you see where you have evolved and how you’ve grown into who you are in the present.
3. It May Boost Mood
Nostalgia can lead to a positive effect, according to research. If you’re feeling bogged down by negativity, dipping into nostalgic feelings could help alleviate those emotions temporarily.
“This can allow someone who is highly dysregulated to calm themselves down and utilize healthy coping mechanisms,” Woodhouse says. Recalling positive memories can transition emotions from negative to neutral — or even positive, Woodhouse says. After all, it’s common to feel a little boost from thinking back to happy Little League memories or how satisfied you felt eating your grandma’s famous cherry pie as a kid.
It also helps put our emotions into perspective by reminding us that good and bad times are temporary. We can lean into the good while knowing that the bad also does not last forever.
4. It May Help Strengthen Bonds With Friends and Family
Research shows nostalgia is a highly social emotion that connects us to others.
And it works even if you’re complete strangers and connecting over shared experiences from the past, such as millennials relating over ’90s cartoons and dial-up connections, Woodhouse says. “Nostalgia can unify our experiences.”
5. It Could Make You More Optimistic
Nostalgia can increase optimism. This is rooted in the fact that, oftentimes, reminiscing about fond memories brings us back to happy times. “When we remember good times or reexperience love, it can remind us of feeling successful and accomplished,” Woodhouse says.
Optimism is having the ability to think positively of the future, and recalling moments that made you feel courageous, happy, successful, or any other positive emotion gives you an optimistic lens to see the future through, Woodhouse says. “This can help us live each day to the fullest or even help us see the beauty that is in everyday life,” she says.
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