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Why do we feel nostalgia?

Why do we feel nostalgia?

In the late 17th century, a medical student named Johannes Hofer noticed a strange disease, which affected Swiss mercenaries serving abroad. Her symptoms, including fatigue, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, indigestion, and fever were so severe that soldiers often had to leave duty. As Hofer discovered, the cause was not some physical discomfort, but an ardent desire for their mountainous homeland. He called the condition nostalgia, from the Greek "nostos" meaning home, and "algos", pain from longing.

At first, nostalgia was considered a particularly Swiss suffering. Some doctors suggested that the constant sound of cow bells in the Alps caused trauma to the eardrums and brain. The commanders even stopped their soldiers from singing traditional Swiss songs, for fear that they would lead to desertion or suicide. But with increasing migration worldwide, nostalgia was observed in different groups. It turned out that anyone who was separated from the homeland for a long time was vulnerable to nostalgia. And by the beginning of the 20th century, professionals no longer saw it as a neurological disease, but as a mental state similar to depression.

Psychologists of the time speculated that it represented difficulty in leaving childhood, or even the desire to return to the fetal state. But over the next few decades, the meaning of nostalgia changed in two important ways. It expanded from the confession of longing for home, to a general desire for the past. And rather than a terrible disease, it began to be seen as a touching and enjoyable experience. Perhaps the most famous example of this was taken up by the French author Marcel Proust. He described how tasting a madeleine cake he had not eaten since childhood sparked a cascade of warm and powerful sensory associations.

What, then, caused such a profound change in our view of nostalgia? Part of it has to do with science. Psychology departed from pure theory and towards more careful and systematic empirical observation. So professionals realized that many of the negative symptoms may have been simply related to nostalgia and not caused by it. And, in fact, despite being a complex emotional state that can involve feelings of loss and sadness, nostalgia generally does not put people in a negative mood.

Instead, by allowing individuals to recall meaningful and rewarding personal experiences they have shared with others, nostalgia can enhance psychological well-being. Studies have shown that fostering nostalgia in people can help increase their feelings of self-worth and social belonging, encourage psychological growth, and even make them act better. So instead of being the cause of mental distress, nostalgia can be a healing way to deal with it.

For example, when people experience negative emotional states, they tend to naturally use nostalgia to reduce anxiety and restore well-being. Today, nostalgia seems to be everywhere, in part because advertisers have discovered how powerful it is as a marketing technique. It is tempting to think of this as a sign that we are stuck in the past, but nostalgia does not work that way. Instead, nostalgia helps us remember that our lives can have meaning and value, helping us find the confidence and motivation to face the challenges of the future. / TED Talks

* This article was published by Bota.al and reposted by Tiranapost.al