We often don’t know how nice a period of our lives actually is until it ends. However, there are a few things we can do to help bring back the memories of those precious times. Smelling a familiar scent, putting on a beloved song, or taking out the family photo album are all perfect options. But scrolling through online posts created specifically to induce nostalgia is also an effective one. This is where the Instagram account My Good Old Days comes in. Its pictures help us look back on the games we played, the clothes we wore, the technology we used, and so much more!
More info: Instagram
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For hundreds of years, this type of reminiscence was considered unhealthy. In the 17th century, a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer studied mercenaries in the Italian and French lowlands who longed desperately for their mountain homelands.
Witnessing their weeping and despondency, he coined the term nostalgia and attributed it to a brain disease. Other thinkers of the time echoed this view, and it persisted through the 18th and 19th centuries as well.
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However, according to Dr. Chelsea Reid, an associate professor of psychology at the College of Charleston, United States, it’s a mistake to assume that nostalgia leads to entirely dreadful symptoms.
In fact, “Unpleasant experiences, such as loneliness and grief, can arouse nostalgia, which can then help people cope more effectively with these hardships,” she writes.
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Thanks to scientific research, we now know that nostalgia also provides many benefits.
“It enhances feelings of optimism and inspiration and makes people view themselves more positively,” Reid says.
“When people feel nostalgic, they feel a greater sense that their lives are meaningful.”
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Social benefits of nostalgia are especially well supported. It increases empathy and the willingness of people to give to those around them, such as volunteering for community events and donating to charities.
So in a way, creating and sharing posts like these is a form of public service. I know it sounds like a stretch, but the evidence is there!
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Nostalgia also makes peoplefeel more connectedby reassuring them that they are loved by, connected to, and protected by their loved ones.
It also helps us tofeel more securein our close relationships andenhances relationship satisfaction.
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Dr. Krystine Batcho, who is a professor of psychology at LeMoyne College in the US, says the beauty about trying to “pass on” and “infect” each other with nostalgia is that even if it doesn’t work, it’s not a negative experience.
“I never saw that [reminiscing about the past with in a group] can actually alienate other people because people don’t necessarily want to hear about your nostalgic memories. They want to share their own,” she explains.
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“That’s why I say I wish it were a little more open because we have so much to learn from one another’s nostalgic memories,” Batcho adds. “That’s why I encourage people when they find themselves in a situation such as you’re reminiscing about your past and other people start drifting away because they’re bored, you might start asking them about theirs and start a conversation, a dialogue. In that sense, you can broaden it out a little more.”
It’s like sending your friends memes—even if they don’t get every one, they’ll send some back, and the fun chat just keeps going.
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