How are you doing this week? Here in the UK, lockdown restrictions might be beginning to ease, more gradually for those of us in Scotland, but the reality of the long term impact of this ghastly virus remains a pressing and heavy weight.
What on earth does nostalgia offer us?
I was musing about this earlier this week, after a holiday weekend – well, holiday in as much as there was no online school work, MB took a much needed day off from his work, and I looked not at any emails or social media, or indeed at much news.
What we did do was watch several films that our Nearest-and-Dearest had enjoyed as little ones – How to Train your Dragon, and Dolphin Tale, to mention two favourites. Indulged, if you will, in a spot of reminiscing. A few tears were shed during the course of the films….on my part, not simply because of the film but the remembrances of times gone by when our girls were so much little-er. Times of innocence pre-Covid 19 and all that it has robbed so many of.
We also played some long-forgotten games, that had surfaced as part of a cupboard clean out (any of that going on in your house?). Did you ever play Frustration?! It is – well – very frustrating! And despite a hilarious game of it, which was great fun, our version remains firmly in the Charity Shop bag. Who knows when it will reach it’s destination, or if any charity shop will want it, given the volume of newly-cleared-out-and-decluttered items they are likely to receive.
But I digress.
Why is this kind of nostalgia important?
There is good research out there to show that nostalgia is good for us: according to research from Southampton University,
nostalgia is a kind of inbuilt neurological defence mechanism, which can be marshaled to protect us against negative thoughts and situations.”
Nostalgia is not new. The term was first coined by a 17th Century Swiss army doctor studying homesick troops. Nostalgia helps us through hard times, builds resilience and reminds us of important connections in our lives.
It helps us navigate transitions, and allows us to evaluate our current state as only temporary. In our current DC world, the this is more pertinent then ever and for me, there are several reasons why nostalgia is important just now.
Connection with a lost time.
This one is obvious, especially now. Much of what we think of as normal is currently lost. Life BC – Before Corona – feels like a million years ago, when we could hug our friends, attend school/university/work/church/the pub, gather in any size of group for any reason good or sad, go to the shops without queuing, attend concerts and sporting events….
So to immerse oneself in something for a couple of hours that takes us right back to a precious time with joyous memories is increasingly important. For our household, that means revisiting films, games, photos of younger years and laughing, remembering, celebrating.
What does it mean in your house? Where could you go this week, metaphorically speaking, to enjoy that heart swell of memories of something precious?
Nostalgia brings safety and security.
Along with memories, there is a security in revisiting some previous precious event or time. There is something comforting about – at least for a short time – living again in that known familiarity. When we revisit a good time in our histories, we remember again what it felt like to have that safety, that nurturing, that simplicity perhaps.
For me, this is about recapturing for a few moments those days when our Nearest-and-Dearest were little, naive to the ways of the world, not impacted at all by social media, with far fewer expectations on their lives, all of which brought a rich sweetness. Now of course this is entirely artificial – life now with them is a joy, not least because they are bigger and life is much more complex. Equally, life then was not all sweetness and light, but the gift that nostalgia brings is a selective re-enjoyment of what you need at that time. And in these days, tucking ourselves away safely in that lovely box of memories and keeping the big, scary pandemic-filled world at bay for a few hours is important.
A reminder of what is really important.
The films we watched shared similar themes of loyalty, friendship, good winning out in the end, connection and family. In times like these, where there is so much uncertainty and so little that we can control, being reminded of what really matters to us is a useful tool to keep us grounded and build resilience.
There are lots of conversations going on just now about what is ‘essential’ in life, and what resuming normal services will look like. More on this in coming weeks. But nostalgia allows us to reconnect with themes that are central to our lives regardless of external circumstances.
This is especially important for those living on their own just now – for us to take time to remind friends, family, neighbours of how precious they are and that they are not forgotten. Reliving together enjoyed past events with a healthy dose of nostalgia is a great way to celebrate and reinforce friendship.
Of course, nostalgia is often tinged with sadness when remembering times lost. And today, for many, it will be associated with the grief of remembering lost loved ones.
There is also a danger of getting stuck in the past and wallowing too much in events of yesteryear.
But for me, taking a little time to lock out the current world and revisit a joyous memory from the past helps me remember that WHO I am today is in part because of what happened then.
The research from Southampton has shown that nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety – how much more do we need that now.
Nostalgia – what place can it take for you this week?