By Shivam Panda
Is it just me, or has it become more common to reminisce about more enjoyable times from the past? You end up thinking to yourself, "We used to go out and….” or “ Remember when we could…” . If this is you, you aren't alone. In fact, it's quite natural.
In the late 17th century, a medical student of the name of Johannes Hofer, noticed strange symptoms afflicting swiss troops posted abroad. Their inflictions included fatigue, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, indigestion, and fever. Hofer noticed that more than pathological, these were symptoms of something psychological. He called it ‘Nostalgia’ from the Greek words, nostos and logos, meaning homecoming and longing respectively. At first, it was considered a particularly ‘swiss’ affliction, a possible side-effect of the years spent in the high alps listening to cow-bells all day. However, as migration across the world became increasingly popular, nostalgia and its victims did too.
For the longest time, nostalgia was associated with home-sickness, but by the start of the 20th century, professionals recognized it as less of a neurological disease and more of a mental condition like anxiety or depression. In fact, over the past few decades, its meaning expanded to a general longing of the past. Rather than an awful disease, it started being seen as a pleasant and poignant experience.
What changed? Our relationship with the definition of nostalgia has clearly had a staggered past. However, the main catalyst behind the change we see in hindsight may have something to do with science itself. As psychologists started to base studies less off of theory and more on systematic and empirical observations, more viable explanations to an array of conditions revealed themselves. Professionals realized that many of the negative symptoms may be correlated to it and not necessarily caused by it.
One of the most publicly available examples of nostalgia is seen in Pixar’s ‘Ratatouille’. The antagonistic critic Anton Ego gives a glowing review to a restaurant after having tasted their dish called ‘Ratatouille’, an old farmers recipe. What urges him to make this review is the fact that the food was able to evoke a sense of nostalgia, taking him back to his past when his mother would make ratatouille for him as a sort of comfort food. Fun Fact: this scene actually draws inspiration from reality; when French author Marcel Proust, who, in his own words,” experienced a cascade of emotions” after tasting a madeleine cake that he hadn’t eaten since childhood.
Despite being a complex emotional state that includes feelings of loss and sadness, nostalgia shouldn’t be equated to inducing negative moods. Instead, by allowing individuals to remember personally meaningful and rewarding experiences they shared with others, nostalgia can boost psychological well-being and encourage psychological growth. So, rather than being a cause of mental distress, it is a means to cope with it. For instance, when people experience negative emotional states, they tend to naturally use nostalgia to reduce stress, and restore well-being.
There is no arguing that the past year has been a debacle. Ironically, with ample free time, the meaning of “I am busy” has been rendered useless. Constantly working or studying and longing for less constrictive and more simple times seems to be everyone’s plight, whether they like to admit it or not. In these stressing times, it is important to remember the past and hope for the future. It is tempting to think of nostalgia as being stuck in the past, but that’s not really how nostalgia works. Instead, it helps us remember that our lives have more meaning and value than just momentary experiences. It gives us confidence and motivations to brave the challenges of the future.
Comments