Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Benefits of Nostalgia
Publishing Solutions Group
Full-service content development for Pre-K-16 educational and professional learning services. Certified WBE.
By Kathryn Lakin
Summer 2023 Intern
Do you remember the vacations you took as a kid or the songs that played at your high school dances? Looking back to the past can help you assess your life. This fond remembrance has a name: nostalgia. Though it has historically carried a somewhat negative connotation, nostalgia has powerful positive benefits that can improve your creativity, social connections and mental health.
The word nostalgia entered people’s vocabulary around the end of the 17th century, when Swiss physician Johannes Hofer coined the term in his dissertation on the “disease” of nostalgia. Combining the Greek nostos (homecoming) and algos (pain), Hofer invented a term meant to describe a mental disorder in which the affected person was overcome by a longing for home or for the past. Nostalgia was no longer classified as a disease by the 20th century, but it retained its negative connotation.[1] However, recent scientific advancements have shifted the narrative.
Recently, a study found that a workplace that encourages employees to indulge in nostalgic memories actually boosts creative output. Having individuals spend time writing about a nostalgic memory made them produce more creative content and increased feelings of open-mindedness.[2] Nostalgia also boosts optimism and results in a more positive outlook on tasks in the workplace and everyday life. Part of the reason nostalgia allows people to express themselves creatively and positively is its role in building lasting social connections.
Engaging in nostalgia involves looking back on personally meaningful experiences and times in one’s life. These experiences usually include positive interactions with other people. By refreshing memories of positive social experiences, nostalgia can contribute to the development of strong relationships in the present. People who are more willing to share positive memories with their coworkers also help strengthen the connection between members of the team on a personal level. These strong bonds can help reduce turnover.[3]
???????????Nostalgia also has the potential to improve mental health and reduce existential dread. Remembering good times decreases fear of death and feelings of existential dread.[4] Nostalgia also increases your sense of life meaning, leading to the pursuit of life goals.[5] What was once thought of as a disease, has now proved a useful tool both in the workplace and in improving individual mental outlooks.
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[4]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656610000310?casa_token=PNo3aCTAPwYAAAAA:673NHD47eIt-zy3uqZM6ruGBjS078I-MG0UD67gVeb4qi8Ngr914DGAatJmOqxviYYz30mUhAQ
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