How a healthy dose of nostalgia can combat loneliness and improve mental strength

Experts explain why reliving the past can have so many benefits

Nostalgia increases as we age because of lived experiences, which act as triggers. Getty Images

As the relentless onslaught of reboots and reimaginings across the entertainment, toy, fashion and technology sectors can attest, nostalgia is good for business. However, experts also believe it is good for balancing moods and combating loneliness.

“Nostalgia is often associated with triggers,” says Zuha Zubair, clinical psychologist at Thrive Wellbeing Centre. “This is why we get more nostalgic as we get older. The number of triggers we encounter increases significantly with age because of lived experiences. Milestone birthdays, loss of a loved one, the memory of a former relationship, a perfume, a childhood favourite food and music can serve as triggers to nostalgic memories.”

Sentimentality for the perceived “good old days” can have wide-reaching effects. The US Republican party’s “Make America Great Again” motto, for example, has divided a nation. But nostalgia can also bring people together, most notably in 2023 when Barbie tapped into a collective post-pandemic yearning for familiarity to make over a billion dollars at the box office.

It also explains the struggle fans faced when trying to buy tickets for the Oasis reunion tour announced last month.

“We look back to remember who we are, to find the threads that weave our lives together,” says Noona Nafousi, life coach and founder of Neo Noor. “The past is our anchor, our compass. So long as you are grounded in the truth, nostalgia can be like a warm hug for the soul. It brings joy, comfort and a reminder of the love and lessons that shaped us.”

What is nostalgia?

The term was coined in 1688 by Johannes Hofer, a Swiss medical student, while working on his thesis. Discovering that soldiers who moved from the Swiss Alps to the European plains struggled with anxiety, fever-like symptoms, and distress, he used the term “nostalgia” – from the Greek word for “homecoming” – to document their longing for home. Over the years it became a medical condition in the vein of melancholy.

“Today, we look at nostalgia as a psychological resource, a complex interaction of emotions, something that helps us understand human experiences so much better,” says Zubair. “With the latest research and studies, we have come to realise that nostalgia is not an illness. It is a safe space or an escape of sorts. It is a universal human experience to visit this safe space in times of misery and distress. It provides us with comfort, warmth and sweet memories of the past – and it also gives us motivation to keep moving towards our goals.”

How world events and personal experiences shape nostalgia

Nostalgia tends to peak in times of hardship and anxiety, whether on a local or global level. A 2021 study by MRC Data titled Covid-19: Tracking the Impact of the Entertainment Landscape, found that the pandemic fuelled a rise in comfort-seeking from the past among those as young as 13 up to those aged 34.

“During a time of unrest, it is common to turn to what is familiar to seek comfort. Across TV and music, more than half of consumers are seeking comfort in familiar, nostalgic content,” said the report, adding: “Teens utilise entertainment that will help them feel comforted or keep in contact with loved ones.”

Present and future uncertainty, exacerbated by global conflicts, the rising cost of living, climate change and the speed at which technology is changing our lives can lead us to think back to “simpler” times and moments from the past when we felt more content and secure.

“Nostalgic memories take us back to times when there was less responsibility, fewer emotional and physical challenges and more hope for the future,” says Zubair. “It is, indeed, human nature to look back at happier, easier, simpler times when subjected to hardships. So global conflict, arguments with loved ones, changes, moves and even leaving a job, can trigger positive nostalgic memories.”

The benefits of nostalgia

Experts are agreed that frequent forays into nostalgia can be good for mental health and sociability. In his book Past Forward, US psychologist Clay Routledge points to the notion of the collective past as a way of combating feelings of loneliness and isolation.

His findings echo those put forward in the 2008 study Counteracting Loneliness: On the Restorative Function of Nostalgia, which found that: “Loneliness reduced perceptions of social support but increased nostalgia. Nostalgia, in turn, increased perceptions of social support. Nostalgia is a psychological resource that protects and fosters mental health.”

Zubair explains: “Nostalgia improves self-esteem, creates clarity of self-concept, reminds us that we are highly social, enhances the meaning of life and gives us wisdom and motivation. Nostalgia serves so many functions, one of the most important being the supporting role to counteract feelings of sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, and loneliness. Another one is continuously solidifying the answer to the question “Who am I?”

Nafousi adds: “Yes, nostalgia often comes with rose-coloured glasses, but sometimes that is exactly what we need. It is about savouring the sweetness while staying tethered to reality.”