6th May 2026
I have a fondness for things that things that seem on the verge of disappearance, physically or otherwise. Whether it is old recipes, seeds of fruit no longer grown, vinyl records, ancient or ruined buildings, historic art. In these curiosities, there’s a melding of aspects. Of comfort from timelessness; admiration of survival through the ages; the history absorbed and reflected and at times shining out – man’s determination to move forward. I’m sure the appreciating helps underpin my inquisitiveness of the world around us, awe of the human race and our ingenuity. But I’m also disconcerted. Deep down I’m hugely excited about many elements of our future, particularly in the realms of technology and health. But I’m also cynical for what our current epoch will be remembered for. I need to check myself putting the past on a pedestal; fetishising what was.
Mulling, I couldn’t pin down quite why I felt this inconsistency of feelings. On further digging, I was bemused to see the term nostalgia casually yet frequently hustling its way into my readings. I was caught off guard because it didn’t seem to apply here. But in its broadest and latest sense it does.
I’d always considered nostalgia a fulsome yet benign and backward looking emotion. For example the ecstatic nostalgia when revelling alone or with friends to 80’s dance mash up’s – anyone? Or the nostalgia which smacks you unexpectedly with a dollop of dissipating pain when a memory or sentiment is provoked. Usually by some external stimulus. Regardless of what has brung it to the fore, nostalgia has seemed to be an emotion to contain, quash and discard. Not something useful to explain my conflicting feelings about how society is evolving.
Let’s take a meander. Nostalgia – a term coined in 1688 by Johannes Hofer a Swiss doctor, is derived from the Greek words of Nostos which means homecoming and Algos for pain. He observed strange a demeanour from soldiers posted far away from home for extended periods. It comprised depression, listlessness, insomnia, heart palpitations, weeping and confusion. Some sufferers wasted away entirely from refusing to eat. The word created – ‘nostalgia’, translates into ‘pain of homecoming’. It was analysed by Hofer as an extreme physical affliction akin to homesickness caused by the mind being fixated on returning home. Others proposed nostalgia was not caused by this but by variations in atmospheric pressure. Strangely, yet others advised it was only a Swiss affliction due to the unrelenting clanging of cowbells damaging the brain!
As we moved forward into the 19th and 20th century, nostalgia mutated into a psychological rather than physical disease. People thought to be suffering from it were regarded as being unable to cope with their present reality or deemed neurotic. Nostalgia was associated with a gloomy perspective and melancholia. However into the 20th century, it morphed further into the emotional. Homesickness was seen as a different disposition to nostalgia with the later being defined as ‘a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past’ (Oxford English dictionary) and with that took on more positive overtones.
Today the limited research on it has found in the main it comprises : positive memories associated with oneself, usually in a social context, with most feeling nostalgic about close relations. Even if there is a reflection on a painful memory, it is often intertwined with a positive outcome – a bitter sweetness if you like. My 80’s raving aside, researchers have determined loneliness tends to be the most common trigger of nostalgia.
This all might sound pessimistic but in fact, nostalgia has been redeemed. Yes we may review the past through rose tinted glasses and some may choose to live there day to day. And there are those who worry, amplifying their feelings of sadness when nostalgic. But for most of us, as an emotion, nostalgia is thought to be beneficial to our well being by improving how we feel. When we are lonely, nostalgia can tun that sadness into comfort. It can assist in processing emotions, enhancing our self perception, strengthen our social bonds by offering us warmth and belonging and also infuse life with meaning. In some ways then it bolsters our resilience, augments brain activity and is much more than a simple recalling of memories. Dr Yang in South Korea additionally determined when we are being nostalgic it can reduce the effect of low level physical pain. Unsurprisingly, during the pandemic we were much more nostalgic.
Other countries and cultures have their own definitions for the feeling of nostalgia. As I found on substack – Miniphilosophy: ‘In Portuguese, you have “saudade,” which is a deep, melancholic longing for something or someone now lost. The Germans have “Sehnsucht” for that visceral ache that comes on when you yearn for the past, or something lost. In Welsh, “Hiraeth” is a more geographical kind of nostalgia that pines for a certain land and home country’.
That is, nostalgia is a universally recognised emotion.
Although I’ve referred to nostalgia mostly being related to oneself, it can allude to the past more broadly. Shoring up our comfort with yesteryear should not undermine how we feel about today – in fact if the past echoes forward it needs to be understood. So it’s ok to be excited about the past and what it has delivered. However I need to remember to take off those coloured glasses and use the enthusiasm and knowledge usefully to think not only of our present but where we might be going. And whilst on my way – brush up on those 80’s dance moves….
Curiosity and the rascal 