Memories are a powerful thing within the human mind. Some memories hold such importance to you as a person that they will have lifelong effects on your future experiences. Celebrating birthdays, attending weddings, your favourite childhood holiday – the smallest of things can impact you in the most extensive way.
Such memories can appear in various forms.
We dream. We imagine. We create.
Past experiences impact the person we become in our future – our upbringing, our surroundings, our families. The timings in which we all grow up mould us to be the person we are today. Norms and values have changed over time affecting our views and society as a whole.
The Good Times & The Bad Times
We have a tendency to remember the good parts of life. Our family, friends and other significant people are often associated with these emotions and memories.
These positive events can give meaning and purpose to our day and connect us to our past selves.
Positive psychological states can be created as a result of nostalgia, alongside the reconstruction of past events in your mind. We all have our own story to tell.
Wellbeing describes the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy – the impact of reminiscing on positive times in our lives goes hand in hand with an our personal wellbeing.
The term reminiscence refers to a story we tell about a past event in our lives.
Reminiscence is an important factor in day-to-day life, giving you the opportunity to look back on your past experiences and think about how you felt during this time.
However, bad life experiences and periods of our lives may also weigh heavily on us, even if they are not the kind of memories we want to remember. The good and the bad mould us to become the individual we are today… making us stronger for the future and giving us the ability to override these negative past experiences with the good.
Nostalgia is a term used in relation to a more positive outlook on life.
Nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a time in the past. Recalling events that hold a nostalgic meaning specific to you can act as a deterrent for negative moods.
States of loneliness can also be avoided, bringing us back to the times in our lives that are the most important to us.
Music signifies such meaningful events to so many people, with associations being made to events and people just from the opening chords of one of your favourite songs.
Previous sources have noted the importance of reminiscence and how interacting with this factor can help to predict an individuals’ satisfaction. Sadly, inevitable but distressing events happen during everyone’s lifetime, but reminiscing on these situations or perhaps people who are missed so dearly has a positive impact on the individual at hand. Mental health plays such a significant role during the 21st century, with more and more people beginning to understand those suffering and how to help them. Just thinking about happier times and recalling such events influence a person’s mental state and their functional wellbeing.
A reading list is provided below for further information on the topics discussed.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607860500131427
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/09/look-back-in-joy-the-power-of-nostalgia
- https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-20034-013
- https://theconversation.com/the-psychological-benefits-and-trappings-of-nostalgia-77766
- https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/science/what-is-nostalgia-good-for-quite-a-bit-research-shows.html
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01219/full
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/benefits-of-nostalgia_n_4031759