According to the Online
Etymology Dictionary the word nostalgia is derived from the Greek words
“nostos” meaning homecoming, and “algos”, meaning pain, grief or distress. In
1688, after observing a tendency in soldiers stationed abroad to focus on memories
of home, a Swiss doctor named Johannes Hoffer described nostalgia as a
“neurological disease”.
If you’re like me you
have no trouble understanding what this discussion is about. I readily admit to
spending time strolling down the tree-lined path of those sweet days gone by.
Is this an unhealthy thing, as Dr. Hoffer defined it? No, in fact a recent New York
Times article lists some distinct benefits to those journeys of heart and mind.
In an article titled
“What is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows”, published on July 8,
2013, John Tierney discussed research that has changed attitudes toward time
spent enjoying memories of the past. Dr. Constantine Sedikides of the Centre
for Research on Self and Identity, The University of Southampton is quoted as
saying “Nostalgia makes us a bit more human.”
In 2011 Dr. Sedikides and colleagues published a
study entitled “Nostalgia: The Gift That Keeps on Giving”. Nostalgic feelings
are said to “typically involve interactions between the
self and close others such as family members, friends, and romantic partners.
These social interactions occur in the context of momentous life events such as
reunions, vacations, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, and childbirths.”
Dr. Timothy Wildschut says the stuff of nostalgia is the same everywhere. “The
defining features of nostalgia in England are also the defining features in
Africa and South America.”
Not surprisingly, the researchers found that music is a good way to induce nostalgia. They can say that again. Who hasn’t heard just the first few bars of something from ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ and been hurtled right back to the summer of 1967? “She’s Leaving Home” is the song that’s most evocative for me.
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