Exploring the Emotional Terrain of Nostalgia

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Nostalgia can evoke feelings of emboldenment and selective attention, allowing individuals to mentally time travel and recreate past experiences. While nostalgia can be generally helpful in honoring the past and providing resilience, it can become detrimental if individuals get trapped in the past rather than learning from it. Balancing nostalgia by visiting memories but not dwelling in them excessively is key. The impact of nostalgia varies based on how it is curated and manifested, with some memories triggering sadness rather than a sense of sentimental fondness.

Is it dangerous to live in the past? Why is Disney remaking all of its classic movies? And why does Angela get sentimental over a cup of soup and a free roll?

SOURCES:
- Julie Beck, senior editor at The Atlantic.
- Danielle Campoamor, freelance writer and reporter.
- Kyle Chayka, staff writer at The New Yorker.
- Amelia Dennis, research associate in psychology at the University of Bath.
- Erica Hepper, lecturer in personality/social psychology at the University of Surrey.
- Lucy Hone, director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience.
- Imran Rahman-Jones, freelance journalist.
- Florence Saint-Jean, executive director of Global Trauma Research.

RESOURCES:
- "Pancultural Nostalgia in Action: Prevalence, Triggers, and Psychological Functions of Nostalgia Across Cultures," by Erica Hepper, Constantine Sedikides, Bettina Zengel, et al. (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2024).
- "From Rosy Past to Happy and Flourishing Present: Nostalgia as a Resource for Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing," by Erica Hepper and Amelia Dennis (Current Opinion in Psychology, 2023).
- "Locating Nostalgia Among the Emotions: A Bridge From Loss to Love," by Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg (Current Opinion in Psychology, 2023).
- "Hindsight is 2022: The Psychology Behind Our Cultural Nostalgia," by Kyle Chayka (Town & Country, 2022).
- "Why We Reach for Nostalgia in Times of Crisis," by Danielle Campoamor (The New York Times, 2020).
- "Mulan: Disney Remakes and the Power of Nostalgia During Coronavirus," by Imran Rahman-Jones (BBC, 2020).
- "The Three Secrets of Resilient People," by Lucy Hone (TEDxChristchurch, 2019).
- "When Nostalgia Was a Disease," by Julie Beck (The Atlantic, 2013).

EXTRAS:
- Big Five Personality Inventory, by No Stupid Questions (2024).
- Zoom, by Istvan Banyai (1995).
- Peter and Wendy, by J. M. Barrie (1911).