Is Nostalgia Healthy?

Whenever I think of the past times I lived, I always fill up with a sad feeling of loss. Those times are gone, those friends are gone and everything is different now. It was perfect then.

To me, nostalgia is a strange, emotional feeling, full of gladness that it happened but so very, very sad that it's gone. It makes me feel lonely and lost. Nostalgia is not just a memory; it's a strong emotion. Is that even normal?

My impressions of nostalgia relate to a time when things were better such as a neighborhood that I once lived in that is now an example of urban decay. Or the high school that I attended which is now closed. Although I have no wish to turn back the clock, I often wonder why such changes had to occur.

At this very moment I am feeling nostalgic. This is probably because I am afraid to move on and face the present and future properly.

I am missing how I had lived with my grandparents--their cooking, their care, their way of speaking towards me, their presence.

I sometimes visit there, but every time I visit, I get to feel more lonely -- yes, lonely and sad. I sometimes make the effort to relive the past, which I found unhealthy after reading the article above.

I also think that nostalgia is also caused by the sadness one feels at her present situation. This is because at this very moment, I am very sad. My father's about to leave for his job and he'll be gone for 6 months.

I am not really that close with my pop but after he stayed here for nine months, I have come to endear myself to him.

And now I am feeling very sad and lonely again. I last had this feeling when I was a kid -- the feeling of wanting him to stay here. The last time I had this feeling, it was easy on my part because my grandparents were there to support and care for me, and ease the feelings I had. But now, I have no one who understands, support and comforts me.

I am very sad and very lonely. Because of the feeling that my only father will be gone again.

@anon313875: Keep on moving. You get to a point where it doesn't hurt so much anymore since you are too busy with today. But, there will always be days it hits you. Remember: For each who suffer through this, there is someone who has overcome it.

I often think about my childhood. It was a very mixed bag for me, as I was an only child and was never was given the chance to ever feel a strong bond with my family. I grew up mostly in my head and in front of the TV. I was sometimes left with strangers who would in turn, turn me over to the their kids, who would abuse me.

Still, I feel a sense of wonder, because I know I was still a happy child, even though sometimes the world seemed so dark. And I'm so glad that I've come so far, but that darkness still lingers at the fringes of my reality.

Sometimes I slip back in to the darkness. I never knew the etymology of the word "nostalgia" before now, but it describes perfectly how I feel sometimes -- how I feel now. I was cleaning out my mother's home today, as my stepfather had recently died, when I came across some old childhood drawings that put me back this way.

When I was a teenager, I grew my hair out long and hid hid behind it. Sometimes I still feel that way.

But, I just wanted to say that there is hope. I think about where I've come from, and where I am now, and where I would like to be. You just have to go there - look for something to do now. Set goals for yourself - keep a journal, and write down everything, and if you're not meeting your goals, write down why you think that is and what you think you might do instead.

There's no real universal answer. Your truths are your own. I'm almost 30 years old, and I'm just now beginning to find confidence in myself. It's hard, but I'm getting stronger every day.

I think nostalgia comes when you are not happy. So you think back to the times where you were happy. But this is just damaging. You live now, so do your best to fix your life.

I've been getting nostalgic over my hometown and old friends and memories. Although I moved to a much nicer area, I constantly find myself reminiscing and missing the city I spent the first 15 years of life growing up in. I spend at least 80 percent of my spare time wishing to go back to those times. I wish there was a cure.

Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing, because it stops us focusing on the present. In his latest episode, The Blue Angel deals with a 90s kid struggling to shake off the past.

I too have the same exact feelings as donbri5. I am always sitting and thinking about the summers I would spend at my grandmother and grandfathers house and how I would do anything to be able to relive those days. These days that I am living in can't compare to those days of my childhood. I always want to be somewhere I am not.

A childhood friend of mine was killed and her body found in a creek after going missing for 19 days. I had not spoken to her in about 30 years, but attended her funeral. What's more eerie is that I picked up the paper that day and read the obituaries which is something I never do, and discovered what happened. I often find myself wandering back to that place in time when we were all kids and trees were everywhere dappled with sunlight.

Sometimes it helps to revisit a place that holds so much nostalgia for you now. What can become so depressing is the idealization of a certain time or place in your past and the jarring comparison to the realities of your current life. If you can revisit those places and put them into better perspective, then you may not feel as depressed in the present. Yes, you had wonderful times at that school or in that city or in that house, but they are just buildings or locations, nothing more and nothing less.

Enjoy the memories that nostalgia brings, but try not to confuse an idyllic memory with the joys living in the "now" can offer.

@donbri5--I am sorry to hear that. One thing that I have found to be helpful for me when I am getting to nostalgic, is to try to focus on the blessings I have today. Also, I focus on the positive things I am able to do now that I could not do when I was younger.

I have experienced this personally. Sometimes I start thinking back to when I was a teenager and get depressed about getting older and not being where I would like to be. Does anyone know of a way to keep the nostalgia at a healthy point without getting into the depression?