Revisiting the Feels: Why Nostalgia Is Good for the Soul

Last month, on a Sunday night under a full moon, Tara and 90,000 other Oasis fans filled the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the long-awaited Live 25 tour. This was a show seventeen years in the making and the crowd sang their hearts out to a set list filled with songs linked to memories.

The concert was a collective exercise in nostalgia — that powerful emotion triggered by the intersection of experience and memory. Some people think of nostalgia as a sort of bittersweet feeling, an aching reminder of what we have lost. It is joy tinged with sadness, but primarily a positive emotion that is part of the human experience.

It is a feeling that sneaks up on you, and not just at massive concerts. Have you ever been out and about doing the normal tasks of life when you catch a whiff of a familiar scent, and all of a sudden, you are transported to your childhood? Or maybe you are driving to work and the algorithm of your playlist delivers a meaningful song straight out of your college days, and you feel like you are back in your friend’s dorm? These feelings of nostalgia can be triggered in so many ways.

Sensory experiences like smell, tasting a familiar food, or looking at old photos and memorabilia evoke these feelings. There are also environmental and social nostalgia triggers (like Britpop concerts). Visiting familiar places from your youth, seasonal changes, and conversations that relive the past can all create strong feelings of nostalgia. Nostalgia can even be evoked by challenging times and transition periods in our lives. At these times, nostalgia can be a grounding, even soothing sensation.

Running into these nostalgia triggers can be a jarring experience; a time machine that catapults you from your adult life back in time. Sometimes these moments are wonderful. Sometimes they waylay you with grief for times you won’t get back and people who may be long gone.

Evoking nostalgia (even when it makes us sad) is actually good for our well-being. This can happen through something delightfully called: collective effervescence, which is our new favorite thing!

Drawn from Èmile Durkheim’s work on religion, collective effervescence is the conduit through which well-being comes to fruition. It is a “potent sense of connection” that happens during sacred or special experiences that are shared. Experiences like sporting events, religious ceremonies, group workout classes, singing, dancing, and even book clubs can foster the sense of unity necessary to transcend individuals and strengthen social bonds.*

Collective effervescence also has a social contagion component wherein you can “catch” the feelings of those around you; for better or worse. We’ve all had our own Oasis concert experience. The palpable joy of the crowd and even the lesser fans dragged there by friends (Tara is looking at you, Monica!) could feel it. There was a vibe, and it was magical.

Having so many happy people together made Tara feel hopeful for the future, and it turns out that feeling wasn’t imagined! There are actual psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia. Elevated optimism fueled by social connection, enhanced inspiration, and a strengthened sense of the meaning of life are all documented effects. All of these things work together to help buffer individuals against sadness. What a bonus!

Purposely revisiting fond memories is a great way to trigger nostalgia. In his book The Fun Habit, Dr. Michael Rucker highlights reminiscing as a key component to maximizing the fun in our lives. Taking time to appreciate past good times with people you love helps extend the positive experience and makes us feel good.

This isn’t you living in the past; it’s reconnecting to who you used to be so you can better understand who you are now. Nostalgia offers us insight by fostering our self-continuity or the connection between our past and our present.

Nostalgia-elicited meaning can help facilitate the pursuit of important goals and can act as a buffer against existential threats like anxiety about our mortality. It also offers us psychological benefits like lowered stress and attaining a more meaningful life.

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We think the world needs more collective effervescence and that’s only going to happen if we let ourselves be nostalgic. So get out those photo albums and mix tapes (or whatever your generation’s version of these relics is) and call a friend from back in the day. Revel in your memories together while wearing your oldest t-shirt.

Go see a show! You are allowed to stay out past your bedtime.

However you choose to indulge in nostalgia, remember that every road we have to walk is winding. Look back (not in anger**) but with purpose, as you plan the journey still to come.

*You’re not an unhinged sports fan! You’re engaging in collective effervescence!

**Did we just slip two Oasis lyrics into this paragraph? Yes, we did.