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Why do we feel sad and depressed when remembering the past?


Does nostalgia make you feel sad? As soon as you return to the memory of a situation or event that you experienced earlier in your life, soon tears collect in your eyes or you feel a contraction in your chest because of sadness, even if those memories are happy!

What is "Nostalgia"?

Nostalgia

First of all, what do we mean when we say nostalgia? As University of Texas psychologist Art Markman has defined it, missing something or a longing that leads you to something in the past is nostalgia. But how does nostalgia affect our feelings and moods?

According to a research paper published by researchers in February 2020 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the feeling of nostalgia associated with the past is usually associated with negative emotions that express regret and depression, and at higher levels, nostalgia is associated with the search for the meaning of life.

The study stated that feelings of nostalgia are often associated with isolation, and those who feel nostalgia tend to experience negative feelings of sadness and regret, and this is related to negative psychological effects in the future.

Although other studies have linked nostalgia to feelings of satisfaction, the difference in the results of these studies is related to the lack of information provided to them about people's feelings of missing out on the past every day of their lives. The experience that volunteers undergo is usually asked to remember a situation from their memory, and they recall good situations often during bad days.

She added that most people do not feel much comfortable with recalling old memories, instead they feel depressed either because these experiences were difficult and cost them a lot, or because they were beautiful and ended and we remembered them on a somewhat bad day.

Dr. Bacho explained that, in general, memories related to the past will not bring us warmth, it is natural that we feel irritated and frustrated when recalling certain memories that they have ended.

Therefore, as a final advice, Pacho said that the fact that the past cannot be retrieved and changed makes us feel a little frustrated, but we can change the way we think about it and consider it as stations and lessons in our lives and that the best awaits us!

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