Nostalgia manifests itself from memories, motivated by mental relationships. It is a universal and natural feeling among human beings and is common to all cultures. However, it can manifest itself in different ways and intensities in each person. Nostalgia is often felt at the remoteness or loss of a loved person or animal, a place, a situation or a past era. Loneliness, in this sense, is one of the reasons for which nostalgia can be felt.

Another important function of nostalgia is to reinforce links between our past and our present. That is, nostalgia can provide us with a positive view of the past and this may help us develop a greater sense of continuity and give more meaning to our lives.

The researchers conjecture that nostalgia may also be of greater importance for the elderly, as they are more vulnerable to social isolation and, therefore, nostalgia may help them overcome feelings of loneliness in some ways.

The feeling of nostalgia

In psychology, it is considered that feeling or having nostalgia can have positive effects such as provoking the feeling of being loved. Although it is related to the feeling of sorrow or sadness, or anguish and depression, in many cases it is also perceived as a feeling that provokes well-being at the memory of an experience, a place or a person. This feeling somehow brings the person back to what he or she longs for.

Nostalgia and melancholy

Nostalgia and melancholy are two terms that are often used interchangeably. Sometimes melancholy is considered to be a feeling of sadness in general, which does not necessarily have to be linked to a specific person, object, place or situation in the past. Sometimes, for example, people experience melancholy or feel melancholic without being able to express a specific reason for it. On the other hand, when we speak of feeling nostalgia, there is a link with the past or the memory of something or someone who is far away or absent.....