THE PSYCHOLOGY OF NOSTALGIA The word nostalgia was conceived in 1688 by a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer. He brought together two Greek words: nostos, meaning “returning home,” and algos, meaning “pain” or “longing”. Homesickness is often used as a synonym for nostalgia. For almost two centuries, the medical community treated nostalgia as an actual disease. Nowadays, nostalgia is often experienced as a longing for what has disappeared. But studies also show that at the same time people are upset, they also experience warm, positive feelings as they recall the happy times. It is estimated that 80% of people feel nostalgic at least once a week. Constantine Sedikides, a social psychologist originally from Greece but with roots in the USA, has studied nostalgia extensively, and has also noted its effects in his own life. When he moved to England in 1999, he told The New York Times, he experienced nos-
talgic feelings for his previous life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “Nostalgia made me feel that my life had roots and continuity,” he said. “It made me feel good about myself and my relationships. It provided a texture to my life and gave me strength to move forward.” According to researchers in the Netherlands, music can be a quick way to induce nostalgia. Scientists have found that listening to songs can make people feel nostalgic but warmer physically. At the University of Surrey in the U.K., researchers found that nostalgia levels tend to be high among young adults, then fall in middle age and increase during old age. “Nostalgia helps us deal with transitions,” Erica Hepper, one of the psychologists at University of Surrey, told The New York Times. “The young adults are just moving away from home and or starting their first jobs, so they fall back on memories of family Christmases, pets and friends in school.” In other words, says Dr. Sedikides, “Nostalgia makes us a bit more human.”
An unidentified skater gets a chance to try out the snake run at Anaheim's Concrete Wave, 1976. Photo: Warren Bolster
CONCRETE WAVE WINTER 2014
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