Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that often evokes a yearning for the past. Some people use nostalgia to comfort or guide themselves, while others simply reminisce.  

A 2021 CBS News poll found that 71 percent of Americans tend to think of themselves as people who look to the future, while 19 percent are nostalgic for the past. Discussions surrounding nostalgia often stimulate a range of emotions and raise speculation about whether nostalgia is a positive coping mechanism or a negative distortion of the past.

Nostalgia affects anyone with somewhat meaningful memories, but results vary in aftereffects. Those who focus on the positives of nostalgia tend to outline its benefits through guidance and a comforting feeling. However, despite the comfort it offers, nostalgia can have negative consequences, as it can reinforce negative emotions and create an unrealistic view of the past.

​Experts explain that his acute awareness of tradition is a modern phenomenon that reflects a desire for custom and routine in a world characterized by constant change and innovation.

Nostalgia needs to be acknowledged as a negative despite its comforting emotions. While nostalgia may provide a positive guidance through life, such as motivation to keep going, it is overall negative as it perpetuates negative emotions by avoiding current issues and distorting the past, making it seem more positive than what it actually is.

​To mitigate these effects, individuals can practice mindful reflection to acknowledge memories without becoming trapped by them, focus on creating new, meaningful experiences, and reframe the past with gratitude rather than longing, fostering personal growth and emotional balance.

As a whole, nostalgia is sometimes a great feeling, but we must not let that euphoria cloud our perception of the present. 

Miriah Bradley