Old stuff can make you happy. A tattered teddy bear from childhood days, the yellowed comic book “Tim in Tibet”, the rusted Vespa in the garden shed – objectively speaking, this is worthless scrap, but for the subjective observer it can be the most valuable treasure in the world. Everything was better before? Not necessarily. But nostalgic feelings can inspire optimism and life satisfaction – and even relieve pain.
Leafing through photo albums, watching TV series from decades past or reading old love letters has a healing effect on the soul, especially when the present is as scary as it is right now. The prejudice that nostalgia triggers negative feelings has persisted for a long time. However, current research refutes this. In an experiment, Chinese psychologists investigated how nostalgic feelings affect pain perception. according to your study The sight of memorable images activates a center in the brain that inhibits pain perception circuits.
Can headaches be overcome by listening to Simon & Garfunkel, watching the poetic film “Il Postino” and rebuilding the Lehmann-Groß-Bahn? The researchers claim that nostalgia could actually be suitable as a non-drug therapy for mild pain. This has yet to be backed up scientifically in the old-fashioned way, otherwise it sounds a lot like mumbo-jumbo. But just the idea of retro sentiments boosting mental health seems magically comforting. Then a hot chocolate, and then off in front of the TV – watch “The Muppet Show”, “Fathers of Clothes”, “Catweazle” and “Zini, das Wuslon”. Pain go away!
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