Many people are returning to their hometown for the holiday season. They're driving down streets they used to drive down and sleeping in beds they used to sleep in. For many, these actions inspire either feelings of longing for the past or relief that they're not in it. There are many that feel that looking back is simply a way of wallowing in things that are no longer important. However, for those that enjoy the warm embrace of remembrance, there might be hope yet. According to a study by Wing-Yee Cheung, Constantine Sedikides and Tim Wildschut, nostalgia can actually induce new forms of optimism.
Whether it's passing your old high school or seeing the first bike you learned to ride, there are a lot of ways to miss the past. According to the study, that feeling you get when you see your baby photos "has implications for future projection and psychological growth". This all started with a logical concept, and "the findings were aligned with the theoretical view that behavioral expressions of traits are situationally contingent". That is to say, that these two concepts are in some way or another connected. While it's not always direct there are definite connections between nostalgia, self-esteem and something the team calls "self-connectedness".
It makes sense, the idea that feeling better about the past can make someone more confident about the future isn't outlandish at all. Nostalgia deals with the feelings relating to what's already happened, and our contentment therein. The holidays often foster remembrance, but soon after is New Years. When is there more of a conclusive reset of expectations and goals than the beginning of the year?
They also discovered that the more someone interacts with it, the better they are "at harvesting nostalgia's psychological benefits". This proves that it can be beneficial to come home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas for reasons other than the food. The more contact someone has with nostalgia, the more they'll be able to use it for their own benefit. In other words, it is possible that the yearly visit to the dog can help people be optimistic in more ways than one.
