Have you ever had that feeling of electric flare through your bones as you drive by a favorite place? Or the need to not just simply sing, but to scream out the lyrics to that once lost but never forgotten song? These two examples appear to be the most obvious signs that ones brain is being stimulated rapidly by bursts of thousands of chemicals. However, for lame-mans sake we will deem this portmanteau neologism: Nostalgia. Now, on some basic preface or another, we know the feeling about as well as we know the meaning. If not, here's a brief synapse, according to psychologists, nostalgia is described to be somewhat of a "sentimentality" for the past. This is usually associated with positive memories. (Pretty brief, eh?) But why does this happen? How does this feeling arise? And, from a quizzical perspective, is there an alternative form of nostalgia? Is there a feeling so unnerving that may too be triggered by this cranial flow of chemicals that come with memory association of a similar caliber?
Neurologically speaking, when we generate memory we are not simply keeping mental images but we are also keeping emotions. Which is why with different memories we have different feelings to associate with. This crosstalk that allows for our emotions to be so close knit to our memories themselves is the result of the hippocampus. This small region is what keeps our minds from being consistently blank slates with seemingly no pasts. This is, conveniently, highly connected to the emotional region of the brain. Knowing how this happens can now lead us to why this happens. Numerous studies are finding that, believe it or not, we are more prone to nostalgia during emotionally difficult times. Thus, making the function of nostalgia be to remind us of better times and to improve our mood. However, do note that just because you feel nostalgic does not mean your life is necessarily "bad." Quite simply, it is just in a different place. This place in life may too serve as a sentimental memory down the road as well.
As it would appear, nostalgia does indeed have a counterpart. However, this memory-to-emotion-crosstalk is not yet concrete in its form. In fact, it hasn't even really occurred yet. The counter to nostalgia would be expectancy. Instead of looking back, one is looking ahead. With expectancy there are many emotions that are felt, quite possibly due to a comparison of past experiences. However, it remains fluid because the memory has not yet been made and thus cannot be grounded to a certain emotion like nostalgia can. Therefore, until expectancy turns to memory there are no feelings attached to it presently as it evolves. Which finally guides us to our final answer.
While there does not appear to be a "bad" form of nostalgia we do know that we can still feel nostalgic in a negative way, even though most commonly we will recall our best times as a lens with which to view and compare to our present. Also, we learned that while there isn't really a bad nostalgia, there is an opposite. We also know that this form is fluid, thus making it even more adverse than its concrete counterpart. So next time you are having a concert for one in your car to your favorite songs from 2000 or riding the emotional roller coaster of life's turning pages, know how you can impact the way you see it. Both now and later.
