Do you ever get the nostalgic feeling that things will never be as good as they once were?
The happiness, family, friends and good times. I find myself stuck in these old memories and the fact that things will never be the same again is killing me. Why does the feeling of nostalgia give me an immensely dreadful feeling? I had a fantastic childhood and the nostalgia is usually fond memories, but the feeling always makes me feel sick/upset. Do you ever feel nostalgia for a time you didn't live? And I don't just mean for certain music or cartoons. I feel very emotionally tied to a certain life, in a way I feel about very few real life experiences I've had. Do you ever get hit by a wave of nostalgia so powerful that it hurts? What are you nostalgic for? Do you ever get a physical feeling of nostalgia, for no reason?
This probably happens to me a couple times a year, where I get this physical stomach feeling (hard to explain feeling), something I recognize having happened when I was a little kid, that immediately makes me remember past events and yearn for those simpler days... For me the trigger is my stomach feeling, but I'm wondering if other people get things that trigger it for them too. Do you get nostalgic for decades or times in adulthood when you get into older adulthood? This concept seems bizarre for me.
Like I have these weirdly intense bouts of nostalgia associated with hearing video game soundtracks, because I played video games a lot growing up. They pull me into this overwhelming emotion, like it's beyond me and I've always known it, but also forever out of my reach. It feels precisely like the comfort of sitting in the warm sunlight from a window or a cool autumn that will never return. But I know this isn't true, I know I enjoy my life now and that I can have moments of comfort and coziness...but it still feels like something lost when I experience this feeling. It's sad but in a loving way. And I know that the now that I am currently experiencing will eventually become the "then" that I look back on. I was wondering...do you experience this with adulthood? College felt so current at the time but it's weird to look back on it now and view that as fresh faced and all the new friendships and experiences I had. I was 18, 19, 21, etc. during that time. I saw some photos of myself and I was like damn I've aged like a prune (currently 27), but I don't have that intense intense warm feeling from this childhood/teenage nostalgia. I'm starting to experience the cognitive stuff but not the emotions. College was also a very stressful time for me so maybe that's it? I've had to live at home since then and now I'm moving back out again finally, and all that makes me wonder if I'll look back on now and my hometown will change as I'm gone and my parents will age and I'll be like "oh wow so comfy so cozy". And then I think about the future. Am I gonna get a house at some point and view that as my humble beginnings once I stay there for 10 years? Does nostalgia keep happening like this? Have you noticed that this feeling relates to anything specific (like does stress reduce it?)? I'm just curious about all this, because obviously I'm going to have more experiences and plan to live for quite some time. I know having a same-y schedule and life can make memory harder (like the years get easier to forget without memorable moments). I just can't imagine being like "wow my teenage years and my 30s were really just so fun", just cause my brain feels fully cooked and I have such a more realistic view of life, I can't imagine romanticizing this version of myself. What simple things get you feeling all nostalgic? Do you ever feel nostalgia for a time that never existed?
Like sometimes after a dream, or when you smell something, or when you listen to a certain song. I listened to the last of the Mohicans theme for the first time today(I haven't seen the movie, just randomly found the song) and felt nostalgia for something and I don't even know for what. This also happens when I have a dream where I am happy (as opposed to real life). Hi, I have huge problems regarding my past. It's not that I can't get over several events that happened, I appreciate everything that has happened and I don't want anything to be different. So my problem isn't that I can't forgive myself for things that have happend but it's that I really miss those things.
Sometimes it just overwhelms me. I really made a huge progress in self-improvement since I've started a therapy because of my social anxiety. But the stuff with the past still bothers me. I just miss everything from the past. I'm nostalgic in no time. I instantly feel this gloomy melancholic feeling.
For example when I think about my childhood. I really miss those times. Being a kid, hanging around with old friends. People I haven't seen in years. People that have moved on. But I still miss those times. My Ex-Girlfriend is also a huge part of it. All this memorable stuff that happens in a second and is gone forever. I'm missing everything that is gone (so the past, obviously). The "wont come back" part is the main point. So it's a huge problem with endings.
Things that change gradually aren't the problem, as long if they're still in my life. For eg. I have an old friend, we've grown apart and it's okay but we're still in contact from time to time to hear how things are going etc. It's just nice to have this connection. Acknowledging the memories you've shared together. It's something I need. When I can do this I don't think about my past at all. So I don't cry about the good times that I had with this friends, I just call him on his birthday/or he calls me on mine and we chat a bit. That's all I need.
But things that are only in my mind overwhelm me. It's too strange to really accept it. I know, the past is intangible. The only thing that's real is the now. But still, I have the extreme urge to keep a connection to the past just to appreciate things. It's like the remembrance isn't good enough.
I've tried different things but I only make a small progress. I know the future is bright. I know that there are many new adventures. I know that my past made me the person I'm now and that's a good thing. But isn't it sad and depressing? You meet someone, you share unforgettable experiences together and then it's gone? Like it never happened. I already practice mindfulness to focus more on the now. Also to appreciate more what happens right now so I have a more vivid memory of it. My therapy is also quite helpful. I meditate about this stuff to accept the evanescence. But it still comes over me from time to time. I think at least every two weeks. My mind's drowning in old memories than. How can I accept that this is the past and I can't change it? It's nothing I have to get over. But I can't accept that those things HAVE happened and AREN'T happening now. What is something you're nostalgic for but you know you'll never get to experience and enjoy ever again? Do you get painfully nostalgic?
I'm only in my thirties and I'm becoming absurdly sentimental. Looking at old photos or thinking of happy childhood memories just makes me weep. Is this normal or is it a sign that I need some kind of help? Nostalgia makes me so emotional I can hardly stand it, curious if anyone else feels the same?
Questions
I(22M) can’t stand the feeling of nostalgia because it gives me this feeling in my chest that is overwhelming. It’s hard to explain what the feeling is. It’s a mix between sadness and anxiousness but also a slight happiness. For example, I stumbled upon the sound track to some call of duty: black ops 1 zombies maps and was immediately overwhelmed with nostalgia that I had to shut it off and the feeling lingered for 5-10 minutes. Other examples include tv shows, pictures and music. All of which can trigger this overwhelming feeling of nostalgia that leaves me longing for how things used to be.
Random post but I have always been curious if other people experience this as well? I wish it didn’t make me feel this way, I know some people feel very happy when something is nostalgic but I just get bummed out. Anybody else go through heavy nostalgia craving phases?
As soon as the new year hit, I started feeling weirdly nostalgic.
Like I kept having a craving for my childhood foods, really old movies, and music from the 60s, 70s, 80s (i'm not even that old myself lol). I'm so curious about what this means, but i'm also happy to embrace it. In today's world so much stuff is overstimulating and attention demanding, and low quality in value. I really miss the simplicity older generations had the pleasure of enjoying. I really hope the future isn't going to continue in the direction it's going and some majority starts bringing back nostalgic things that felt a little more enjoyable. Can anybody relate to any of this lol? Everyone talks about nostalgic feeling being calming and relieving, but does anyone else get a sense of deep lament and sorrow for the past instead? Do you ever feel nostalgic for a some thing/ place, even though you’ve never encountered said thing or place?
Sometimes when I listen to certain types of music I feel nostalgic for a place that I’ve never actually been to. It’s not just like “oh this song reminds of me of this place,” but an actual very nostalgic/emotional feeling. Anyone else experience this or know why this may be? Do you ever feel nostalgic for a time when you weren't even alive? I am an extremely nostalgic/sentimental person, especially when I hear music that reminds me of my childhood/teenage years. There are songs that I can’t even listen to or else I’ll start crying immediately. I feel like the world has changed so much the last few years. I am also an emerging adult with new responsibilities everyday, and somedays I just want to be 10 years old again. I am excited for the changes and new adventures ahead in my life, but I also just feel like life will never be like it was, especially after COVID and other issues. I never really felt this way before then, and I know it’s just going to get worse as I get older. I am satisfied where I am in life right now, but I do have a habit of living in the past. The late spring/early summer and fall are the hardest seasons as well, because that is when I’m happiest, therefore triggering the nostalgia. The smell of dirt and trees in the summer and the smell of burning wood and leaves in the fall brings me back. My sadness is at its worst when my memories include someone who has passed away or someone I don’t speak with anymore. Does nostalgia ever stop being painful?
Does it ever get to the point where you are just happy that those times existed in your life, or is it always so bittersweet? Are there any good ways to cope or work through these feelings that you've found? Growing up I have met alot of great people, friends, and etc. I am older now, and I don't have a friend. Even looking at a specific window makes me nostalgic, for example : A sunset reminds me of going to the park, meanwhile a dark blue morning sky reminds me when I played with my bestfriend until I moved out.
What saddens me the most is that I remember carrying my baby siblings, now they can walk, and I feel sad.
I became a gamer to cope with loneliness, I played GTA : SA it was very fun and I'm a huge fan of it. I felt loneliness when I finished it.
I feel nostalgic about my Grandma, she passed away, she was very kind and caring. But I'm afraid to lose another loved one.
For me Nostalgia is the worst and best feeling, it makes me very sad to know that I can't go past back anymore. I am finishing high school and the stress that I get wants me to go back time to the good old days. Thanks for reading me. I only feel this way ever at night, before I need to fall asleep. I get restless and think about a lot of people in my life, people I haven’t talked to in a while, people I miss, just reflecting on life in general and get this restless, sad feeling like things are out of reach, that I want to break out of but eventually succumb to it and fall asleep. When faced with nostalgic memories, why do I feel a great sense of sadness and yearn to live in the past? Do you ever have a hard time moving on with life because you miss the past so much? What moment in your life did you realize nostalgia was a lie? Why do some people keep missing the good old days? I'm 17 yet feel nostalgia for when I was 15 and 16; is getting nostalgic this young and for such recent times normal, and what can I do about it? Why is nostalgia such a lovely yet equally painful feeling? At what age does nostalgia start kicking in? I often feel nostalgia about the past and I think of how my life was better back then. Am I the only one? I'm always living in the past and feeling nostalgic. It's taking over my life. What should I do?
This probably happens to me a couple times a year, where I get this physical stomach feeling (hard to explain feeling), something I recognize having happened when I was a little kid, that immediately makes me remember past events and yearn for those simpler days... For me the trigger is my stomach feeling, but I'm wondering if other people get things that trigger it for them too. Do you get nostalgic for decades or times in adulthood when you get into older adulthood? This concept seems bizarre for me.
Like I have these weirdly intense bouts of nostalgia associated with hearing video game soundtracks, because I played video games a lot growing up. They pull me into this overwhelming emotion, like it's beyond me and I've always known it, but also forever out of my reach. It feels precisely like the comfort of sitting in the warm sunlight from a window or a cool autumn that will never return. But I know this isn't true, I know I enjoy my life now and that I can have moments of comfort and coziness...but it still feels like something lost when I experience this feeling. It's sad but in a loving way. And I know that the now that I am currently experiencing will eventually become the "then" that I look back on. I was wondering...do you experience this with adulthood? College felt so current at the time but it's weird to look back on it now and view that as fresh faced and all the new friendships and experiences I had. I was 18, 19, 21, etc. during that time. I saw some photos of myself and I was like damn I've aged like a prune (currently 27), but I don't have that intense intense warm feeling from this childhood/teenage nostalgia. I'm starting to experience the cognitive stuff but not the emotions. College was also a very stressful time for me so maybe that's it? I've had to live at home since then and now I'm moving back out again finally, and all that makes me wonder if I'll look back on now and my hometown will change as I'm gone and my parents will age and I'll be like "oh wow so comfy so cozy". And then I think about the future. Am I gonna get a house at some point and view that as my humble beginnings once I stay there for 10 years? Does nostalgia keep happening like this? Have you noticed that this feeling relates to anything specific (like does stress reduce it?)? I'm just curious about all this, because obviously I'm going to have more experiences and plan to live for quite some time. I know having a same-y schedule and life can make memory harder (like the years get easier to forget without memorable moments). I just can't imagine being like "wow my teenage years and my 30s were really just so fun", just cause my brain feels fully cooked and I have such a more realistic view of life, I can't imagine romanticizing this version of myself. What simple things get you feeling all nostalgic? Do you ever feel nostalgia for a time that never existed?
Like sometimes after a dream, or when you smell something, or when you listen to a certain song. I listened to the last of the Mohicans theme for the first time today(I haven't seen the movie, just randomly found the song) and felt nostalgia for something and I don't even know for what. This also happens when I have a dream where I am happy (as opposed to real life). Hi, I have huge problems regarding my past. It's not that I can't get over several events that happened, I appreciate everything that has happened and I don't want anything to be different. So my problem isn't that I can't forgive myself for things that have happend but it's that I really miss those things.
Sometimes it just overwhelms me. I really made a huge progress in self-improvement since I've started a therapy because of my social anxiety. But the stuff with the past still bothers me. I just miss everything from the past. I'm nostalgic in no time. I instantly feel this gloomy melancholic feeling.
For example when I think about my childhood. I really miss those times. Being a kid, hanging around with old friends. People I haven't seen in years. People that have moved on. But I still miss those times. My Ex-Girlfriend is also a huge part of it. All this memorable stuff that happens in a second and is gone forever. I'm missing everything that is gone (so the past, obviously). The "wont come back" part is the main point. So it's a huge problem with endings.
Things that change gradually aren't the problem, as long if they're still in my life. For eg. I have an old friend, we've grown apart and it's okay but we're still in contact from time to time to hear how things are going etc. It's just nice to have this connection. Acknowledging the memories you've shared together. It's something I need. When I can do this I don't think about my past at all. So I don't cry about the good times that I had with this friends, I just call him on his birthday/or he calls me on mine and we chat a bit. That's all I need.
But things that are only in my mind overwhelm me. It's too strange to really accept it. I know, the past is intangible. The only thing that's real is the now. But still, I have the extreme urge to keep a connection to the past just to appreciate things. It's like the remembrance isn't good enough.
I've tried different things but I only make a small progress. I know the future is bright. I know that there are many new adventures. I know that my past made me the person I'm now and that's a good thing. But isn't it sad and depressing? You meet someone, you share unforgettable experiences together and then it's gone? Like it never happened. I already practice mindfulness to focus more on the now. Also to appreciate more what happens right now so I have a more vivid memory of it. My therapy is also quite helpful. I meditate about this stuff to accept the evanescence. But it still comes over me from time to time. I think at least every two weeks. My mind's drowning in old memories than. How can I accept that this is the past and I can't change it? It's nothing I have to get over. But I can't accept that those things HAVE happened and AREN'T happening now. What is something you're nostalgic for but you know you'll never get to experience and enjoy ever again? Do you get painfully nostalgic?
I'm only in my thirties and I'm becoming absurdly sentimental. Looking at old photos or thinking of happy childhood memories just makes me weep. Is this normal or is it a sign that I need some kind of help? Nostalgia makes me so emotional I can hardly stand it, curious if anyone else feels the same?
Questions
I(22M) can’t stand the feeling of nostalgia because it gives me this feeling in my chest that is overwhelming. It’s hard to explain what the feeling is. It’s a mix between sadness and anxiousness but also a slight happiness. For example, I stumbled upon the sound track to some call of duty: black ops 1 zombies maps and was immediately overwhelmed with nostalgia that I had to shut it off and the feeling lingered for 5-10 minutes. Other examples include tv shows, pictures and music. All of which can trigger this overwhelming feeling of nostalgia that leaves me longing for how things used to be.
Random post but I have always been curious if other people experience this as well? I wish it didn’t make me feel this way, I know some people feel very happy when something is nostalgic but I just get bummed out. Anybody else go through heavy nostalgia craving phases?
As soon as the new year hit, I started feeling weirdly nostalgic.
Like I kept having a craving for my childhood foods, really old movies, and music from the 60s, 70s, 80s (i'm not even that old myself lol). I'm so curious about what this means, but i'm also happy to embrace it. In today's world so much stuff is overstimulating and attention demanding, and low quality in value. I really miss the simplicity older generations had the pleasure of enjoying. I really hope the future isn't going to continue in the direction it's going and some majority starts bringing back nostalgic things that felt a little more enjoyable. Can anybody relate to any of this lol? Everyone talks about nostalgic feeling being calming and relieving, but does anyone else get a sense of deep lament and sorrow for the past instead? Do you ever feel nostalgic for a some thing/ place, even though you’ve never encountered said thing or place?
Sometimes when I listen to certain types of music I feel nostalgic for a place that I’ve never actually been to. It’s not just like “oh this song reminds of me of this place,” but an actual very nostalgic/emotional feeling. Anyone else experience this or know why this may be? Do you ever feel nostalgic for a time when you weren't even alive? I am an extremely nostalgic/sentimental person, especially when I hear music that reminds me of my childhood/teenage years. There are songs that I can’t even listen to or else I’ll start crying immediately. I feel like the world has changed so much the last few years. I am also an emerging adult with new responsibilities everyday, and somedays I just want to be 10 years old again. I am excited for the changes and new adventures ahead in my life, but I also just feel like life will never be like it was, especially after COVID and other issues. I never really felt this way before then, and I know it’s just going to get worse as I get older. I am satisfied where I am in life right now, but I do have a habit of living in the past. The late spring/early summer and fall are the hardest seasons as well, because that is when I’m happiest, therefore triggering the nostalgia. The smell of dirt and trees in the summer and the smell of burning wood and leaves in the fall brings me back. My sadness is at its worst when my memories include someone who has passed away or someone I don’t speak with anymore. Does nostalgia ever stop being painful?
Does it ever get to the point where you are just happy that those times existed in your life, or is it always so bittersweet? Are there any good ways to cope or work through these feelings that you've found? Growing up I have met alot of great people, friends, and etc. I am older now, and I don't have a friend. Even looking at a specific window makes me nostalgic, for example : A sunset reminds me of going to the park, meanwhile a dark blue morning sky reminds me when I played with my bestfriend until I moved out.
What saddens me the most is that I remember carrying my baby siblings, now they can walk, and I feel sad.
I became a gamer to cope with loneliness, I played GTA : SA it was very fun and I'm a huge fan of it. I felt loneliness when I finished it.
I feel nostalgic about my Grandma, she passed away, she was very kind and caring. But I'm afraid to lose another loved one.
For me Nostalgia is the worst and best feeling, it makes me very sad to know that I can't go past back anymore. I am finishing high school and the stress that I get wants me to go back time to the good old days. Thanks for reading me. I only feel this way ever at night, before I need to fall asleep. I get restless and think about a lot of people in my life, people I haven’t talked to in a while, people I miss, just reflecting on life in general and get this restless, sad feeling like things are out of reach, that I want to break out of but eventually succumb to it and fall asleep. When faced with nostalgic memories, why do I feel a great sense of sadness and yearn to live in the past? Do you ever have a hard time moving on with life because you miss the past so much? What moment in your life did you realize nostalgia was a lie? Why do some people keep missing the good old days? I'm 17 yet feel nostalgia for when I was 15 and 16; is getting nostalgic this young and for such recent times normal, and what can I do about it? Why is nostalgia such a lovely yet equally painful feeling? At what age does nostalgia start kicking in? I often feel nostalgia about the past and I think of how my life was better back then. Am I the only one? I'm always living in the past and feeling nostalgic. It's taking over my life. What should I do?
