The Benefits Of Nostalgia

inner-child nostalgia Jan 13, 2021
80's nostalgia

Do you remember Viennetta ice cream cakes?

I wanted one so bad as a kid, but my mom would never buy them. The commercials made them look like the height of sophistication. They were served at dinner parties, and were considered an upscale treat. I think the Taurus inside of me recognized even as a kid that this ice cream represented luxury, and I wanted it!

Sadly, as I got older and could afford to buy my own ice cream, they stopped selling them. Recently, I found out that they're bringing them back! My inner-child was jumping for joy! Finally, I would have a chance to enjoy the fancy Viennetta with it's ribbon shaped deliciousness. Although I've had lots of fancy ice cream since I was a kid, there's just something about the nostalgia of a Viennetta that makes it desirable. 

In fact, according to a few recent articles that I've read, I'm not the only one searching for things from their past.  When times are difficult, desires or memories from the past may resurface as a coping mechanism or to give us hope. Revisiting familiar things from childhood that made us feel happy helps us to keep going day after day when things look bleak. 

A few of the recent articles I've read noted that Millennials are using their spending power to revisit their childhood from the 80's and 90's in terms of food, entertainment, and clothing styles. A travel writer recently did an entire article on his Disney World trips as a child and was lamenting about his fear that it would never be the same again after the pandemic. 

Although our survival brain is always trying to plan and avert the worst-case scenarios of the world, we're also hard-wired to seek pleasure. If pleasure is lacking in our current environment, we start looking to the past to recreate happier moments. 

If you really pay attention to the topics of your nostalgia, then it can be far more helpful than just giving you a a dopamine hit. The topics of your nostalgia can show you where your some of your most deeply hidden desires lie. It's a source of pure child-like joy that's often lacking in your present life. It can show you how to bring more joy into the present, where you've been ignoring your dreams and passions, and help you do inner-child healing work. 

If you're feeling stuck and lost in the present, make a list of your happiest memories. Don't just write them down, close your eyes and relive as many details as you can. Then, take out your journal and answer the following questions. 

*What makes this memory so special?

*How did you feel?

*Is there anything you miss about that experience?

*How might you be able to experience something similar in the present?

*Are there any activities you enjoyed as a child that you could do again in the present?

If you were to let nostalgia be your guide, what kind of changes would you make in your life right now? If you're having trouble reconnecting with yourself, your wants and desires, or your direction in life, then Emotional Strength Coaching can help you get the clarity and courage you need to move forward. 


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April Darley is a Resilience Coach specializing in helping people release stress, anxiety, pain, and sabotaging behavior. Through the Three Brain Realignment Technique (TBRT), you'll learn how to step into your own power, comfortably deal with life's challenges, and stay calm and balanced. 

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