The Indescribable Feeling of Nostalgia.

You know that feeling I speak of. That feeling that sends shivers down your spine and puts you in a familiar place and mindset of your past.

Many different things can trigger this feeling. I find that music is a big one for me. I can hear an old song from the 90's and instantly, I'm a kid again. All I have to do is close my eyes. Such a great and exhilarating feeling, I gotta say.

Today has been a huge nostalgia-fest for me. Looked up some of my old favorite songs, and it gave me that amazing and strange sensation called nostalgia. I love it. I also find that an old T-shirt can cause the feeling as well. It feels great wearing a shirt and thinking back to all the unforgettable moments you had within it. Many other things can cause nostalgia as well. Booting up an old video game, going through your old journals or artwork, there are a limitless amount of things that can bring on this feeling.

What I really want to know is what is it? Does the brain release a certain chemical that causes the feeling? what are your thoughts on this phenomenon? What types of things trigger your nostalgia?

I do know the feeling, as we all do, and it always feels good to have nostalgia hit you.

But on the other side of that coin, there is that feeling of "someone stole my nostalgic thingy-doo and ruined it"!!!

Like after seeing the new "Clash of the Titans" today...oh man...it was a nightmare I should have never survived to see.

I don't exactly know why we defend our youthful pastimes and fun, but I do know we all do it.

Child hood cartoons, old movies, music...you name it. It is a very powerful experience (it can even be overwhelming).

For me, the thing that does this for me the most, is visiting old homes I once lived in.

That always brings a tear of nostalgic emotion to the eye.

Nice post....S&F for making me think back to the old house.

Peace




[edit on 2-4-2010 by Mr Mask]

Came back to flag n star as intended, before I drifted off to nostalgia-land and forgetting. I have now corrected my mistake.

[edit on 2-4-2010 by Mr Mask]

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


I used to have strong feeling like that for years, about many things. But as of the last several years nothing seems to activate them anymore. Its all like it is what it is. Are you under 30? It may have something to do with age but maybe not.

Its actually rather nice to listen to old tunes or go to an old hang out or something and enjoy without those strong feelings of nostalgia.

I believe it may very well be a chemical response via the brain. Like Pavlov's dogs we tend to associate certain feelings/desires/reactions with certain stimuli...instead of a bell to instigate hunger and mouth watering, in humans it may be a sound or song, a smell, a certain place or season.

For instance, every time I hear Hold On Loosely by 38 Special, I am instantly transported back to 1982 and the first time I stepped into the Delta House back in college, or even better, everytime I smell a certain combination of hay, manure, and wood chimney smoke...I am suddenly 10 years old and happily back on my grandparents farm. I like it so much, I now have a farm and relive that time everyday...wow.

They say the sense of smell is mostly closely linked to memory.

Whenever I find myself in an old bookstore surrounded by that musty smell of books from the early 1900's....my brain goes wild with comforting memories.

(Which is weird, considering I'm not that old...but still.)

Like a cologne I used to wear back in high school...everytime I wear it, it makes me feel so young. It brings back every good and bad memory I had with it on...but only for about 5 seconds. But still, an amazing 5 seconds, it makes me wish I could travel back in time and live it again.

And also, certain songs do as well. I can only imagine how I will feel when I play my current favorite song in about 10 years. Kind of hard to imagine where I will be in 10 years. I feel like I'm going to be dead, or a completely different person..maybe both

I am definitely going to have to say music is the biggest one. It's like your life has it's own soundtrack, so many memories tied to different songs.

Originally posted by GENERAL EYES
They say the sense of smell is mostly closely linked to memory.

Oh absolutely. I was walking down the street in the town I currently reside in, and a smell that smelt exactly like my dog back home wafted through my nose. Wow, that was a profound moment, let me tell you.
Yes, smell is definitely a big one for me. I've noticed that humans and buildings also have distinct scents which can also stir memories.

Here are some more nostalgia triggers for me:
A favorite home cooked meal. Hearing someone's voice that you haven't heard in ages. Drinking a certain beverage. Taking an old car for a spin. Suiting up in old work clothes. Watching a favorite episode of a TV show. The list goes on and on.

Originally posted by Logarock
But as of the last several years nothing seems to activate them anymore. It may have something to do with age but maybe not.

Its actually rather nice to listen to old tunes or go to an old hang out or something and enjoy without those strong feelings of nostalgia.

What the heck? no nostalgia? That doesn't sound very fun? For me, a lot of the time old memories are stirred up automatically by a certain stimulus, its not like I have control over it. So I find it very crazy that you can go to old hang outs and not have nostalgia.

your body's internal compass reacting to the collective consciousness going against the grain.

society moving the wrong direction, so when your memory goes back to that point, the transition feels epicly 'right'. Because that is the true direction we should all be going...


...backwards

Originally posted by Mr Mask
But on the other side of that coin, there is that feeling of "someone stole my nostalgic thingy-doo and ruined it"!!!

Like after seeing the new "Clash of the Titans" today...oh man...it was a nightmare I should have never survived to see.

I know what you mean. What I really hate is when I hear a butchered remix of an old favorite song, or when they censor my favorite lines of a song! That can prevent one from going into nostalgia heaven for that short amount of time for sure.

Originally posted by SolarE-Souljah

Originally posted by Mr Mask
But on the other side of that coin, there is that feeling of "someone stole my nostalgic thingy-doo and ruined it"!!!

Like after seeing the new "Clash of the Titans" today...oh man...it was a nightmare I should have never survived to see.

I know what you mean. What I really hate is when I hear a butchered remix of an old favorite song, or when they censor my favorite lines of a song! That can prevent one from going into nostalgia heaven for that short amount of time for sure.

Here Here! Godzilla Remake in the 90's was pure hell. Puff Daddy on the soundtrack for Godzilla made it worse by using samples of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.

Wow! Nice to hear someone else ponders this like I do.
It is bizarre to me because while living through those moments in the past, they were so nonchalant at the time, many were not even joyous moments at the time....but now when I am reminded of them (struck with nostalgia) its as if they were the best moments of my life that I will never be able to duplicate again.
It can get very depressing and I just dont get why "now" thinking about those moments in the past feel so joyous. What does that say about what time is doing to me and my level of happiness?? bizarre....My guess, or maybe intuition is telling me we somehow are losing happiness as we get older.?

Thats so not right.

Thanks for the post, great question!

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Interesting thread-topic, especially your question as to whether or not the brain releases 'some sort of chemical'

For me, very often, the trigger is 'light', for want of a better word -- a certain type or intensity-of, also reflections (say upon the ocean, bodies of water, even window-panes)

I achieve almost blissful states sometimes, caused simply by the way light might illuminate a room, or filter through leaves or bounce off water in a way which instantly/automatically 'takes me back'. I've learned not to analyse it, but to luxuriate in the sensation for as long as it lasts. And of course, there's limited duration because of the way the light changes so swiftly

Sunsets in particular (certain types-of) are very good at eliciting the sensation of nostalgia, in my case. Strange thing is, although I can achieve almost ecstatic states of mind that way literally within seconds --- very often, the nostalgia and 'memories' are not connected with anything I've experienced in this life. It's been that way since I was a child. For example, when aged about 7 years of age, I used to walk to a point about a mile from where I lived, in order to view a specific section of town where it overlooked the water. But only at certain times of day, i.e., under specific light conditions (late afternoon, with the sun behind the buildings). Mornings were not the same, didn't elicit 'the feeling'

We'd moved to the area from another country entirely only 12 months earlier. We'd never lived in the section of town which overlooked that stretch of water. Nor had we lived in or near the region to which I walked simply in order to enjoy that delicious sense of nostalgia and longing. Nor had we ever. In other words, the memory evoked by the scene which so enchanted me, had no place in my personal history

Moreover, despite the draw of that particular scene at a particular time of day --- it was not an accurate representation of the place I really longed for/remembered. But it was similar enough to evoke the nostalgia if I allowed my eyes to slip out of focus

I used to wonder what it was exactly, that I was remembering ? Why did the light and scene at a certain time of day create in me almost painful nostalgia and longing ? Why that stretch of town and river ? Where was it 'really' ? I had no idea. But the happiness it gave me was sufficient for me to take the walk and risk having to explain myself to my parents (I couldn't have explained it. They wouldn't have believed me if I'd tried)

For years, a certain light in an entirely different setting has been enough to evoke nostalgia of that stretch of water and town -- which itself evoked nostalgia re: some unknown place. Sounds complicated, but occurs spontaneously and is so pleasurable that the mind simply goes with it for those moments and closes the door to questions of 'why?'

I'm citing this little example here, because it was only the other night -- whilst watching a movie -- that I finally, after many decades, was jolted to alertness and considerable sense of nostalgic joy when I 'recognised' a scene which I instinctively believed must have been the 'original' source of those long-ago childhood moments of nostalgic longing. It was Paris. It was a fleeting glimpse (in the movie) of the Seine and of the buildings overlooking it at some point

Obviously I've seen dozens, maybe hundreds, of scenes of Paris and the Seine during my lifetime. But the movie provided that one particular view. And it slotted into the missing section of the jig-saw. It was an intensely emotional moment of 'ah ha', for during that split-seconds' view of thsoe buildings and the river ... my mind was overlaid by memories of that other section of buildings and river which had so drawn me, but which I'd known at the time wasn't 'quite right', a world away -- a lifetime ago

I'm no wiser now than at any other time as to why that view, that light, at either town and river (Paris or the lookalike on the other side of the globe) should fill me with a nostalgia which had the power to stop me in my tracks. For I've never been to Paris, not in this lifetime

Similar situation occurred to me as an adult, to the point I would schedule my evening walks to coincide with a particular type of light. For if I did, I was able to enjoy a wash of nostalgia caused by a specific stretch of pavement, street-lighting, buildings and 'atmosphere' or ambience. Again, the combination of buildings overlooking water, although in this latter case, it was the ocean, glinting in hte lights from the town approx. one hour after the sun had set

It was a very specific location of perhaps 100 metres in length, and involved a handful of particular buildings. The 'feeling' was not elicited by any other building or combination of light/water/buildings

You speak of 'shivers down the spine', a particular 'mindset', and yes, that's how it felt. In fact, as I entered the location in question, it was almost like stepping into the past. Except it was no part of my real-life past. Wonderfully nostalgic sensation however. I was often tempted to retrace my steps, but worried if I did, I might lose the magic

So I'd walk through the 'nostalgic window' and then, inexplicably, at the same point each time, I would suddenly emerge out the other end, some 100 metres or so further along the footpath. Because 'the feeling' would suddenly stop. I had no control over it and could not 'extend' it past that point

In daylight, that stretch of my walk had no magic and did not elicit sensations of nostalgia. It was just an ordinary-seeming strech of footpath, flanked on one side by the ocean and the other by unremarkable buildings. At night however, at a certain time, it transported me to someplace I've never seen in my life. The closest guess I have is that it might have existed at one time in a French Quarter of somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. It could be anywhere because I just don't know. Maybe New Orleans or somewhere similar ... perhaps Jamacia .. don't know

The sense I got however (as I walked through that brief, nostalgic window in time) is of a place in its prime, buildings proud and well-maintained -- two or three floors in height, considerable prosperity and optimism, horses and carriages and women in long, full-skirts, feathers, satins, laces, intrique, romance, assignations. All that and a sensation of 'remembering' being in that place, elicited by a certain time of day and a length of footpath in a country far-removed from what I was 'seeing' or 'remembering'. Absolutely no way that stretch of road had ever hosted the place I nostalically revisited during those brief moments, for the actually footpaths I trod were no older than 50 years of age and before that, the actual town had not existed and had been simply beach

Another time, I went with my family to a restaurant we'd never stepped into before. The meal was so-so, the ambience the same. Perfectly ordinary, in other words. But for much of the time, I was in 'another world', because from where I sat, I could see the entrance to the restaurant in totally different perspective to when we'd entered. And for reasons unknown to me, I entered what might be described as a 'nostalgic fughe (sp.?) --- was transported to a place I almost wept to be returned to -- yet which I'd never known, never seen in my life

It was so incredibly real to me in those moments ! Impossible to describe. Instead of the restaurant foyer, what I was seeing (and feeling and remembering and re-living)was a junction of corridors and stairwells in a building which opened onto a harbour-scene, somewhere in the Mediterranean

I was a child of the opposite gender to my real-life. My mother was calling out to me from our apartment, issuing instructions. Other mothers' and children's voices echoed in my ears. The ceilings were high, things echoed yet were muffled. I ran down the stone steps to street-level. I was skinny and brown and wore sandals. As I rushed down the steps (several flights) I could smell food coooking behind the doors as I passed. I could also smell the mouldy dampness which permeated and cooled the walls. There was no money, the furniture was old and sparse, everything echoed emptily. But I loved that place ! From deep within me. It was my life. Everything I loved was there.

Then, I was outside. It seemed to be late afternoon. A bit cloudy. Fish, fish, fish ... fishermen, boats, people calling out, laughing, bargaining, buying, selling .. and boats pulled up and turned upside down, others in the water just below the sea-wall. People busy, moving, talking, doing. I knew that place. It was all I knew. I was there

I can't tell you the strength of nostalgia and longing I felt as I sat in that restaurant (Italian restaurant) a world away from what I was seeing in my mind's eye as real-life people ate and drank, conversed and came and left all around me. I was blind to my real world. Didn't want to be pulled from what I was seeing and feeling with my mind and senses

Finally it was time to depart. I dreaded nearing the restaurant's foyer. Didn't want to 'lose' what I'd just experienced. Then reality hit. Nothing about the foyer could explain what I'd seen. Just an ordinary foyer and beyond it, the entrance to a casino. I wished I could have left a different way, one which would have allowed me to retain my illusions. Or .. wished the foyer had borne some resemblance to the echoing interior of the ancient building I'd 'seen and remembered' from my seat inside the restaurant. It was one of the most powerful episodes of 'nostalgia' I've ever experienced

reply to post by Dock9


light spectrum and color wavelegth play integral roles in your internal compass. they help your mind tell what season its in and moreover its location in the solar system.

This is a great topic a friend of mine forwarded me a tribute to 80's cartoons, tons of Nostalgia.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by Silverado292

youll pay for this captain planet!!!

Originally posted by SolarE-Souljah

Originally posted by Logarock
But as of the last several years nothing seems to activate them anymore. It may have something to do with age but maybe not.

Its actually rather nice to listen to old tunes or go to an old hang out or something and enjoy without those strong feelings of nostalgia.

What the heck? no nostalgia? That doesn't sound very fun? For me, a lot of the time old memories are stirred up automatically by a certain stimulus, its not like I have control over it. So I find it very crazy that you can go to old hang outs and not have nostalgia.

Yea its ok becouse I would have nostalgia to the point of say bad melancholia for a number of reasons. But I still listen to lots of old music and what not these days with not much nostaliga.

Oh there is one thing...old Art Bell reruns. What are they called? A place in time?

weird twists of destiny. I was just looking over some old screenshots of an online game I used to play and enjoy every second when staying there... Those times I spent more time on my pc than with real people... but the people by the other side of the keyboard finished being my friends in real life and we still keep in touch... somehow
Anyway, it's not the same and it never will. We've grown up in different ways and our paths are completely diferent of how they were in that time (I'm talking about a game we used to play in early 2000's...)... Also, new games doesn't awake any interest on me, and my pc is too old to play them anyway...
Kinda sad... the lates games I've downloaded aren't even fun, mostly because I have been playing alone. And please, don't talk about WoW, my mom, my stepdad and two of my step brothers plays that and since it's a family topic, now it's a big NO-NO for me... I don't like the character designs too

Also in topic, almost all the books in my shelf are from at least 30 years ago. I LOVE the smell of old paper... and I buy used books. The nostalgia of old times... and also thinking about the first owners is somewhat magical for me... And music is a completely different topic. For me, every song is asociated to an specific feeling or mood...
I'm such a nostalgic and melancholic girl....

[edit on 3-4-2010 by Caggy]

Thank you for making this thread even more intriguing everyone!

Damn, I gotta catch up here and try and reply to all these amazing stories and discussion!

Okay, first of all Dock9, that was an awesome story. Thank you for sharing! The part that really stood out to me in your story is about lighting on the ocean, and the ocean itself. Going to an old fishing spot from my youth, on a rocky cliff overlooking a pristine blue sea, and still seeing all the same rocks and everything still there 10 years later put a tear in my eye. I had a total nostalgia attack. I remember exactly where I tied my hooks, practiced casting my line, (that ended up going into the bushes!) and where I sat with one of my dogs as we looked at the majestic ocean together. Good times. That was one of my best nostalgia moments. It took me back to being 10 years old.