Nostalgia... Funny Thing Ain't It?
Nostalgia is a pretty interesting thing. It gives the past rose colored glasses and more often than not, we remember past events better than they actualyl happened. It's as if the past is a distant memory (in some cases it is) that always needs to be viewed positively. Which most of the times our previous memories are happy.
However, something strange happens when we reminisce about the past. We tend to put things in a better light than they actually happened. That Christmas that you got your first sled? Yeah, that sled had fire decals and would fly down the hills super fast? It actually was a simple black plastic sled that went fast down the hill and more often than not, caused a major injury each time that you went sledding. But you don't remember that do you? Nope. You just remember the pure joy that you had at that time and more often than not, the brain fills in the rest of the detials, be they correct or not.
So why does this happen? Scientifically, I have no idea. But from experience, I bet it has something to do with the positive feelings that work with the memory. I know that scientifically when something good happens to someone, the brain releases chemicals called endorphines. These endorphines give you a "high." No, not the high you get from weed, but the high that makes everything in life seem awesome.
My guess (and it's a highly educated guess... so more like a hypothesis) is that when nostalgia occurs, the brain releases endorphines into the brain. The positive feelings toward the memory are only enhanced by the endorphines that have been released by the brain. So not only are you reviewing the memory with a positive attitude, but you have the the endorphines that the brain released already in the brain making the memory that much more potent.
Now I don't know if this is correct or not, but it seems pretty solid to me. If anyone finds anything about it, post it in the comments!
However, something strange happens when we reminisce about the past. We tend to put things in a better light than they actually happened. That Christmas that you got your first sled? Yeah, that sled had fire decals and would fly down the hills super fast? It actually was a simple black plastic sled that went fast down the hill and more often than not, caused a major injury each time that you went sledding. But you don't remember that do you? Nope. You just remember the pure joy that you had at that time and more often than not, the brain fills in the rest of the detials, be they correct or not.
So why does this happen? Scientifically, I have no idea. But from experience, I bet it has something to do with the positive feelings that work with the memory. I know that scientifically when something good happens to someone, the brain releases chemicals called endorphines. These endorphines give you a "high." No, not the high you get from weed, but the high that makes everything in life seem awesome.
My guess (and it's a highly educated guess... so more like a hypothesis) is that when nostalgia occurs, the brain releases endorphines into the brain. The positive feelings toward the memory are only enhanced by the endorphines that have been released by the brain. So not only are you reviewing the memory with a positive attitude, but you have the the endorphines that the brain released already in the brain making the memory that much more potent.
Now I don't know if this is correct or not, but it seems pretty solid to me. If anyone finds anything about it, post it in the comments!
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