Are you a nostalgia addict too?

There’s something strange and lovely about the way our minds react to looking back and following the stepping stones of our memories. There are moments when something tiny - a particular smell, a song, an old photograph - seem to open a little door to the past and we stand at the threshold looking through, feeling almost as if we are actually there once again, while knowing that we can’t ever get any further than that little door.  

Those memories comfort us. They ground us. And yet, somehow, they bring about the soft ache of knowing we can’t go back to that time.

When we engage in nostalgia, we’re not just reminiscing - we’re self-soothing. Scientists say that when we recall a cherished memory, our brain actually releases little bursts of feel-good chemicals,  just as it would if we were actually experiencing the moment again. It’s no wonder we find ourselves drawn to the music of our teenage years, the scent of a familiar perfume or a misty eyed look through  an old photo album. These little hits of dopamine and serotonin create a gentle emotional reward, a kind of mind hug. This makes us feel happy and warm inside, even if only fleetingly. And because our brains love anything that makes us feel better, we’re drawn back again and again. It’s like emotional honey. Sweet, comforting, and just enough to soften the edges of the present.

But nostalgia isn’t entirely made of comfort and joy, it’s also a kind of quiet grief. A sort of soft ache for moments that have passed, for people we miss, for versions of ourselves that no longer exist. It brings joy, yes, but it also brings longing. We don’t just remember; we feel the distance between then and now. That’s what makes nostalgia so powerful… It holds both happiness and sadness at once, like an old treasured photograph of someone we’ve lost, it makes us smile and ache in equal measure. Maybe that’s why we return to it so often - not to dwell on the past, but to honour what once was and to remind ourselves that those lovely moments really happened. Long live the happy memories! I’ll always be mindful to enjoy the present and look forward to the future, but nothing will ever stop me from being addicted to that happy-sad feeling of nostalgia