Why do I obsess over nostalgia?

[Seasonofthewitch83]

I have fallen down a Tik Tok hole of accounts dedicated to showing clips and opening credits of tv shows and adverts from the 80s/90s.

Why does it make my heart ache?

I try and wonder why - does it mean I am deep down a bit unhappy with my life? If it because as I get older and family members start to pass on, it makes me feel comforted by the memory of those years?

Anyone else the same?

I close my eyes and I am 8 years old, Ddad who is no longer with us has just got in from work, DM has dished up tea and I can hear the opening credits to Byker Grove......

You're time travelling in your head . . . what a gift! Then you can't hold onto that moment and stay there it's always just out of reach so you feel sad about what is so near and yet so far and forever lost to time.

It’s depression, OP. It’s an innate need to return to a time that you felt safe and secure, in a way that you don’t now.

I find it a huge struggle too. Particularly since Covid.

I'm a really nostalgic person and definitely not depressed. Even as a kid I had deep yearnings for slightly older times, before I was born even but not too far before.

I think a lot of people feel nostalgic for the mid-late 90s, it was great time to British. There was a spirit of optimism in politics, music, the arts. We were on the up.

Sometimes nostalgia can be painful and hopeless yearning but I've found I've managed to mentally flip it to be more of a celebration and a warmth.

I'm like this, I actually sometimes feel sick from the waves of nostalgia or I unexpectedly feel tears coming. I don't know if I'm depressed but I do think this affects me more than others.

When you look BACK it gives you 'low feelings' (depressive feelings)

When you look FORWARD it gives you 'anxious feelings' (anxiety)

That's why we encourage people to stay as far as possible in the PRESENT, in this moment

I used to do the same till I realised that right now is the nostalgia of the future and it made me think I don’t want to be looking back in another 10 or 20 years and missing the time I have right now

My childhood was shit so i don't really think back to then. I do, however, look back to when I was young and full of promise and my heart breaks. I've achieved nothing and I've painted myself into a corner meaning I never will.

I love the way you've put that. Makes you realise how important 'now is.

Because the world and specifically, the UK, is in a bad place at the moment.

The world is horrible right now as an adult, most likely wasn't so great as an adult when you were a child!
I didn't have an amazing childhood but sometimes I'll see or hear something that takes me back to a happier time and it's almost like it hits me in the stomach, knowing I will never experience that exact moment again.

I don't think it's fair to days it depression. I love a trip down memory lane, I'm not depressed . It's comforting. What do you watch @Seasonofthewitch83

Omg are you me?? I follow all sorts of 80s and 90s pages on Facebook and things like old cbbc and citv show theme tunes or old tv adverts show on my newsfeed all the time.

I think the memories of a more carefree time in our lives act as a comfort blanket to us, especially if you have lost famlly members since then. I don't think you are necessarily unhappy with your current life, I'd more say you like the feelings of certainty and happiness linked to these times.

*to say it's depression I mean

That's so sad to read - it's never too late to do what you want in life.

I love nostalgia but I'm specifically obsessed with vaporwave at the moment.

For me it's actually about reconstructing lost futures and it's an optimistic thing. I think the world took a wrong turn but there's exciting times ahead.

Just been watching UK gold and just watched 2Point 4 Children. Takes me back 30 years or so.
Also heard the theme tune from Birds Of A Feather recently.Takes me back to winter cosy weekend nights in the 90s!

I understand the whole nostalgia thing!

Are you worried by this? It’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to miss and grieve for people and times that can’t come back.

It could be something to act on if this feeling is happening most of the time or is affecting your daily life over a period of time. It’s also important to gently challenge yourself to remember that the past wasn’t always good for you and that there are positives that come from getting older. And for some groups there’s a lot that’s better about the 2020s than the 1990s.

But it’s okay to look back and be sad. And you buy yourself that vintage polly pocket or Lego set you always wanted or whatever. You can play with it. Play doesn’t have to end in child hood.