For me, nostalgia is better than medicine.

It is a feeling of sentimental longing for the past. It is the emotion that you get when you think back to a time in your life that was better than the one you are currently living.

As we progress through life, we all go through both good times and bad times.

If I’m feeling a little depressed for any reason, I usually play some music from my younger days. For me, that’s usually music from the 1970s or 1980s. It evokes very happy memories and helps boost my mood. It’s difficult to explain, but I feel a kind of calm as well as a lifting of my mood. It works without fail.

As well as listening to music from my past, I also watch comedy programs from the same era. Comedy is well-known for being able to lift your mood, as has been shown by numerous medical studies.

A combination of comedy and nostalgia is guaranteed to lift my mood.

These days, I can feel my mood lift as soon as I’ve decided to watch one of these comedy programs.

My mind knows what’s coming.

If I’m at the office and unable to do any of the above, it means that I only need to think about certain songs or certain programs and I’ll get a small boost. I feel like my body is able to be more relaxed in advance of the relaxing time it knows is coming later.

A final trick is looking through old photos of families, friends, and places I’ve visited.

There are many different ways that nostalgia can be good for people including:

  • Helping with mental health issues like depression
  • Helping people deal with grief
  • Making people feel more connected to their community
  • Helping them have a better understanding of themselves

How I use nostalgia to help boost my productivity

As well as being able to make people feel happier and more satisfied, nostalgia can also be used to increase productivity, health, and well-being.

Nostalgia works by making us feel like we are connected to something bigger than ourselves, which in turn boosts our sense of belonging, self-worth, and security. It also helps us feel more confident about our future by making us look at the past through rose-colored glasses.

For many people, nostalgia is a way to remember the past and reminisce on memories that have already been laid down. It’s also a way to return to what we know and understand, as opposed to feeling lost in the present or future.

Feeling more secure and connected helps shift our mood so that we can become more productive.

When I evoke happy memories from my past, I’m always able to continue with my work with a lot more energy. That gives me a real productivity boost.

A useful tool to use in everyday life

The feeling of happiness when you remember something from the past can be a powerful tool for mental health management in everyday life.

As mentioned above, I find that these feelings are most commonly triggered by music, movies, photographs, and memories from my childhood.

The sense of belonging and security that nostalgia provides can help me cope with difficult times and difficult feelings.

How to easily remember those pleasant memories

We all need to take time for ourselves, and sometimes it’s hard to find that time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and are having trouble remembering the happy moments in your life, there are ways to help yourself relax and feel nostalgic.

These are what work for me, so choose one or more to help with your own memory recall.

#1 — Write down a list of your favorite memories.

#2 — Write down a list of things that make you happy or bring back good memories.

#3 — Make a playlist of songs that remind you of those happy moments in life. I have many such playlists on YouTube.

#4 — Take some time out on the weekend or during your lunch break to just do whatever makes you feel relaxed and happy. I find that being in a relaxed state makes the memories easier to recall. Going for a walk in a park is often enough to make me feel more relaxed.