Nostalgia isn't actually about wanting to go back - it's your mind's way of proving to itself that you were once capable of the kind of joy and purpose that feels impossible now. - Silicon Canals

"You know that ache you get when you stumble across evidence of your past self being genuinely, effortlessly happy? It's not that you want to go back. Not really. I think what kills you is the proof staring back at you - proof that you were once capable of feeling that alive, that connected, that certain about where you belonged in the world."

"Think about the last time nostalgia really got its hooks in you. Was it actually about wanting to be 25 again, living in that cramped apartment with the broken heating? Or was it about remembering that you once had the capacity to find magic in a cramped apartment with broken heating? Constantine Sedikides, a researcher calls nostalgia "a self-conscious, bittersweet but predominantly positive and fundamentally social emotion.""

Late-night scrolling through old photos can trigger a powerful, sudden nostalgia when confronted with evidence of past happiness. That ache often reflects loss of a former capacity to feel alive, connected, and certain about belonging rather than a literal wish to return to past conditions. Nostalgia functions primarily as a social emotion that recalls relationships, roles, and a clear sense of purpose—even small certainties such as routine social rituals. Major life changes, such as divorce and identity shifts, can convert nostalgia into grief for a previous self who experienced steadier certainty and belonging.

Read at Silicon Canals