Nostalgia Rules During Holiday Times
During a vacation, or a trip to a familiar place, we may feel nostalgic thinking of loved ones or of earlier times spent with friends and family.
Psychologists exploring nostalgia say that the all too familiar feeling also sets in during lonely times as memories chip in to help with the loneliness. Nostalgia also helps people feel connected.
"For one thing, loneliness has been shown to be a trigger for heightened nostalgia. It is interesting because then the nostalgia helps someone feel connected again. It helps to decrease the negative feelings of being alone. When you are lonely, it is because you are separate from others in one way or another; and the holidays are really notorious for making people feel alone, even when they are not physically alone," researchers said.