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For old<br />
time’s sake<br />
Join us as we step back in time and explore how harnessing<br />
a sense of nostalgia can support our wellbeing<br />
Writing | Kathryn Wheeler Artwork | Charlotte Reynell<br />
It’s in the scent of the perfume<br />
your mum used to wear, it’s<br />
mixed in with the taste of<br />
your favourite homemade<br />
meal, it sounds like that track<br />
that could be heard blaring from<br />
your teenage bedroom, and it<br />
looks like the skyline from the<br />
personal pilgrimages you’ve made<br />
throughout your life. Nostalgia<br />
creeps up on us, stirring us<br />
emotionally, reminding us of the<br />
places that we’ve been, and of the<br />
journey still ahead of us.<br />
Each of us will experience<br />
it in different ways, but the<br />
science is there to support this<br />
phenomenon’s powerful force,<br />
for all of us. More than a decade<br />
of research from the University<br />
of Southampton has shown<br />
that nostalgia can counteract<br />
loneliness, boredom, and<br />
anxiety, as well as make us more<br />
generous to strangers. It can<br />
improve our relationships and,<br />
incredibly, can even make us<br />
feel physically warmer.<br />
And, this past year, it appears<br />
we’ve been pondering the past<br />
more than ever. Spotify saw a<br />
54% rise in listeners making<br />
nostalgic playlists, and a Radio<br />
Times survey found that 64%<br />
of respondents said they’d<br />
rewatched a series in lockdown,<br />
with 43% watching nostalgic<br />
shows for comfort.<br />
So, what is it about journeying<br />
back in time that is so soothing,<br />
and how can we manage this<br />
bittersweet emotion when<br />
the past isn’t always a perfect<br />
picture?<br />
A trip down memory lane<br />
From the start of lockdown,<br />
each Sunday evening, Father Lee<br />
Taylor – Vicar of Llangollen, in<br />
Wales – could be found sitting<br />
at his piano, ready for a weekly<br />
livestream, aptly named ‘An<br />
evening of pure nostalgia’. In a<br />
regular singalong enjoyed by<br />
people across the world, Father<br />
Taylor performed hymns from<br />
Sunday school, Victorian music<br />
hall songs, and the songs that<br />
“people remember hearing while<br />
sitting on grandma’s knee”.<br />
“At the beginning of the<br />
pandemic, there was much<br />
fear and uncertainty about the<br />
future,” Father Taylor says, as<br />
he reflects on those early days.<br />
“Many people, especially the<br />
elderly and vulnerable, felt they<br />
16 | September <strong>2021</strong> | <strong>happiful</strong>.com
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