Main content

The psychology of nostalgia

Claudia Hammond and her expert panel of psychologists take a look at the psychology of nostalgia; how it shapes our feelings and behaviour, and how we can harness it for wellbeing

Do you look back on the past with rose-tinted spectacles, memories of the good old days accompanied by warm, fuzzy feelings? Or when you reflect on the past is it hard to do so without a tinge of sadness? Whether you fall on the more bitter or more sweet side, this is the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia.

But nostalgia was not always just a feeling. Historian Agnes Arnold Forster tells Claudia and the panel that once it was viewed as a disease so deadly that it appeared on thousands of death certificates. And now this poignant emotion stirs political action, bonds us to others, and guides our very understanding of ourselves.

Our expert panel of psychologists; Peter Olusoga, senior lecturer in psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, Daryl O鈥機onnor, professor of psychology at the University of Leeds, and Catherine Loveday, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Westminster, join Claudia in the studio to discuss how leaning into nostalgia can help us feel better, reduce pain, and even inject a bit of romance into life.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Lorna Stewart
Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett

Available now

26 minutes

On radio

Sunday 02:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Yesterday 20:32GMT
  • Yesterday 21:32GMT
  • Today 05:32GMT
  • Today 13:32GMT
  • Sunday 02:32GMT
  • Sunday 02:32GMT

Podcast