Happy memories jealously kept in the casket of one’s life: that’s why according to psychologists they are good for the mind and heart.
The ups and downs of life it happens to all of us, and there are times when it really feels like it difficult to get up, especially after a sharp and sudden fall. How to recover self-confidence, as well as of course have the strength and energy not to give up when everything seems to take a turn for the worse?
According to psychologists it can be useful relive happy memories: one can, therefore, find new serenity by leaning on a joyful past, naturally having the attitude not to bind oneself to it passively, without then finding the courage to revive those satisfactions and joys that we have savored.
“Little moments as big as years”: a phrase coined by poet John Keats, suggests that some brief experiences are like this vivid and powerful which remain with us for life. These moments tend to reflect experiences that are emotionally resonant. In them we can find both meaning and joy and they can serve us long after they have occurred, contributing to our happiness and to finding strength precisely in delicate moments.
Reliving happy memories: Psychologists reevaluate the concept of nostalgia
The joys of the past, for example, if true, if real, can be the example, the attitude, the pivot, for a couple in deep crisis, of remember the “how we were”, to try to take back, even if it is not obvious, what that past has given.
Detailed research by experts has shown that those who they recall and intentionally savor positive memories they experience greater enjoyment of life. Those who recalled and actively engaged in reliving happy experiences reported greater happiness and higher levels of satisfaction than those who had no intentional practice in doing all of these.
Nostalgia, sentimental affection for past events which show us that we have lived, with facts, very happy personal moments, the special bond with people who are still beside us and have never left us alone, marking the movement of the “hands of our joy”, they demonstrate, according to psychologists, a remarkable happiness accelerator. Nostalgia, it turns out, has the power to boost self-esteem, amplify positive emotions, and even act as a buffer against negative thoughts.
In addition to giving us the benefits of memory, the studio also explored techniques to inspire reflection. THE participants in special sessions they were divided into three groups, with one group instructed to spend 10 minutes twice a day reflecting deeply on a positive personal memory. Another group was asked to focus on memories such as photographs or personal items that had sentimental value, while a third group was asked to relax by contemplating current worries.
The results of these very fruitful psychological experiments showed that the two groups who focused on positive and treasured memories actually reported more feelings of positivity than the group who brooded over the problems. This suggests that intentional reflection on positive life experiences and meaningful objects can be an effective way to cultivate feelings of greater happiness and positivity to experience new ones, compared to wallowing in anxieties and grief.