Everyone knows what loss, loneliness, and sadness feels like. Nostalgic depression is a very real thing. Nostalgia isn’t just something you feel, it’s something that affects your entire life.

If you have nostalgic depression, you might have a bad outlook on your life. You will start to see your life as mediocre, while you see what you used to have as better or happier. No matter what mood you’re in, you can drift to the past, but it’s that mood that determines how you start to feel about the past. Even if these memories are painful, our brain looks for comfort in any way it can. I don’t think it usually works, though.

Romanticization is a part of nostalgia. Overly romanticizing the past isn’t healthy, it’s unrealistic. Thinking about missed opportunities are also bad, being a constant reminder of failure or a lost future. This is a big problem with nostalgia. It’s when no matter how happy or sad the memory is, you still face nostalgic depression. It’s like you’re stuck in the past, and the present. It’s almost difficult to even exist at that point.

Another difficult form of nostalgia is anticipatory nostalgia. It’s something I know a lot of people have experienced, but, for some reason, is rarely talked about. It’s when you long for experiences that you haven’t lost yet. I can recall countless times I’ve done something I’ve enjoyed a lot, and think to myself how much I’ll miss it once it’s gone. I think a big problem with this is how much it can bring your mood down. That then leads you to not live in the moment and embrace your happiness, because you know it can’t last forever. Nothing lasts forever, but it can be comforting to pretend it will.

On the brighter side, it’s relatively simple to avoid nostalgic depression. The thing is, it’s really all about perspective. Life is never perfect, no matter how you remember it. Right now, life isn’t perfect, but I know you’ll probably miss it, whether it be when you graduate or when you retire. I wouldn’t exactly know myself, since I am still young, but I have seen this in so many older people I look up to. They talk about their regrets, and their longing, and their sadness. I think it’s important everybody avoids growing up like that, because it is truly sad to me. We can’t spend all life worrying just to get old and worry more! The past is really a gift in disguise! Time shall pass, but it’s you who decides how.