The concept of "nostalgia": what is it?

Nostalgia - what is it? This word we hear every day, but do we understand its essence and true meaning? Let's understand!

The word nostalgia has Latin roots and consists of two roots: "nostos", which means returning home, and "algos", which translates as sadness or pain. Thus, the question: "Nostalgia - what is it?" - The answer is simple: it is longing for home, home. In some dictionaries, you can see the meaning of this word as a "clinical condition". Why?

The fact is that the very concept of "nostalgia" (what it is and with whom to use it) has significantly changed during the development of psychiatry and the development of psychology. This concept was first used by the physician J. Hofer. In his works he spoke of Swiss soldiers who served as mercenaries in other countries, and students who studied far from home. Painful soldiers and students recovered soon after returning to their native land. The doctor distinguished three stages of the disease:

1. A man tired, silent and looking for solitude, with sorrow constantly reflects on his homeland, not sharing with others his experiences.
2. Thoughts about the homeland become obtrusive, sleep and digestion are disturbed, pressure is increased.
3. There comes insanity, "idea fix," death from exhaustion, if there is no hope of returning home. At the Napoleonic soldiers such a condition was like an epidemic.

In the 18th century, thanks to the philosopher J.-J. Rousseau the concept of nostalgia (what it is and to whom this term to apply) again underwent a change. It began to be used against urban residents who were bored by their unity with nature in the conditions of rural life.

What is the modern interpretation of the word "nostalgia"? To find out, let's look at the Great Dictionary of the Russian language. There we see two meanings:

1. Yearning for home, father's house.
2. Longing for the past and the lost, for the experiences of life.

In modern usage, the word "nostalgia" has a very extended second meaning: it is often a longing not only for its past, but also for entire epochs, even very ancient or nonexistent; Yearning for places where a person has never been, and so on. This feature arose under the influence of fantastic and historical literature, films.

In the dictionary of the epithets of the Russian language the word "melancholy", which is synonymous with the word "nostalgia," is given more than 150 epithets, both positive coloration and negative. So, nostalgia can be "unbearable, bitter and hopeless," and "charming, proud and sweet."

Nostalgia is a special state of the human soul , comprehension and rethinking of one's life, destiny, state of things and events. This is one of the forms of knowing yourself, your personality. From a philosophical point of view, to the question: "Nostalgia - what is it?" - the answer will be: "This is a reflection." This term means activities aimed at self-knowledge. The word reflexion has the Latin root "reflexio", which translates as "reverse", which makes these two words not only consonant in meaning, but also related etymologically.

Nostalgia is manifested in many areas of our lives: in memories, in the collection of collections and antiques, in retro style in clothing and interior, viewing photo albums and old films. Nostalgia for Soviet times was expressed in the opening of restaurants, cafes and hotels with interiors and cuisine of that time.