“Perfume is positive”…Make your emotions more resilient
“Depressed by the prospect of a gloomy day and a sad tomorrow, I mechanically took a spoon of black tea with melted pieces of madeleine to my lips.…the moment I touched the ceiling of my mouth, I was surprised and noticed that something special was happening in my body. A sweet joy of unknown reason captivated me and isolated me.” – Among Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”.
Even if you haven’t read all of this thick novel, you may have heard the confession of the main character, who is reminiscent while eating madeleines soaked in black tea. We sometimes miss the past and anxiously recall the warm and fuzzy memories of childhood or adulthood.
“Perfume is a positive and longing emotion that you experience when you think of something in the past,” said Deanna Woodhouse, clinical operating director and counselor at Los Angeles-based “Lightfully Behavioral Health.” Perfume can be created by looking at old pictures, talking to friends, or smelling familiar scents.
Is it healthy to recall good old memories? The health care media ‘Everyday Health’ introduced the healthy and negative aspects of nostalgia.
You can be happy when you’re into perfume
Dr. David Newman, a researcher in psychiatry and behavioral science at the University of California Medical School, said, “When you think of nostalgia, you can feel happy.” It was clinically revealed. Woodhouse said, “Sometimes when a client needs to find some root or base, we, as healers, help them look back on the past with affection and recall nostalgic experiences.” Perfume can be beneficial, especially when people who go through dark times recall that they once had light.
A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in February 2020 said, “Recalling memories and feeling nostalgic has a positive effect rather than negative. It is related to restoring the meaning of life, self-esteem, and optimism, he said. The researchers also did not overlook that nostalgia is a mixed emotion and does not always have a positive effect.
The five benefits of falling into reminiscence are as follows.
1. Self-consciousness expands
A study published in the journal Cognition and Emotion in June 2021 said, “Recollection helps you feel connected to who you were in the past, who you are now, and who you will be in the future.” “It can be positive to recall past experiences that were in line with your values and morality,” Woodhouse said. This is because self-consciousness will increase and confidence will be aroused. He added, “Looking back on yourself makes you reaffirm your values and meet again what is truly important to you.”
2. It can be a measure of growth
Perfume can show how far it has come now. It is helpful to look back on growth based on positive experiences. “Change doesn’t happen overnight, and nostalgia can be a good measure of how our own values have increased, how we’ve found our true selves and been consistent with them,” Woodhouse said. In other words, looking back at the past can help you see how you have grown now.
3. Recovering from positive emotions
A study published in “Consciousness and Cognition” in April 2021 also said, “Perfume can have a positive effect.” If you feel that you are currently at a dead end, nostalgia can help temporarily alleviate negative emotions.
“Perfume can help calm emotions and utilize healthy coping mechanisms,” Woodhouse says. “Recalling positive memories allows us to shift our emotions from denial to neutrality,” he said. Everyone will have an experience where they gained strength by thinking about the sports day when they ran happily when they were young or recalling the memories of being satisfied while eating delicious food made by their grandmother. A study published in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease in 2021 noted that “during social distancing due to COVID-19, nostalgia played a role in comforting the mind.”
4. The bond between friends and family becomes stronger
A study published in the journal Emotion in April 2021 explained, “Perfume is a very social feeling that connects us to others.” Another study revealed, “Recalling memories with family or friends, watching home videos, or looking at past photos can help you feel closer and more connected to each other.”
“It also works when you share your past experiences with complete strangers,” Woodhouse said. It is also effective to talk about cartoons that were popular in the 90s with strangers or memories related to dial-up connections such as “PC communication.”
5. You can be more optimistic
A paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published in February 2020 noted that “nostalgia can lead to optimism.”
If you stay in the past, you can fall into depression
Perfume is usually a longing for certain moments in an individual’s life. It is generally a positive memory, but it can also bring sadness. Dr. Newman said, “If you are missing the past, longing causes sadness, and you may be upset that the time you are thinking no longer exists.”
Woodhouse also said, “When we start to reminisce about the ‘good old days’ and stay in the past, we may fall into depression thinking about ‘what if’ and ‘what should be’.”
Whether the experience of nostalgia is positive or negative can vary depending on how you recall it. A study published in the 2020 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which revealed that nostalgia can be optimistic, said, “If you suddenly fall into nostalgia during the day without any stimulation, it is more closely related to sadness.” However, when asked to recall, people usually recall positive memories.
The American Psychological Association described historical or collective nostalgia beyond personal nostalgia as “a longing for a moment of history that I have not experienced personally.” “I can feel nostalgia even though I didn’t live in the Renaissance era,” Dr. Newman said. “It is positive if historical nostalgia leads to a greater bond, but it can be dangerous if a person in power exploits it,” he said.