What is the role of nostalgia in the human psyche?
Nostalgia and homesickness are part and parcel of the human experience. Most of us associate them with feelings of sadness and sometimes loss, but do they actually play a positive role in the human psyche? Medical News Today investigates. kool99/Getty Images The term “nostalgia” originates from Ancient Greek via New Latin, and it is a composite of the root words “nostos,” meaning “home,” and “algos,” meaning “pain.” Essentially, it refers to the pain of being far away from home. The first time “nostalgia” came into use was in 17th-century Switzerland, when physician Jo...