We Once Thought Nostalgia Was A Disease But It Might Be Key To Our Survival
Modern neuroscientists and psychologists know that a healthy dose of nostalgia is good for you, at least if you’re recalling happy days. But there was no sweetness to cut the bitter sensation in 1688, when Johannes Hofer coined the word in his medical dissertation. A combination of the Greek words nostos, or homecoming, and algos, or pain, it was a special type of homesickness associated with soldiers fighting far-off wars—and doctors feared it could kill....