# nostalgic anxiety



## brucewayne (Mar 9, 2011)

hi guys,

i am not really sure what to call this type of anxiety...but its something related to being afraid of aging and you always find yourself in a world of full of nostalgia...memories of the past, childhood and other stuff...

have you ever experienced something related to this? what do you do about it?

thanks!!!


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## Ramondo (Feb 16, 2011)

brucewayne said:


> hi guys,
> 
> i am not really sure what to call this type of anxiety...but its something related to being afraid of aging and you always find yourself in a world of full of nostalgia...memories of the past, childhood and other stuff...
> 
> ...


Interesting concept. Isn't that just called "getting old"?


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## brucewayne (Mar 9, 2011)

I am not really sure though, guess it usually happens during late nights and when your mind suddenly freezes in-between works...


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## Nameless Someone (Oct 21, 2010)

Omg I experience this. I really don't like getting older...


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## friend_Z (Jan 3, 2006)

I will literally cringe upon having certain memories, although it's not so much about getting older. I think, perhaps, it's because they remind me of a life that no longer exists. A phantom existence. They remind me of missed opportunities, lost relationships. They remind me of someone who didn't know his place in the world and, for the most part, still doesn't.


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## brucewayne (Mar 9, 2011)

I would have to agree to that one...it does make sense, perhaps part of us lives in the past because of these lost opportunities and failed aspirations which we can only ponder on, or should i say, the countless "what-ifs" in our lives"...

"what-ifs" - the thoughts that will always haunt us throughout our existence...


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## ge0624me (Apr 6, 2011)

I get those memories ,every now and then of a better time and place,it's almost like you did'nt have the pain and worries you do now. I crazy because I thought I was the only one that felt this way ,I guess at least in my little world right.


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## engima (Feb 3, 2009)

My guess would be it's a distraction from current anxiety or just general problems. Sounds just like getting old.


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## Sadie1990 (Jun 11, 2013)

I know exactly how you feel!! A while ago I was watching old home videos and they made me nostalgic and anxious because I miss that apply simple time and in wish it still existed. It also happens to me sometimes after I see movies but not as much


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## Thatguy55 (May 23, 2013)

I wouldn't say it's a disorder of any kind because I feel this way quite a lot, just because it doesn't quite feel right, it doesn't mean it's a mental disorder. I suppose it's just part of growing up and regretting what you have done so far with your life, which can be linked with Social Anxiety.


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## enoxib (Feb 13, 2014)

*I think I know what you mean*

I think I get something similar. Looked before and found nothing. I would describe it as nostalgic anxiety but it's more nostalgia of missed opportunities. It's like I'd like to have my cake and eat it.

In context some friends up and left to go travelling in Australia and I'd love to but at the same time I have a steady job and good career. On top of that a girl I've been interested in for years is moving to the US. I get anxious about looking back at the present in twenty years and regretting the decisions I'm going to have to make now.

For me it's not about getting old, it's about a fear of looking back at now and wishing I could follow a different path.

'The road not traveled' a poem by Robert Frost probably describes best how bad this makes me feel.


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## panicattack14 (Nov 10, 2013)

friend_Z said:


> I will literally cringe upon having certain memories, although it's not so much about getting older. I think, perhaps, it's because they remind me of a life that no longer exists. A phantom existence. They remind me of missed opportunities, lost relationships. They remind me of someone who didn't know his place in the world and, for the most part, still doesn't.


I never understood why I would look back on times of my life and be overcome with extreme anxiety. After I read this, it makes perfect sense. (Although I believe that aging and fear of getting older plays a significant factor as well)


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## ndjokovic (Nov 23, 2013)

In general, I consider that I had a bad childhood because of anxiety. But I just typed nostalgic anxiety, because I am feeling it. These weird emotions got activated when I watched in YouTube a video of a place where I used to live, remembered all the childhood memories, the smells and everything, I am crying right now while typing, I don't think I was experiencing anxiety at those times yet. But even then, I think I don't want to go back in time to those days even if I get nostalgic over them, because I think I was not knowing life very well, the struggle of my parents, the bad people around us, I was a kid enjoying childhood, that's it. I think I feel better now, because I know life a lot better. That is not a way to comfort myself, but it is the truth. It is better to have a good understanding of life.


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