I often spend my time reminiscing about memories which have become glorified in my head. I can always find myself thinking back to "that summer" during school, when in reality "that summer" was just a long 3 months of pure endless boredom.
What psychologists call this is the "Good Old Days Syndrome". Keyword: Syndrome. This is a problem. (Read more at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201308/good-old-days-syndrome)
Essentially, this "romanticism" is innate but not innocuous.
The greatest problem in looking backwards it that we tend to alleviate our troubles by pretending that the past was better and that we are facing a new kind of trouble never faced before. That becomes our basis for failing. For example, I might say that my parents didn't face school like I do now, and it was much easier for them without the cutting edge technology and brand new information that makes us cram more and more information into our heads (don't deny it, you've probably done the same thing). So we make the past seem better to make our problems seem worse. How does that make our lives better? It doesn't.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. When we start applying ideals to people, we make a false image of them in our head which they will never be able to fulfill. Gatsby (from yes, in fact, The Great Gatsby), for instance, idealized Daisy (also a character fabricated by the acclaimed novelist Fitzgerald) as someone who was as perfect as a barbie doll (yes, the irony is real because barbie dolls are the last thing from perfect). Thus the "Fay" (full name: Daisy Fay) part of her name comes into play because her idealistic image is, like a fairy, not real. This idealism applies to modern life. When people tend to paint a picture of another in a way they feel describes them as real, they may in fact be setting themselves up for a reality crash when the latter's real character slaps the former across the face.
So remember this holiday season, when you look back on the memories you made in previous years:
What psychologists call this is the "Good Old Days Syndrome". Keyword: Syndrome. This is a problem. (Read more at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201308/good-old-days-syndrome)
Essentially, this "romanticism" is innate but not innocuous.
The greatest problem in looking backwards it that we tend to alleviate our troubles by pretending that the past was better and that we are facing a new kind of trouble never faced before. That becomes our basis for failing. For example, I might say that my parents didn't face school like I do now, and it was much easier for them without the cutting edge technology and brand new information that makes us cram more and more information into our heads (don't deny it, you've probably done the same thing). So we make the past seem better to make our problems seem worse. How does that make our lives better? It doesn't.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. When we start applying ideals to people, we make a false image of them in our head which they will never be able to fulfill. Gatsby (from yes, in fact, The Great Gatsby), for instance, idealized Daisy (also a character fabricated by the acclaimed novelist Fitzgerald) as someone who was as perfect as a barbie doll (yes, the irony is real because barbie dolls are the last thing from perfect). Thus the "Fay" (full name: Daisy Fay) part of her name comes into play because her idealistic image is, like a fairy, not real. This idealism applies to modern life. When people tend to paint a picture of another in a way they feel describes them as real, they may in fact be setting themselves up for a reality crash when the latter's real character slaps the former across the face.
So remember this holiday season, when you look back on the memories you made in previous years:
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| Don't look back at this.... |
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| But look back at this.... |
Woah Ananya! I really like how you started off with the "good old days syndrome" and tied it with the great gatsby.The barbie doll reference was pretty good too. Keep it up :)
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