The Art and Science of Reminiscing

What is Reminiscence?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, to reminiscence is to “indulge in the enjoyable recollection of past events.” Interestingly, embedded in the definition of reminiscence is the positive emotion of joy. Reminiscing is more than just flipping through an old photograph album; it also involves reflection and reconstructing your memories. It is a process of discovering and re-discovering who you are today by making linkages between disparate aspects of your life, your families, and your communities (Gibson, 2011). You can reminiscence in various forms – mental image, speech, writing, poetry, drawing, painting, drama, mime, music, dance, or some other medium of communication. Literature on reminiscence identifies two types of positive reminiscence that lead to well-being and decrease in depressive symptoms (Watt & Cappeliez, 2000; Wong & Watt, 1991):

1. Integrative reminiscence: This involves accepting one’s past as worthwhile, reconciling the discrepancy between ideal and reality, accepting negative life events, and resolving past conflicts. The main function of integrative reminiscence is to achieve a sense of self-worth, coherence, and reconciliation with regard to one’s past. Successful integrative reminiscence contributes to a sense of meaning in life and is correlated with successful aging.

2. Problem-solving reminiscence: Also called instrumental reminiscence, this involves recollections of past plans, goal-directed activities, attainment of goals, attempts to overcome difficulties, and drawing from past experience to solve present problems. Problem-solving reminiscence is an important buffer against emotional distress and has been correlated with successful aging, life satisfaction, and subjective good health.

Benefits of Reminiscence

Reminiscence has been shown to improve the following attributes (Chen, et al., 2012; Gibson, 2011; Pinquart & Forstmeier, 2012; Wu, 2011):

• Sense of self-identity and self-worth
• Self-esteem
• Life satisfaction and sense of purpose in life
• Psychological well-being
• Personal mastery
• Coping skills
• Social connections
• Cognitive performance
• Communication and empathic understanding
• Loneliness
• Depression and anxiety
• Ego-integrity

 How Does Reminiscence Work?

It has been hypothesized that positive reminiscence helps in improving well-being, enhancing self-worth, and reducing depressive symptoms in the following ways (Duggal, 2018):

• Integrative reminiscence provides you an opportunity to identify multiple sources of meaning and self-worth based on personal values and identification of spiritual or philosophical meaning in life.
• Successful problem-solving reminiscence may contribute to an enhanced sense of mastery by making productive use of successful coping strategies from the past.
• Integrative reminiscence helps you modify your perception of bitter memories by correcting irrational thinking patterns such as mental filter and magnification/minimization. For example, upon reviewing both good and bad experiences in your life, you recognize that failures in one domain (e.g., career) may be offset by accomplishments in other domains (e.g., family life).
• Integrative reminiscence also allows you to review the cause and consequences of negative events and explore alternatives to self-blame.
• Problem-solving reminiscence, by way of examining past experiences, encourages you to re-evaluate your goals considering present circumstances. This may lead to decrease in the number of unattainable goals and prioritization of goals that decreases the perception of threat to your self-worth.
• Reminiscence, through sharing of positive memories, fosters social interaction and bonding. Positive memories activate positive thoughts and images that counteract negative moods of depression.

What is Your Reminiscing Style?

Not everyone takes a trip down memory lane in a similar fashion. Researchers have identified three main styles of reminiscing (Fry, 1995):

1. Affirming style: People with an affirming style accept both positive and negative life experiences. By virtue of a sense of wholeness in their lives, these individuals face conflicts or problems with a hope that these can be resolved.

2. Negative style: People with a negative style want to keep life pleasant by ignoring or playing down painful or traumatic experiences. They tend to recall public rather than personal experiences to distance themselves from the impact of talking about their intimate past.

3. Despairing style: People with this style are preoccupied with past conflicts and present negative experiences. This breeds inescapable feelings of lack of fulfilment, pain, and disappointment.

The above three styles of reminiscing offer you an insight on your default style and gives you the impetus to change, especially if your predominant style of reminiscing is either negative or despairing.

In summary, compared to other therapy tools, reminiscence doesn’t involve learning new skills and uses resources already existing in people, which makes it an attractive self-help modality.  Moreover, individuals who participate in reminiscence are the main actors in their stories, which makes them feel comfortable and provides them a sense of control. Like any self-help tool, not everyone may benefit from reminiscence. This is particularly true if people drift to an escapist reminiscence or the desire to "return to good old days" which may provide a temporary relief from a painful present but, if used excessively, prevents one from focusing on the current problems. Also, obsessive reminiscence wherein one ruminates about past disturbing events may foster depression and anxiety.  

To learn more about evidence-based self-management techniques that promote mental health and well-being, check out Dr. Duggal's Author Page.

HARPREET S. DUGGAL, MD, FAPA

REFERENCES

Chen, T. J., Li, H. J., & Li, J. (2012). The effects of reminiscence therapy on depressive symptoms of Chinese elderly: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 12:189. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-12-189

Duggal, H.S. (2018). The happiness guide to self-management of depression. Bloomington, IN: Archway Publishing.

Fry, P. S. (1995). A conceptual model of socialization and agenetic trait factors that mediate the development of reminiscence styles and their health outcomes. In B. K. Haight & J. D. Webster (Eds.), The art and science of reminiscing: Theory, research methods and applications (pp. 49-60). Washington, DC: Taylor and Francis.

Gibson, F. (2011). Reminiscence and life story work: A practice guide. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Pinquart, M., & Forstmeier, S. (2012). Effects of reminiscence interventions on psychosocial outcomes: a meta-analysis. Aging and Mental Health, 16(5), 541-558.

Watt, L. M., & Cappeliez, P. (2000). Integrative and instrumental reminiscence therapies for depression in older adults: intervention strategies and treatment effectiveness. Aging &Mental Health, 4(2), 166-177.

Wong, P. T. P., & Watt, L. M. (1991). What types of reminiscence are associated with successful aging? Psychology and Aging, 6(2), 272-279.

Wu, L. F. (2011). Group integrative reminiscence therapy on self-esteem, life satisfaction and depressive symptoms in institutionalised older veterans. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(15-16), 2195-2203.