‘Good Amongst the Grey Clouds!’ Nostalgia, Authenticity, and Well-Being in Autistic Adults: A Qualitative Study

Nostalgia promotes authenticity and well-being in non-autistic people. We explored whether this also holds true for autistic people, a group who experience reduced authenticity and well-being. We interviewed ten autistic young adults about nostalgic experiences, insights gained into the self, and nostalgia’s well-being benefits. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three themes: ‘The comfort of nostalgic memories’ included social connectedness and recognizing the self as accepted by others. ‘The hazards of nostalgic feelings’ involved avoiding challenging memories to prevent past sadness from infecting present experiences. ‘Growth and redemption’ involved recognizing self-development and overcoming obstacles. Despite being a challenging affective experience at times, for reflective participants, engaging in nostalgia brought a number of benefits: boosting mood, promoting feelings of social connectedness, self-esteem, as well as providing insight into the true self. Nostalgia can be used to enhance authenticity and well-being for autistic people by developing self-understanding and emphasizing the benefits of being open about who one is.