Halloween has just ended and Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet, but you’re walking into the store and cringe as Christmas music plays.
A wave of nausea and extreme annoyance rushes through you.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas music but there’s a time for it. And that time is in December. Not November and DEFINITELY not in October. However, many stores start sneaking Christmas music into their playlists in mid-October.
Best Buy is one of the earliest and started playing Christmas music this year on Oct. 22, according to CBS Philadelphia.
But doctors say that hearing Christmas music too early in the season might not only be an annoyance, it may be bad for your mental health too.
Clinical psychologist Linda Blair says that hearing Christmas music too early in the season can cause anxiety.
This is because it forces you to think about all the things that you need to get done before the holiday.
“Music goes right to our emotions immediately and it bypasses rationality,” she told Sky News.
Saving money for presents, buying money for presents, decorating baking, organizing parties, hosting parties, preparing a menu, cooking the menu, sending out Christmas cards… the list goes on and on.
“It might make us feel that we’re trapped – it’s a reminder that we have to buy presents, cater for people, organise celebrations,” she explains. “Some people will react to that by making impulse purchases, which the retailer likes. Others might just walk out of the shop. It’s a risk.”
Blair says that store employees are at the greatest risk of being tortured by Christmas music since they have to listen to it non-stop for hours for at least two months before Christmas.
“People working in the shops at Christmas have to learn how to tune it out Christmas music because if they don’t it really does make you unable to focus on anything else,” she said. “You’re simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you’re hearing.”
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers said they are taking a stand when it comes to Christmas Music.
“We ask employers to consider the staff who have to listen to Christmas music all day, because playing the same songs repeatedly can become very irritating and distracting,” the union said.
Most stores make the majority of their money during the Christmas season so it’s unlikely that they’ll stop shoving Christmas down our throats in October as long we continue shopping.
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