According to experts, the fear of disappointing a loved one can lead people to put off their Christmas shopping. — AFP pic
NEW YORK, Dec 24 – As the big day approaches, some people have inevitably still not finished their Christmas shopping. In spite of the difficulties of the pandemic – which can turn daily life and organization upside-down at the best of times -the explanation could lie elsewhere. According to American neuroscientists, the main cause is simply procrastination.
“I haven’t finished my gifts yet, it’s going to be a race from now until tomorrow.” Like many people, Alexis has been putting off the hunt for gifts this holiday season. However, the 22-year-old has been thinking about the best ways to bring joy to his loved ones since the end of November. “Every year, it’s the same,” he laments, “I think about it, I think about it, but I don’t actually do it.”
This year, there’s no shortage of excuses for last-minute shopping, whether it’s the pandemic, the fear of being in a crowded store, or simply the lack of time to get everything done. But, according to the science media website Discover, neuroscience could offer another, slightly more surprising explanation.
Giving a gift to someone, especially a loved one, means taking the risk of missing the mark, and of disappointing someone you care about. Practicing psychiatrist Sam Zand helped the magazine shed some light on the matter: “Anxiety can make you feel jittery because the brain triggers a chemical called norepinephrine. An anxious brain also decreases levels of serotonin, which regulates anxiety and happiness,” Discover reports him as saying.
A form of resistance?
Anxiety about disappointing someone could push the consumer to delay as much as possible the fateful moment of actually buying gifts. Procrastinating allows the brain to momentarily release dopamine, the happiness hormone. The prospect of spending hours in front of the computer to find the perfect gift or wandering around a shopping mall would not release the precious dopamine. Faced with this prospect, the brain would choose the first option, postpone.
The magic of Christmas could also be at fault. Conveyed by advertisements, romantic comedies and Christmas songs, this end-of-year celebration is supposed to be the picture-perfect family moment. Among those who leave everything to the last minute, there could be “a form of unconscious resistance, a way of saying I do not like this holiday,” explains the psychoanalyst Saverio Tomasella in Paris Match. – ETX Studio