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Key TakeawaysEvery December Spotify Wrapped shows users who they listened to the most that year.Since its inception, it has become a major moment of self-reflection for music fans, who often place part of their identity in the results.Users also tend to view these roundups as windows into the state of their mental health, but the correlation is complicated to unpack.While there’s a clear link between music and mental health, it’s important not overanalyze your habits.

Key Takeaways

Every December Spotify Wrapped shows users who they listened to the most that year.Since its inception, it has become a major moment of self-reflection for music fans, who often place part of their identity in the results.Users also tend to view these roundups as windows into the state of their mental health, but the correlation is complicated to unpack.While there’s a clear link between music and mental health, it’s important not overanalyze your habits.

One of the most eagerly awaited days of the year for many music fans is the first day of December when Spotify Wrapped comes out. Though it started as an email, it has evolved into an interactive experience modeled on graphically attractive social media layouts that users can in turn share on their personal accounts.

And it’s not just Spotify. Sites likeLast.fmhave allowed music fans to track their listening habits for years—it was established in 2002—and there are numerous third-party apps allowing people to find out which artists, songs, or genres they’ve been listening to most frequently throughout the year.

Listeners revel in these stats because it affords them a moment of self-reflection via the lens of their own music taste. Did I listen to more upbeat or down-tempo artists? More sad girl indie or hyper-pop remixes? And what does this assortment of artists and genres say about my mental health?

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Our Music, Our Mental Health

It can be easy to romanticize our mental health and the music we listen to ties into that.Think of the way moody or angsty music is often seen as cool or edgy. Meanwhile, some genres and subcultures like goth and emo, are associated more with angst and moodiness—and frequently, poor mental health.

The correlation is inaccurate for many listeners—plenty of happy people enjoy genres like heavy metal—but others who are struggling with their mental health find comfort in hearing an artist sing about dealing with some of the same things they are.Still, for plenty of people who listen to ‘sad’ music, it can become an almost romanticized part of their identity. This prompts a few questions: Is listening to sad music acoping mechanismthat helps, or is it just reinforcing that low mood? Can it cause a lower mood? And would it be better to listen to more upbeat, cheerful music?

There are many possible answers, and the research pulls in both directions.Studies have shown a relationship between certain genres of music and vulnerability tosuicide, drug use, andantisocial behavior. However, music doesn’t appear to be the cause. Rather, music preference can be indicative of emotional vulnerability.

Adam Ficek, PsychotherapistStudies have shown that excessive listening to particular music types can incite dysfunctional rumination which is closely linked to depression.

Adam Ficek, Psychotherapist

Studies have shown that excessive listening to particular music types can incite dysfunctional rumination which is closely linked to depression.

That being said, we should be cognizant of spendingtoomuch time listening to sad music because, “it can be problematic and detrimental to mental health, especially in adolescents,” as Adam Ficek, psychotherapist and spokesperson for the UK Council for Psychotherapy, explains.

“Studies have shown that excessive listening to particular music types can incitedysfunctional ruminationwhich is closely linked to depression.”

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Music Taste and Identity

Our music tastes are incorporated into our identity—it’s a big part of what makes an annual listening roundup so compelling. Many common subcultures, from punk to hip-hop to goth to emo, have music right at their core. Even being part of thefandomof one specific band or artist can form a huge part of somebody’s identity.

This is perhaps more obvious today, with the rise of social media and ‘stan’ culture, but we see examples of this throughout the 20th century. There was Beatlemania of the 1960s, the massive popularity of Nirvana and the alternative rock scene of the early 1990s (Kurt Cobain’s mental health struggles would leave a mark on a generation), and of course the boy bands and teen pop stars of the early 2000s.

When Take That, probably the biggest British boy band ever until One Direction, announced their split in 1996, mental health charity Samaritans went so far as to set up a helpline for distraught fans.

So can fandomgo too far, even affecting our mental health? For dedicated fans, there might be a pressure of sorts to ensure that their favorite artist is their top artist for the year. And with the feature that shows fans whether they’re in the top 0.01% or top 2% of their favorite artist’s listeners, for example, there’s even an element of competition.

There’s a danger that we’re changingwhywe listen to music. There’s something altogether more performative about it because we’re showing other people what a huge fan we are of our favorite artist. Even if, for some people, that means listening to them thousands of times.

Music Preferences and Your Personality

Music As a Tool For Healing

“Times can bequite hardwith the current political climate, war, impact of global warming, and the ongoing physical and mental health challenges from COVID”, says Nicholas Barnes, certified hypnotherapist and mindfulness teacher. He describes them as “taking a toll on our feelings of safety in the world and quality of life.”

It’s been a tough few years, so maybe people don’t want to listen to upbeat or happy music all the time. But music can really help our mental health.

“For many people, music can play a role in making a positive quality of life shift,” explains Barnes. “The connection with music is very personal. The relationship with music can be a very beautiful,vulnerable, and often complicated dance that shifts from moment to moment based on our mood, preferences, social situation, and previous experiences.

Indeed, many people use Spotify for relaxation, for meditation, or just for healing. White and brown noise playlists and all kinds of ambient artists are very popular on Spotify. Meanwhile, one study from 2016 suggested that people with mental health conditions use music for the reduction of negative emotions.

How Listening to Music Can Have Psychological Benefits

Resist Overanalyzing Your Wrapped Playlist

But it’s important not to overanalyze the results. Listening to music should be enjoyable, whether you’re listening to your favorite album, revisiting a song from your childhood, or checking out an up-and-coming band.

Nicholas Barnes, hypnotherapist and mindfulness teacherThe relationship with music can be a very beautiful, vulnerable, and often complicated dance that shifts from moment to moment based on our mood, preferences, social situation, and previous experiences.

Nicholas Barnes, hypnotherapist and mindfulness teacher

The relationship with music can be a very beautiful, vulnerable, and often complicated dance that shifts from moment to moment based on our mood, preferences, social situation, and previous experiences.

It can be difficult not to, however. This year, Spotify even assigned everyone a ‘Listening Personality’ type in the style of theMyers-Briggs Type Indicator, from The Adventurer to The Fanclubber.

Ficek contrasts a healthy approach with an unhealthy approach. “A healthy approach to advertising your favorite artists on Spotify would be underpinned with a secure sense of identity, confidence and using the opportunity as an extension of representing who you are as a music fan,” he says.

“An unhealthy approach would involve curating an inauthentic, ‘false self’ identity in an attempt to generate greater personal appeal and attract external validation from other music fans. This need for external validation can result in pressure and stress to appeal to other music fans in order to feel good about ourselves.”

You might go through a phase of listening to sad music at one point in the year if you’re going through something difficult, or listening to more energetic music if you’re training for a race, for example. We can go through phases of enjoying different music.

Perhaps you listen to energetic music when you exercise, relaxing music when you’re working or studying, and white noise or natural sounds when you’re going to sleep. It’s near impossible to get all of that into your Spotify Wrapped, so all in all it’s probably best not to overthink things.

What This Means For YouMusic has all sorts of benefits, both mental and physical—regardless of your favorite genre or style. Spotify Wrapped is fun, too, but we shouldn’t read too much into it.Listening to sad music when we feel low can help us in some ways, making us feel as if we’re less alone, but listening to happier music sometimes may also help. If you’re worried that listening to sad music isn’t helping your mood, change up the vibe and try not to place too much of your identity in your listening habits.

What This Means For You

Music has all sorts of benefits, both mental and physical—regardless of your favorite genre or style. Spotify Wrapped is fun, too, but we shouldn’t read too much into it.Listening to sad music when we feel low can help us in some ways, making us feel as if we’re less alone, but listening to happier music sometimes may also help. If you’re worried that listening to sad music isn’t helping your mood, change up the vibe and try not to place too much of your identity in your listening habits.

Music has all sorts of benefits, both mental and physical—regardless of your favorite genre or style. Spotify Wrapped is fun, too, but we shouldn’t read too much into it.

Listening to sad music when we feel low can help us in some ways, making us feel as if we’re less alone, but listening to happier music sometimes may also help. If you’re worried that listening to sad music isn’t helping your mood, change up the vibe and try not to place too much of your identity in your listening habits.

How Music Can Be Therapeutic

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MacDonald RAR.Music, health, and well-being: A review.International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2013;8(1):20635. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Wesseldijk LW, Ullén F, Mosing MA.The effects of playing music on mental health outcomes.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):12606. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49099-9Baker F, Bor W.Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people?Australas Psychiatry. 2008;16(4):284-288. doi: 10.1080/10398560701879589Garrido S, Eerola T, McFerran K.Group rumination: social interactions around music in people with depression.Front Psychol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00490Lonsdale AJ.Musical taste, in-group favoritism, and social identity theory: Re-testing the predictions of the self-esteem hypothesis.Psychology of Music. 2021;49(4):817-827. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Gebhardt S, Kunkel M, von Georgi R.The role musical preferences play in the modulation of emotions for people with mental disorders.The Arts in Psychotherapy. 2016;47:66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2015.12.002

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MacDonald RAR.Music, health, and well-being: A review.International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2013;8(1):20635. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Wesseldijk LW, Ullén F, Mosing MA.The effects of playing music on mental health outcomes.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):12606. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49099-9Baker F, Bor W.Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people?Australas Psychiatry. 2008;16(4):284-288. doi: 10.1080/10398560701879589Garrido S, Eerola T, McFerran K.Group rumination: social interactions around music in people with depression.Front Psychol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00490Lonsdale AJ.Musical taste, in-group favoritism, and social identity theory: Re-testing the predictions of the self-esteem hypothesis.Psychology of Music. 2021;49(4):817-827. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Gebhardt S, Kunkel M, von Georgi R.The role musical preferences play in the modulation of emotions for people with mental disorders.The Arts in Psychotherapy. 2016;47:66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2015.12.002

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

MacDonald RAR.Music, health, and well-being: A review.International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2013;8(1):20635. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Wesseldijk LW, Ullén F, Mosing MA.The effects of playing music on mental health outcomes.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):12606. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49099-9Baker F, Bor W.Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people?Australas Psychiatry. 2008;16(4):284-288. doi: 10.1080/10398560701879589Garrido S, Eerola T, McFerran K.Group rumination: social interactions around music in people with depression.Front Psychol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00490Lonsdale AJ.Musical taste, in-group favoritism, and social identity theory: Re-testing the predictions of the self-esteem hypothesis.Psychology of Music. 2021;49(4):817-827. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158Gebhardt S, Kunkel M, von Georgi R.The role musical preferences play in the modulation of emotions for people with mental disorders.The Arts in Psychotherapy. 2016;47:66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2015.12.002

MacDonald RAR.Music, health, and well-being: A review.International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2013;8(1):20635. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158

Wesseldijk LW, Ullén F, Mosing MA.The effects of playing music on mental health outcomes.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):12606. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49099-9

Baker F, Bor W.Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people?Australas Psychiatry. 2008;16(4):284-288. doi: 10.1080/10398560701879589

Garrido S, Eerola T, McFerran K.Group rumination: social interactions around music in people with depression.Front Psychol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00490

Lonsdale AJ.Musical taste, in-group favoritism, and social identity theory: Re-testing the predictions of the self-esteem hypothesis.Psychology of Music. 2021;49(4):817-827. doi:10.1177/0305735619899158

Gebhardt S, Kunkel M, von Georgi R.The role musical preferences play in the modulation of emotions for people with mental disorders.The Arts in Psychotherapy. 2016;47:66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2015.12.002

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