diff --git a/cogs/sentiment.py b/cogs/sentiment.py
index b910fef..944daee 100644
--- a/cogs/sentiment.py
+++ b/cogs/sentiment.py
@@ -430,6 +430,11 @@ class SentimentCog(commands.Cog):
         if not config.get("enabled", True):
             return
 
+        # Skip channels excluded from topic drift monitoring
+        ignored = config.get("ignored_channels", [])
+        if message.channel.id in ignored or getattr(message.channel, "name", "") in ignored:
+            return
+
         # Check if we're in dry-run mode — still track but don't act
         dry_run = self.bot.config.get("monitoring", {}).get("dry_run", False)
         if dry_run:
diff --git a/config.yaml b/config.yaml
index 393e7de..d722819 100644
--- a/config.yaml
+++ b/config.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ game_channels:
 
 topic_drift:
   enabled: true
+  ignored_channels: ["general"]  # Channel names or IDs to skip topic drift monitoring
   remind_cooldown_minutes: 10  # Don't remind same user more than once per this window
   escalation_count: 3  # After this many reminds, DM the server owner
   reset_minutes: 60  # Reset off-topic count after this much on-topic behavior