Meditation and yoga are becoming increasingly popular due to their health benefits.
However, new evidence reveals that altered states of consciousness associated with meditation practice are common among adults.
“As more people turn to mindfulness, meditation and other contemplative and mind-body practices, we thought that degenerative conditions and their effects might be common among the general population,” said first author Matthew D. Satchett, PhD.
“We conducted a series of international surveys to investigate and found that such experiences are, in fact, widespread.”
He adds: “Altered states almost always have a positive, and sometimes even transformative, impact on well-being.”
“However, adverse health effects have been reported in some cases, and a small number of people have reported considerable suffering.”
As part of the research, more than 3,100 people in the UK and US completed a virtual survey.
Nearly half of the respondents self-reported having experienced a non-drug-induced altered state of consciousness.
This is a higher figure than you might expect, given that studies show that only 5% of the US population and 15% of the UK population practice meditation.
People who have reached altered states of consciousness through yoga and meditation have experienced ecstatic excitement, a sense of unity (a feeling of oneness), body heat or electricity, out-of-body experiences, vivid perceptions, changes in perceived size, and even derealization (a feeling of being detached from their environment).
Of those who experienced altered states of consciousness through yoga or meditation, about 13% reported moderate or severe distress, and 1.1% reported life-threatening distress.
Dr Satchett said: “Our research has shown that altered states of consciousness are not extremely unusual or rare, but rather a common variation of normal human experience. However, we have found that people who experience the negative outcomes associated with these altered states often do not seek help, and clinicians are ill-equipped to recognise or support these types of experiences.”
“This contributes to what is considered a public health problem, as some people have difficulty integrating their experiences of altered conditions into their existing concept of self and reality.”
He concluded: “Meditation and other practices should not be dismissed as inherently dangerous, but rather we need to better understand and support meditators so that they can realize the full potential of these practices.”
“As with psychotherapy, pharmacology or any other treatment tool, it’s important that we learn how to best implement and support people as we approach these powerful practices.”
