In recent years, meditation has been promoted in Western countries as a good way to relieve stress and ease the symptoms of mental problems, but some experts believe that meditation also has downsides.
In Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism, it is practiced to intentionally relax the mind and bring it into a thoughtless state by focusing attention on the sensations and breathing of the present moment.
During the 1960s and 1970s, this ancient practice made its way to the Western world and gained many adherents, including many of today’s celebrities.
Meditation has been studied in numerous studies and has been shown to reduce the perceived intensity of pain, and the U.S. military is also experimenting with using meditation to reduce stress in soldiers.
That it has crossed religious boundaries and permeated everyday life is evident from the fact that it is recommended as an adjunct or addition to psychotherapy.
The first written records of meditation found in India are the Dharmatra texts, more than 1,500 years old, which describe various ways of practicing the discipline, including their unexpected results.
However, they say that meditation can lead to symptoms that modern psychology describes as psychosis, dissociation, and depersonalization (a feeling that the world around you is not real).
While modern research largely proves the beneficial effects of meditation, such as reducing stress, improving sleep quality, and improving focus, some studies also reveal negative aspects.
Symptoms may be permanent
In the West, the first evidence of possible side effects of meditation appeared relatively early, in 1976, and was discovered by one of the most influential experts in cognitive behavioral science at the time, Arnold Lazarus, who warned that careless practice of meditation could lead to serious problems such as depression, anxiety and even bouts of schizophrenia.
Scientists at Coventry University, led by experimental psychologist Miguel Farias, conducted the first systematic review of scientific literature published over 40 years and found that 8% of people who tried meditation experienced side effects, even in people with no previous mental health issues and who practiced meditation moderately. In some cases, the symptoms persisted.
“For most people, meditation works wonders, but it doesn’t work for everyone and there’s no doubt the hype has been exaggerated. People experience a range of symptoms from anxiety to panic attacks. “Researchers and centres involved in the study of meditation have an ethical obligation to inform everyone who takes their courses about the existence and frequency of its drawbacks,” Dr Farias said in a statement at the time.
More than 10% of respondents experienced negative effects from meditation
A large-scale study conducted in 2022 on 953 people who regularly meditate in the United States found that more than 10% of subjects experienced negative effects that affected their daily lives and lasted for at least a month.
A review of studies from the past 40 years found that the most common contraindications were anxiety and depression, followed by psychotic episodes, dissociation, and panic attacks.
In a new article published on The Conversation website, Dr Farias writes that another study, conducted in 2022, was highly significant yet received little coverage in the media.
“The study tested more than 8,000 pupils (aged 11 to 14) from 84 schools in the UK between 2016 and 2018. It found that meditation, or moderate mindfulness, did not improve pupils’ sense of well-being compared to a control group and even had a negative effect on pupils at risk of psychological problems,” the psychologists point out.
“The Spirit of Capitalism”
Regardless of the aforementioned findings, meditation is now an essential component of many programs promising personal well-being, and the industry teaching this skill in the United States is estimated to be worth a whopping $2.2 billion.
In his book McMindfulness, published last year, Buddhist teacher Ronald Purser wrote that early spiritual teachings were the beginnings of a “capitalist spirituality.”
“Meditation falls under the umbrella of the ‘wellness industry’ which thrives in a culture of narcissism. My worry is that meditation will blend too easily into the mainstream market. Meditation appeals to both the individual and the corporate minded, so it lends itself very well to marketing. Meditation is about the ‘me’ and self-improvement. It thrives in a culture of narcissism. “The focus is firmly on creating happy individuals,” says Purser.
