Science has found that practicing mindfulness can help us gain perspective, reduce stress, improve memory, and make us physically healthier. However, like everything in life, there can be some downsides to meditation that you might not be aware of.
Although there is relatively little scientific research on the dangers of meditation, the following findings come from a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. The study was conducted by researchers from Brown University and the University of California and examined the experiences of 60 meditation practitioners. It's important to keep in mind that there is limited research on the adverse effects of meditation , and that not everyone who meditates will experience any or all of the following negative effects.
A lot of people turn to meditation to help them become more optimistic, but that isn't always the case. Nearly half of the participants in the study experienced delusional , irrational, or paranormal thoughts caused by meditation, as well as a change in executive function, the ability to control yourself and get things done.
A study conducted at Seattle Pacific University in echoed these findings, showing that participants also felt delusional due to meditation. The way you see, smell, hear, and taste could be altered due to meditation. According to the study, many participants saw visions, hallucinations, illusions, or lights that weren't there. Some reported increased sensitivity to light and noise and a distortion in time and space.
According to Psychology Today, some people go into meditation with the hope that they'll experience such visions as the ones listed above, a mindset that is unproductive and can lead to frustration. If you already have trouble with procrastinating and getting work done, meditation could be bad news: The study revealed it can cause a serious lack of motivation. Become a subscribing member today. Side Effects to Meditation? Get the science of a meaningful life delivered to your inbox.
About the Author. This article — and everything on this site — is funded by readers like you. Give Now. The idea is that when we remove the inner monologue, we can see how our perception of reality, at its most basic level, is a crafted story. But the process of dissolving the personal narrative can be destabilizing and has been known to hurt people as well as help them. Last year, researchers at Brown University released a study showing that meditators often report feelings of fear, anxiety, panic, and paranoia.
Of course, there are challenges associated with these kinds of studies, including the self-reported nature of the results, the relatively small number of studies themselves, and external factors, such as the fact that people drawn to contemplative practice are often already in crisis.
But the fact remains that for some, the consequences of intensive meditation can be dire. In June , some 10 weeks after attending a day silent meditation retreat, year-old Megan Vogt killed herself by jumping from a bridge in Pennsylvania near her Maryland home.
I finally got that memory. While the kind of meditation-induced psychosis that Vogt experienced is rare, her story felt familiar.
I also had managed to complete my day retreat. And like Megan, the real trouble cropped up afterward as I experienced regular thoughts of suicide, from the more idle what-if-I-just-dropped-into-the-train-tracks to more plan-based thoughts, like where-would-I-find-pills-that-would-really-do-the-job type. Meanwhile, my practice kept me so morbidly fixated on my flaws that I kept finding more. And this was true for me too: After the retreat, I had more energy and often felt that I was better able to cope with stressful situations.
However, we cannot draw conclusions from the study that are not warranted from its results. How many positive things in life involve negative experiences? How many rewarding things in life are completely free of unpleasantness?
Many of the research subjects continued their meditation practice after having these experiences. This suggests that they may have found them to be speed bumps rather than roadblocks.
It is difficult in a study of this sort to draw conclusions about what factors caused which problems. As the study authors point out, the best way to do that is to use a randomized clinical trial RCT. Such a study is typically large and expensive.
Perhaps an RCT will be done at some point that will document the same meditation experiences that this study examined. Given the results of the present study, we cannot dismiss the possibility that meditation caused the experiences reported by the meditators.
Meditation is generally a safe practice that produces many scientifically documented healthful effects , especially for those with mood or anxiety disorders. It has positive impact even for many without mood or anxiety disorders.
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