Whether it’s for reducing stress or being more mindful, meditation is a popular mental health practice.
But now researchers have found many people who meditate also experience adverse side effects.
“We found that 60 percent of meditators had experienced an adverse effect as a result of meditation and that 9% experienced a disruption in their day-to-day life as a result of that adverse effects. We also found that poor mental health was linked to adverse effects though we don’t know whether it was a result of the adverse events or a cause or the adverse events,” Nicholas Van Dam, lead author of the study and a psychologist at the University of Melbourne told Theravive.
“Prior to this study, we had limited data on the prevalence of adverse effects on American meditators. Previous studies used limited methods to assess adverse effects and/or were not representative of the American population of meditators. As a result, our ability to draw conclusions was limited. Ultimately, we want to ensure we maximize benefits and minimize potential harms associated with meditation.”
To undertake his research, Van Dam and his colleagues recruited nearly 900 adults in the US. The adults chosen were a reflective sample of what meditators looked like cross the country in terms of age, gender, race and ethnicity.
Those chosen were from a broad range of skill level of meditation, from beginner to advanced.
The participants were asked to use a 30 item checklist to rate the intensity of side effects experienced with meditation, both positive and negative. They were also asked if it disrupted their day to day life.
Side effects may include feeling anxious, having panic attacks, reexperiencing traumatic events through memories, dissociation and depersonalization.
More than half of those surveyed experienced at least one side effects from the checklist. 30% said that these side effects were distressing or challenging, and 9% said that the side effects caused functional impairment.
Van Dam says the findings are an important reminder for practitioners to give participants in meditation enough information about what they might expect from the experience.
“It behooves informed providers to tell people what they might expect such that these experiences are not so unexpected (I.e. provide informed consent). Once people understand the risks, they can decide for themselves. Even though adverse effects were very common, they did not disrupt day-to-day experiences for the majority of individuals and so are likely to be manageable,” he said.
“It’s important to know the potential benefits and benefits of any activity or treatment before undertaking it. Having this information allows us to make an informed decision about whether we’re comfortable with the potential risks, given the potential benefits. For some people, meditation may be harmful. That doesn’t mean no one should try meditation. It simply means people need to better understand how likely it is that they might experience discomfort or distress and whether they are OK with a high likelihood of the former and a smaller likelihood of the latter.”
The researchers found that the participants who experienced psychological distress or mental health symptoms less than 30 days prior to meditating were more likely than their peers to experience side effects from meditation.
But they note that further research is needed to establish if there is a causal relationship.
Van Dam notes that while meditation can be associated with many side effects, it is important to distinguish between those that might cause discomfort and those that cause distress.
“There is a really important distinction between discomfort and distress. Discomfort is common in most activities that lead to change and may be necessary for change to happen. Distress is not necessarily common and is likely to be a red flag that things are not working as intended. A key in meditation (as in psychotherapy) is to know the difference between manageable discomfort and lasting distress,” he told Theravive.
“Meditation, like anything that has the ability to help, also has the ability to harm. Informed consent about the likelihood of help and harm is critical to best practice in meditation instruction.”