While once considered an esoteric practice, these days, meditation has gone mainstream. Due to its many proven benefits, such as its ability to reduce stress, tension, and even physical pain, it seems meditation has become the modern remedy for whatever ails us. Yet is meditation safe? Are there risks or harmful side effects to meditating?
The Risks of Meditation: What You Should Know
As it turns out, meditation may not be safe for everyone. Although it has many benefits, there are possible harmful side effects that may result from meditation practice. According to many recent studies, there are reported cases of unpleasant experiences and even psychological harm resulting from meditation in a growing number of participants.
Reported in this study are cases of anxiety, panic, depersonalization, mania, psychosis, suicidality, and worsening clinical symptoms. This study is but one of many related studies with similar findings.
Although these findings are recent, adverse side effects of meditation are not a new discovery. In fact, cases of meditation sickness are documented in ancient texts dating back to the 15th century.
So, what does this mean to your practice? Should you stop meditating altogether? Not necessarily, yet awareness is essential to your safety.
Check out the following list of reported harmful side effects linked to meditation to determine whether your practice is safe for you:
Possible Risks and Harmful Side Effects of Meditating
Among the most severe side effects reported are:
- Dysregulated arousal (energy problems; disrupted sleep/wake cycles)
- Anxiety
- Dissociation
- Emotional blunting (feeling emotionless)
- Flashbacks
- Compromised Cognition (problems making decisions, memory lapses, cognitive impairments, etc.)
- Social withdrawal
- Perceptual hypersensitivity or hallucinations
- Depression
- Increase in Physical Pain
- Loss of Motivation
- Disrupted Sense of Self
- Psychotic Breaks
- Suicidality
Meditation and Moderation
As the saying goes, too much of anything is too much. If you meditate, be sure to approach your practice with moderation and periodically reassess whether you need to curtail the amount of time you spend meditating.
Furthermore, if you are someone with a history of mental illness or trauma, you should only pursue a meditation practice with caution and under the guidance of a mental health professional.
To remain safe, monitor your practice for signs of these adverse side effects. Most importantly, if you do experience any of the above issues, stop your practice and consider consulting a therapist who can help you find a more helpful way to nurture your well-being.
Nothing in life is ever a perfect panacea for all, yet that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try things for yourself to see if it works for you. If you approach meditation with awareness and moderation, you can enjoy a safe and beneficial meditation practice for as long as you wish.
Further Reading:
Meditation for Beginners: Learn How Here
Let it go! 15 Things You Should Release and a Meditation to Help You Do It
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mechanics of Being with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.