While meditation is often portrayed as universally beneficial, a growing body of research acknowledges that contemplative practices can sometimes lead to challenging or adverse effects in certain individuals or contexts. These range from transient psychological discomfort to more severe and lasting difficulties.
This theme examines research on meditation-related challenges, including experiences like meditation-induced anxiety, depersonalization/derealization unrelated to progress, exacerbation of trauma symptoms, and other potentially difficult outcomes that practitioners may encounter. Understanding these effects is crucial for developing safer implementation of contemplative practices across clinical and non-clinical settings.
Papers in this Theme
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Depersonalization and Meditation
Can depersonalization be a sign of progress rather than pathology? This paper explores how long-term meditators experience self-detachment not as dysfunction, but as a calm and continuous mode of awareness—one shaped by meaning, not fear. A deep dive into how interpretation transforms experience.
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The Varieties of Contemplative Experience: A Survey of Meditation-Related Challenges
Not all meditation experiences are positive. This pioneering study documents the range and frequency of meditation-related challenges, from mild discomfort to severe psychological distress. By interviewing practitioners and teachers across Buddhist traditions, the researchers identify 59 types of adverse effects, challenging the narrative that meditation is risk-free.