Key TakeawaysMeditation and mindfulness can cause some negative side effects in some who practice.In a new study, 6% of participants who practiced mindfulness reported negative side effects that lasted for more than a month.These effects can disrupt social relationships, sense of self, and physical health.

Key Takeaways

Meditation and mindfulness can cause some negative side effects in some who practice.In a new study, 6% of participants who practiced mindfulness reported negative side effects that lasted for more than a month.These effects can disrupt social relationships, sense of self, and physical health.

Mindfulness and meditation have emerged as mental health cure-alls, treating everything from stress to depression.Increasingly, however, researchers are also coming to terms with the less positive side of the practice.

Meditation can have adverse effects, causing some people to re-experience trauma or have trouble sleeping.In a new study examining some of these experiences, 6% of participants who practiced mindfulness reported negative side effects and 14% reported disruptive side effects that lasted for more than a month. The study was published in mid-May inClinical Psychological Science.

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“For the people in this study, [mindfulness] had a massively positive effect for depression,” she says. “You can have positive effects and negative ones at the same time in the same person. And, a negative effect can be a positive one at different times.”

Negative Side Effects of Meditation

For the study, researchers focused on mindfulness-based programs' (MBPs) adverse effects. Previously, in an August 2020 review, they found that out of 7,000 studies on mindfulness only 1% examined these negative experiences.

This small amount of research could indicate negligence, but it may also be due to the fact that measuring harm is difficult.

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For this study, the authors followed 24 current harm monitoring guidelines to examine meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs.

Researchers tested them on a group of 96 people who had participated in three kinds of 8-week programs of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. The participants represented people who typically seek out this type of treatment in the U.S.— predominantly middle-aged women looking to manage mild to severe anxiety, depression, and stress.

Three months after the programs ended, researchers interviewed participants, asking about their experiences post-MBP. They were asked about side effects, including:

Of the 96 participants, 58% reported at least one meditation-related adverse effect, which ranged from perceptual hypersensitivity to nightmares to re-experiencing trauma.

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Meditation-related adverse effects with negative impacts on daily functioning occurred in 37% of participants. About 6% experienced “lasting bad effects” for more than one month.

Among the most serious and common side effects reported were:

Still, a side effect can be good and bad at different times. Take perceptual hypersensitivity, for instance. Sometimes it might feel amazing because your sense of the world is magnified. “But sometimes, when you can’t stop hearing the clock ticking when you’re trying to go to sleep, that can change,” Britton says.

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Why Are People Experiencing These Reactions?

To understand why people are experiencing short- or long-term adverse reactions to meditation and mindfulness, Britton says more research is needed. However, there are some theories.

Britton says that the 6% who reported long-term negative side effects tended to meditate more. Duration as a risk factor for “unpleasant” meditation experiences has been previously reported in people who go on retreats, where meditation is done 12 to 15 hours a day.

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Although research about the possible adverse effects of meditation and mindfulness is rare, Britton notes that her study is in no way the first of its kind.

“Suddenly, we’re actually talking about it and measuring it, and it seems like it’s everywhere,” Britton says. “It seems like it just emerged and it’s happening more, but it’s not.”

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It’s also been documented outside of academia. “[Adverse effects] were documented in Buddhist textual sources that are hundreds and hundreds of years old,” Britton adds, “So this is not news. It’s just that the market value of mindfulness is so high that it’s not convenient [to talk about].”

“I’m not trying to detract from the benefits,” Britton adds. “But every day, I see people that tell me, ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me this could happen?'”

As her research develops, Britton hopes to spread awareness about possible meditation-related side effects. If you start feeling any of the symptoms mentioned above during or around meditating, it might be time to reach out and get help from a mental health professional. Britton founded Cheetah House—a non-profit organization that provides information and resources about meditation-related difficulties to meditators and teachers. At the site, you can find mental health professionals who specialize in meditation-related difficulties.

What This Means For YouIt’s important to monitor yourself for everyday difficulty and/or concerning changes related to your meditation practice. The Cheetah House website showcasesvideosabout adverse effects, as well asstoriesfrom people who have experienced issues. If you start experiencing negative changes, try limiting your mindfulness practice, and talk to a mental healthcare provider about how to limit these effects.

What This Means For You

It’s important to monitor yourself for everyday difficulty and/or concerning changes related to your meditation practice. The Cheetah House website showcasesvideosabout adverse effects, as well asstoriesfrom people who have experienced issues. If you start experiencing negative changes, try limiting your mindfulness practice, and talk to a mental healthcare provider about how to limit these effects.

5 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Mindful.The Healing Power of Mindfulness.

Cheetah House.Symptoms.

Farias, M., Maraldi, E, Wallenkampf, KC, & Lucchetti, G.Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: A systematic review.Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2020;142(5), 374–393. doi:10.1111/acps.13225

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