Can meditation be dangerous?

Aparticular meditative practice called mindfulness or contemplation focuses on immobile sitting, breathing and thinking. The goal is contemplation in oneself, freeing thoughts and following them rather than directing in a particular direction. It turns out, however, that for many, practicing contemplation leads to negative results - panic attacks, going days, even years after exercise, hearing voices, even deepening depression.

Claire, 37, working in a high-competition industry, has been sent to a three-day course of contemplation. At first he finds relaxing exercises, but then he begins to feel isolated, leading to panic attacks. The sessions revive memories of her traumatic childhood. Somehow the course unlocks things she had already done . He gets a nervous breakdown and spend three months in a psychiatric clinic. Four years later, he still can not return to full-time work and continues to go to hospitals, addicted to alcohol. To cure her, her doctors strongly advise her to step on the ground so that yoga and meditation end on forever.

Psychologists Miguel Farias and Catherine Wilkholm are concerned about the lack of research into the negative effects of contemplation and meditation in general. After the release of their book on the topic, they are covered with emails from people sharing their own negative experience.

"People often think they are alone in their problem, blame themselves, think they have done something wrong. And it turns out that this is not an unusual problem, " says Wilkholm .

Pharias examines existing research. According to one that was done in 1992 by the University of California, 63% of the study group with different meditation experiences had at least one negative experience related to the madfoundness technique and 7% reported serious problems such as depression, panic, pain and anxiety.

According to Pharias, the media exaggerate the positive effects of contemplation , while ignoring the negative side effects. It is hard to say how often this happens because scientists do not have such data, and the participants themselves are discouraged to report due to guilt or shame.

Kate Williams , Ph.D. of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester, and a instructor at the Mindfoulnes , says the negative experiences are in two categories. One is the natural emotional response to the research of oneself . In meditation, we aim to rediscover ourselves with an open and unconscious mind, whether the experience is positive or negative. Extreme experiences such as paranoia, delusions, confusion and depression fall into the other category. Williams himself, as an instructor with many years of experience, has had episodes with unpleasant experiences over the years.

"Long periods of meditation sometimes made me feel like I lost my identity and feeling extremely vulnerable - like an open wound. As an instructor, I am able to cope with these negative feelings without any subsequent effects. " - Williams explains.

Do employers and experts do when they recommend meditation to their employees? Psychic health is becoming an opportunity to make money. The importance of the emotional and mental state of work increases steadily, and the business is aware of the financial effects of stress, depression and anxiety.

So instead of eliminating the causes of stress, whether it is labor, mismanagement or lack of incentive, employers encourage their subordinates to meditate - a much cheaper solution. And it's much harder to complain about stress in the workplace when the employer has provided a solution (relaxing courses) so the blame falls on the employee's shoulders.

The idea of ​​meditation at the workplace fits well with the idea of ​​organic and clean food and products as it does not include medication. But meditation may not be appropriate for everyone. Realizing that we have depression does not always mean treatment. We all know what we have to eat, but many people do not. We all know that we should not be isolated when we are sad, but some still do it. And the masseuse technique means precisely contemplation of oneself, isolation from others.

Florian Roths has been exploring the contemplation for 10 years. He thinks it is possible to learn the technique of contemplation by ourselves, and for most people there is no problem. Benefits outweigh the risk of negative side effects. Everyone knows, for example, that better health and a longer life are achieved through sport, but rarely attention is paid to the risks of injuries during sports. And the statistics are clear, out of a hundred people who start practicing sports, 20 will suffer because they have not been taught how to sport properly. That's why the good instructor is important .

Certain mental problems increase the risk of a negative experience during meditation. Post-traumatic disorder would make meditation heavy, as traumatic memories may arise. Bipolar disorder hinders meditation, but there are frequent cases of people who do not know about such a problem until they try to meditate or suppress their symptoms.

How can we understand the risk of negative meditation responses for ourselves? Both Farian and Ruths admit that there is not enough data on how contemplative work works or what causes the negative effects. One reason for this is more than clear - people with unpleasant experiences simply stop practicing meditation instead of sharing their problem.

Scientists also have a problem with the fact that people who are trained in contemplation are not trained in potential dangers. Instructors do not know how to react if things get worse. There is no professionally accredited instructor training, and practically everyone can self-proclaim. Finding an experienced instructor is important for anyone who has decided to start meditation, as well as overcoming the fear of sharing experiences with him.

And for people who have already gotten out of meditation, there are many other methods of relaxation - reading, sports, painting, carving, walking or simply meeting friends. That something is modern does not automatically make it useful for everyone.