The Other Side of Meditation

Meditation and mindfulness-based programs (MBP) have grown in popularity in recent years. There is growing evidence of their benefits in a host of conditions but less than 20% of meditation trials actively measured adverse effects. It’s tempting to assume that there is no risk in trying meditation or participating in MBP. Personally, I’ve experienced restlessness, back discomfort, my foot going numb from sitting in a position for too long, just to name a few transient negative experiences while meditating. So, I was not surprised to read in the article “Defining and measuring meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs” published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science that “Nearly 60% of the sample experienced at least one Meditation- related adverse effect with a negative valence, suggesting that at least some transient distressing experiences during meditation are the norm and should be expected for most participants.” It is reassuring that they found that both transient distress and even long-term negative impacts on life and functioning were similar to adverse events seen in psychotherapy. In future blog posts we will explore the evidence behind BOTH the risks and benefits of meditation and MBP.