The dark side of meditation

[redstone]

I have come across a few news paper articles this week regarding the negative side effects of meditation, namely the Guardian and the Mail!

it says 60% of people who have been on a meditation retreat had suffered at least one negative side effect, and one in 14 have suffered ''profound adverse effects'' according to Miguel Farias head of the Brain, Belief and behaviour research group at Coventry University, and Catherine Wikholme, a researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey. Miguel Farias goes on to say that it's a scandal that no rigorous statistical studies have been done in to the negative side effects of meditation.

does that mean that you have to have a really healthy strong ego before you start to do meditation? or if there are already flaws in your ego before you start, will it only amplify these negative traits? or maybe they don't have access to a good teacher? or is it none of these and that anyone who practice it are open to these dangers also?

there was a British study on inmates at 7 prisons measuring the effect of yoga and meditation on prisoners, it's findings were published in a book called ''The Buddha Pill'' can meditation change you?

maybe not a good all round area to pick your test subjects but this is what they found out, it did improve there psychological distress and improved there overall mood, but they found that they were just as aggressive as when they started the programme. so it did improve there own personal mood then!
They did something similar with psychopaths, and found out it only made them more efficient at manipulating people and did not cure or curb there behaviour, so maybe a healthy ego has a better chance of having no negative side effects....what do you all think?

[Miss Hepburn]

I'd say, a healthy heart and love of life, others, yourself and your
Creator would give you positive effects of meditation!!

That's what I think or know...

Seems to me that these "retreats" are the problem, not meditation. (There's too little information to form any kind of reasonable opinion.)

[Gem]

Originally Posted by redstone

I have come across a few news paper articles this week regarding the negative side effects of meditation, namely the Guardian and the Mail!

it says 60% of people who have been on a meditation retreat had suffered at least one negative side effect, and one in 14 have suffered ''profound adverse effects'' according to Miguel Farias head of the Brain, Belief and behaviour research group at Coventry University, and Catherine Wikholme, a researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey. Miguel Farias goes on to say that it's a scandal that no rigorous statistical studies have been done in to the negative side effects of meditation.

does that mean that you have to have a really healthy strong ego before you start to do meditation? or if there are already flaws in your ego before you start, will it only amplify these negative traits? or maybe they don't have access to a good teacher? or is it none of these and that anyone who practice it are open to these dangers also?

there was a British study on inmates at 7 prisons measuring the effect of yoga and meditation on prisoners, it's findings were published in a book called ''The Buddha Pill'' can meditation change you?

maybe not a good all round area to pick your test subjects but this is what they found out, it did improve there psychological distress and improved there overall mood, but they found that they were just as aggressive as when they started the programme. so it did improve there own personal mood then!
They did something similar with psychopaths, and found out it only made them more efficient at manipulating people and did not cure or curb there behaviour, so maybe a healthy ego has a better chance of having no negative side effects....what do you all think?

What kind of meditation retreat were they refering to?
What negative side effects did people experience?

I have been involved in retreats and have observed adverse consequences on occasion, too. I always thought that the organisers were neglectful about peoples psychological responses to sudden prolonged isolation and intense introspection.

I thought the glowing research into meditation was perhaps heavily biased and have looked for findings of adverse affects.

What I think is, meditation is quite a particular thing, and has been widely misrepresented, marketed aggressively and taught recklessly.

[redstone]

Originally Posted by Gem

What kind of meditation retreat were they refering to?
What negative side effects did people experience?

I have been involved in retreats and have observed adverse consequences on occasion, too. I always thought that the organisers were neglectful about peoples psychological responses to sudden prolonged isolation and intense introspection.

I thought the glowing research into meditation was perhaps heavily biased and have looked for findings of adverse affects.

What I think is, meditation is quite a particular thing, and has been widely misrepresented, marketed aggressively and taught recklessly.

They never identified what sort of retreats they were for some unknown reason.

The negative side effects they were talking about were depression, panic, confusion, hallucinations, mania and believe it or not psychosis?

maybe it's taught recklessly as you say gem and I would go along with that, I did know of a case of a guy going on vipassana retreat and he had schizophrenia, he said the week long programme helped him, it's only when he opened up to some members of the group that they then stopped him from doing another retreat and the rejection of it he says made his illness come on full on.

Miguel Farias is pointing out that no real research has been done in to the negative effects of meditation, maybe it should be done! the thing that I'm getting from this is that if you have any psychological instability at all then meditation is definitely going to uncover it..the sudden overload of opening up to this psychic force can be quite scary.

There is no way of knowing though when people go on retreat how it's going to affect them until it does, most people I know it has been a positive experience.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by redstone

They never identified what sort of retreats they were for some unknown reason.

Ok. Lack of specificity usually indicates extreme bias and sensationlaised journalism.

The negative side effects they were talking about were depression, panic, confusion, hallucinations, mania and believe it or not psychosis?

In my experience on retreat, every person will experience hard emotions as part of the healing process that they undergo. I have encountered people who have quite extreme symptoms such as terrific visions, and there are those who go straight from retreat to mental health care. I have observed all of the effects that you mention here.

maybe it's taught recklessly as you say gem and I would go along with that, I did know of a case of a guy going on vipassana retreat and he had schizophrenia, he said the week long programme helped him, it's only when he opened up to some members of the group that they then stopped him from doing another retreat and the rejection of it he says made his illness come on full on.

My view in regards to what I have observed is, The organisers, though adept in their teaching, failed to adequately address the personal sensitivities of individual medititors. The retreat situation has a 'one size fits all' approach that doesn't account for individual variance in mental stability or coping abilty.

Miguel Farias is pointing out that no real research has been done in to the negative effects of meditation, maybe it should be done! the thing that I'm getting from this is that if you have any psychological instability at all then meditation is definitely going to uncover it..the sudden overload of opening up to this psychic force can be quite scary.

The problems associated with meditation are well known to experienced meditators, but as you say, these aren't well documented in reputable literature. The meditation will almost invariable bring about some confronting self reflections as people seek what is sometimes a brutal truth, and great compassion and care is needed in navigating this.

There is no way of knowing though when people go on retreat how it's going to affect them until it does, most people I know it has been a positive experience.

Yes indeed. A well organised retreat that incorporates sound meditation techniques, such as the Vipassana which you mentioned, can be most rewarding and beneficial, though not without problems. It's likely that some form of duress will be experienced but that's expected as part of the healing process.

[kkfern]

as always the good outweighs the bad.

kk

[sunsoul]

Meditation as in basic breath or mindful meditation is perfectly safe especially if taught in person by an instructor. It will help with any instabilities rather than hinder...

When you start talking about 'energy work' like focusing on chakras, raising kundalini or opening the third eye then I would strongly agree that these type of practices could cause some issues and I don't personally like to see them taught willy nilly or practised willy nilly..

So, we have to be clear about what type of meditation we are talking about, what kind of person we are talking about, and the situation in itself which would vary according to circumstance.

[anthony c]

Originally Posted by sunsoul

Meditation as in basic breath or mindful meditation is perfectly safe especially if taught in person by an instructor. It will help with any instabilities rather than hinder...

When you start talking about 'energy work' like focusing on chakras, raising kundalini or opening the third eye then I would strongly agree that these type of practices could cause some issues and I don't personally like to see them taught willy nilly or practised willy nilly..

I AGREE 100% WITH THIS AS THIS HAPPENED TOO ME.I THINK PEOPLE ARE NOT INFORMED OR THE DONT KNOW ABOUT ENERGY WORK AND WHEN MY THIRD EYE CHAKRA OPEN OR KUNDALINI ENERGY RISEN (SEE I DONT EVEN KNOW) I WAS NOT INFORMED WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON AND HAD HORRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS.I WAS LUCKY I FOUND HELP ON HERE AND MY SIDE EFFECTS WERE NOT SO BAD.

So, we have to be clear about what type of meditation we are talking about, what kind of person we are talking about, and the situation in itself which would vary according to circumstance.

[bhoyay7]

i wouldn't listen to right wing newspapers...they don't exactly want people thinking for themselves.