05/09/2026
A long but interesting article on the career of the neuroscience researcher Willoughby Britton, who realised that there were harmful side effects to meditation.
Of particular interest are some of the specific contraindications given:
- Body scan meditation can exacerbate anxiety in already hyper-focused individuals by escalating physiological panic through the over-analysis of normal physical sensations.
- Close observation of thoughts can worsen depressive episodes by amplifying internal criticism and fuelling severe rumination.
- Psychotic individuals should not undertake meditation unless under the guidance of a mental health professional
- Long sessions and retreats are more likely to trigger adverse events such as hypersensitivity, dissociative states, cognitive or memory deficits and emotional blunting.
They may seem like common sense but all to often, meditation is marketed as a fix for these problems and when side effects happen, they are ignored, given 'spiritual' platitudes or even blamed for them and silenced to avoid bad advertising. Yet the classic texts all warn of this. The article describes some from Buddhist schools. In Daoism, it is known as "Rushing Fire and Entering Demons (走火入魔, Zǒuhuǒ rùmó)," and comes from either excessively forcing the attention (rushing the fire), or clinging to visions and interacting with apparitions (demons entering).
This frames meditation as a form of mental exercise, with similar issues for mental health as would be expected with physical exercise. It is a stress placed on a system to encourage adaptation (hormesis in scientific terms). No one would be surprised if you suffered injury or worse, if you entered a marathon with no prior training, or a heart condition, or both, so why would it come as any surprise that intensive meditation practices can exacerbate mental health disorders.
It is a problem I have seen many times in my career among those involved in yoga, Buddhism and the New Age, most of whom have undertaken advanced practice without prior training. The foundations are the most important, and they are usually what turn people away because they are not glamorous, fantastical or enjoyable. They involve discipline, grounding and neutrality.
I remain a strong advocate for meditation, both as a therapeutic tool and a spiritual cultivation practice, but have always been critical of the McMindfulness movement that sees it as a harmless product that can be sold to everyone indiscriminately, or a tool to improve performance. It is the opposite of a hack and if it can change you for the better, it has the potential to change you for the worse. I am always careful who I recommend to do it and the type they should do, sticking to basics until I see the required skills to move forward.
A prominent psychologist and meditation teacher set out to research the benefits of the practice. What she found alarmed her.
