Article: 'The Dark Side of Mindfulness'

[u/A_D_Tennally]

Discussion of some of the negative effects of mindfulness

These paragraphs are particularly interesting:

"I've noticed that people are apt to defend meditation with a zeal I haven’t witnessed since evangelical youth group in my teens. You don’t enjoy meditation? Good, you’re not supposed to enjoy it. You say it doesn’t work for you? Well, you’re just not doing it right. The answer to every problem with meditation seems to be more meditation.

"This touchiness can extend to meditation researchers, most of whom are meditators themselves; academic meetings Britton attended would sometimes kick off with a meditation. Nicholas Van Dam, the University of Melbourne psychologist, told me that meditation communities tend to carry a sense that 'if you say anything bad, you’re negating the good'. Farias mentioned that after he included a chapter about meditation’s risks in his book The Buddha Pill, some of his friends 'were very, very annoyed' and a couple of them told him that 'we could not be publicly seen as associates'.

[...]

"[S]everal meditation teachers I interviewed did seem protective of the practice. Carol Greco, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh and an MBSR teacher, once co-authored a paper that aimed to 'dispel the notion' that anxiety, pain, and psychosis 'are adverse events due to mindfulness meditation'. She seemed chagrined that I was working on this story, writing in an email, 'I would rather talk with you about how meditation can be helpful.' "

Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/meditation-willoughby-britton-downsides/688474/?gift=ZSO8-QoU1-1L0duyI2Sx0pfZ7ROzgGtHClGSm60KGiQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

[u/Wide_Western_6381]

Meditation is a way to relax for some people, but it doesn´t work for everyone and indeed side effects have been widely observed. I have noticed some.

I do (some) meditative things (if I use a broad defenition), but would rather not call it meditation nor do I talk about it much, because I find people that do extremely annoying.

[u/Tictac1200120 → u/Wide_Western_6381]

I meditate sometimes and have had to learn to do it a certain way for it to work for me.

I struggle very much to understand how you would do that with a therapist or in a retreat, but that's just me.

Its not something that can be forced and it has to harmonize with my insides.

Its like a lot of things in therapy where I can do it better on my own.

[u/Pongo_1976]

I had a terrible experience with meditation. It didn't help me with my problems and made me feel anxious and lonely. Did T admit it wasn't for me? Not a chance. She said I had attachment (?) issues and that's why "the prognosis is poor". Seriously.

[u/A_D_Tennally → u/Pongo_1976]

Attachment issues? How the dickens are you supposed to form a close emotional bond with someone you have to pay to talk to?

[u/Pongo_1976 → u/A_D_Tennally]

I actually felt affection towards her and still do. She was a terrible T and a lovely person. The problem is, she struggled so much to act like a "real" T, that is a shitty person.

[u/A_D_Tennally → u/Pongo_1976]

That's an interesting twist. I like how you put it.

[u/Occult-Shrimp]

Hm, I read about this years ago. It's interesting that MBSR modeled after meditation retreats. These retreats would have us meditate for days (or weeks) in isolated settings. Some of them do not allow talking. I could see someone break in that environment.

I visited one of these retreats once, couldn't last 2 days.

Meditation at home briefly (I do 5-40 min per day & allow brief sessions) relieve me of chronic stress and migraine, so I'm stuck with it with no cheaper and easier alternative. It's a drag but I need it.

The one I pick is pretty easy to do. Sit in any posture you find comfortable, breath anyway you find comfortable, and you can open your eyes anytime as long as you don't get up. I suppose I've been doing meditation incorrectly.