Meditation: Side Effects Are More Common Than You Think

Meditation has long been hailed as a "universal stress-relief tool."

While it does offer benefits like reducing stress and improving focus, recent empirical studies have revealed that meditation can also have side effects. Nearly one-third of practitioners report experiences of dissociation, heightened anxiety, or emotional instability following meditation.

Here’s what you’ll find below:

• Mindfulness meditation may lead to “mind-body dissociation”
• Risks of meditation? 32% report negative experiences
• The mindfulness paradox: Acceptance or change

Mindfulness Meditation May Lead to “Mind-Body Dissociation”

In recent years, “mindfulness” and “meditation” have gained significant attention as distinct concepts.

Mindfulness is a psychological practice emphasizing awareness and acceptance of the present moment without judgment or reaction. Its goal is to help individuals focus on the "here and now," fostering greater understanding of their mental and physical states to alleviate stress and anxiety (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).

Meditation, as a broader concept, refers to the process of achieving relaxation and mental calm by focusing attention. It is a purposeful practice aimed at cultivating mindfulness or other psychological skills (Creswell & Lindsay, 2014). Meditation can be categorized into several types:

• Mindfulness Meditation: Introduced to modern medicine by Professor Kabat-Zinn, this is the most well-known form. It emphasizes awareness of the present moment, where practitioners focus on breathing, bodily sensations, or the sounds of their surroundings, aiming to avoid distractions. This meditation helps reduce anxiety, improve thought processes, and enhance focus.
• Concentration Meditation: Involves focusing attention on a specific object, such as a word, sound (mantra), or image. It helps reduce distractions and increases mental clarity (Jha, Krompinger & Baime, 2007).
• Loving-kindness Meditation (Metta): This practice cultivates love and goodwill towards oneself and others, including strangers, people who bother you, or even enemies. Practitioners repeatedly send blessings such as “May you/I be healthy, happy, and safe” (Salzberg, 2011).
• Zen Meditation: Originating from Japanese Zen Buddhism, this meditation involves sitting with an upright posture, focusing on breathing, and accepting any thoughts that arise without analyzing them. It helps open the mind and cultivate inner peace (Murata & Otake, 2012).
• Guided Meditation: Led by a meditation instructor or through audio guidance, this type typically includes visualization, verbal instructions, or relaxation exercises, and is suitable for beginners (O'Hara & Hunsinger, 2014).

In a study published in PLOS ONE by Dr. Julieta Galante and her team from the University of Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry in 2024, a year-long randomized controlled trial found that while mindfulness meditation can help reduce stress, it may also lead to negative psychological reactions, especially phenomena of mind-body dissociation.

In this study, 670 University of Cambridge students were randomly divided into a mindfulness meditation group (MSS) and a regular mental health support group (SAU). The results showed that students in the mindfulness meditation group scored significantly higher on "unity" and "mental pleasure," with an average increase of 6.26 points. This indicated they more frequently experienced a dissolution of boundaries between the self and the environment, entering a state of integration.

However, these students also showed an increase in "dissociation," with an increase of 4.84 points. Although this increase was less significant than the rise in "unity," it was enough to affect daily life for some individuals. This suggested that they more frequently felt a sense of disconnection from their bodies, such as a blurred sense of body boundaries or feeling like they were floating outside their body.

In the study, 32% of meditation group participants experienced varying degrees of dissociation, especially those who had higher psychological stress at the start of the study. Their dissociation and anxiety levels significantly increased after meditation.

Mind-body dissociation is a common psychological phenomenon where individuals feel separated from their body or the external world. For example, a person may feel as though they are "floating" outside of themselves or perceive their body’s boundaries as unclear, sometimes even observing their own actions as if from the outside. This state is usually accompanied by distractibility, cognitive confusion, and emotional instability, potentially interfering with an individual’s daily functioning (Sass, 1994).

The study authors note that when meditators are already psychologically vulnerable, this dissociative experience may be considered a "necessary phase of the meditation process." However, this experience is not positive and can worsen their anxiety and emotional distress.

As a result, mindfulness course designers and instructors need to be particularly aware of these potential risks and help participants properly manage these experiences.