Resources for Meditation-Related Challenges

If you are in need of immediate psychiatric attention, please utilize:

  • Crisis Hotlines:

    • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.): 1-800-273-8255

    • Text lines: 741741 (U.S. and Canada) or 85258 (U.K.)

  • Call 911 or your local police, or go to the nearest Emergency Department

  • Referrals:

    • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

Cheetah House is a non-profit organization that provides resources and support for meditators-in-distress and teachers of meditation-based practices. On their website you can find:

  • A list of meditation-related challenges (59 different symptoms across 5 broad domains) based on the Varieties of Contemplative Experience research project.

  • Personal stories of other meditators-in-distress.

  • Information on consultations for individuals (meditators-in-distress), and consultations and trainings for professionals (therapists, teachers, organizations).

  • Books, research articles, videos, a therapist directory, and other relevant resources.

David Treleaven’s website and resources.

The Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab at Brown University, co-directed by Drs. Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl, which includes a Meditation Safety Toolbox for researchers, clinicians, and teachers.

Meditating in Safety is a website listing various resources on meditation-related challenges.

Online Articles:

research on meditation-related challenges

*For a comprehensive list of research and scholarly articles, please see the Cheetah House bibliography. Below are some select articles related to this topic.

Lindahl, J. R., & Britton, W. B. (2019). “I Have This Feeling of Not Really Being Here”: Buddhist Meditation and Changes in Sense of Self. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 26(7–8), 157–183.

Lindahl, J. R., Britton, W. B., Cooper, D. J., Kirmayer, L. J., Lindahl, J. R., Britton, W. B., … Kirmayer, L. J. (2019). Challenging and Adverse Meditation Experiences: Toward a Person-Centered Approach. The Oxford Handbook of Meditation, (March), 1–26. http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.013.51

Britton, W. B. (2019). Can mindfulness be too much of a good thing? The value of a middle way. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 159–165. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.011

Zhu, J., Wekerle, C., Lanius, R. A., & Frewen, P. A. (2019). Trauma- and Stressor-Related History and Symptoms Predict Distress Experienced during a Brief Mindfulness Meditation Sitting: Moving toward Trauma-Informed Care in Mindfulness-Based Therapy. Mindfulness, 10, 1985-1996.

Van Dam, N. T., van Vugt, M. K., Vago, D. R., Schmalzl, L., Saron, C. D., Olendzki, A., … Meyer, D. E. (2018). Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(1), 36–61. http://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617709589

Wong, S., Chan, J., Zhang, D., Lee, E., & Tsoi, K. (2018). The Safety of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: a Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0897-0 

Lindahl, J. R. (2017). Somatic energies and emotional traumas: A qualitative study of practice-related challenges reported by vajrayāna buddhists. Religions, 8(8). http://doi.org/10.3390/rel8080153

Lindahl, J. R., Fisher, N. E., Cooper, D. J., Rosen, R. K., Britton, W. B., Guthrie, B., … Guerra, C. (2017). The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists. Plos One (Vol. 12). http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176239

Compson, J. (2014). Meditation, Trauma and Suffering in Silence: Raising Questions about How Meditation is Taught and Practiced in Western Contexts in the Light of a Contemporary Trauma Resiliency Model. Contemporary Buddhism, 15(2), 274–297. http://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2014.935264

Lindahl, J. R., Kaplan, C. T., Winget, E. M., & Britton, W. B. (2014). A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: Traditional Buddhist and neurobiological perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 4(JAN), 1–16. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00973

Lustyk, M., Chawla, N., Nolan, R., & Marlatt, G. (2009). Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of participant screening, safety procedures, and researcher training. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 24(1), 20-30.

Kuijpers, H. J. H., Van Der Heijden, F. M. M. A., Tuinier, S., & Verhoeven, W. M. A. (2007). Meditation-induced psychosis. Psychopathology, 40(6), 461–464. http://doi.org/10.1159/000108125

VanderKooi, L. (1997). Buddhist teachers’ experience with extreme mental states in Western meditators. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 29, 31-46. Buddhist teachers’ experience with extreme mental states in Western meditators.

Shapiro, D. H. (1992). Adverse effects of meditation: a preliminary investigation of long-term meditators. International Journal of Psychosomatics : Official Publication of the International Psychosomatics Institute, 39(1–4), 62–7. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1428622

Heide, F., & Borkovec, T. (1983). Relaxation-induced anxiety: paradoxical anxiety enhancement due to relaxation treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(2), 171-182.

Lazarus, A. (1976). Psychiatric problems precipitated by transcendental meditation. Psychological Reports, 39, 601-602