Defining and Measuring Meditation-Related Adverse Effects in Mindfulness-Based Programs
Britton and colleagues address a gap in the evidence on mindfulness programmes: the harms had barely been measured. They built a structured interview covering forty-four possible effects and had an independent assessor put it to people who had completed an eight-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy course, asking of each effect whether it occurred, whether it was caused by the meditation practice, how long it lasted, whether it was unpleasant, and whether it affected the person's functioning. Most participants reported at least one meditation-related effect. Around half reported one that was unpleasant, and around a third reported one that interfered with functioning. A smaller group, roughly one in ten, reported effects that lasted, and these were associated with signs of dysregulated arousal. The authors are careful with the conclusion: rates of transient distress and negative impact are comparable to those seen in other psychological treatments, which makes the point that meditation is an intervention with side effects rather than a neutral activity, and that programmes should measure them.
Britton and colleagues address a gap in the evidence on mindfulness programmes: the harms had barely been measured. They built a structured interview covering forty-four possible effects and had an independent assessor put it to people who had completed an eight-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy course, asking of each effect whether it occurred, whether it was caused by the meditation practice, how long it lasted, whether it was unpleasant, and whether it affected the person's functioning. Most participants reported at least one meditation-related effect. Around half reported one that was unpleasant, and around a third reported one that interfered with functioning. A smaller group, roughly one in ten, reported effects that lasted, and these were associated with signs of dysregulated arousal. The authors are careful with the conclusion: rates of transient distress and negative impact are comparable to those seen in other psychological treatments, which makes the point that meditation is an intervention with side effects rather than a neutral activity, and that programmes should measure them.
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1177/2167702621996340. N = 96; 83% at least one side effect; 58% negative valence; 37% negative impact (of 81 rated); lasting bad effects 14.1% / 9.0% / 6.4% at more than a day, week, month (of 78). Open-ended question identified 26 of 80. Full text read; pagination confirmed 2026-09-02.
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- 2,500 Years, One Good Study, Why We Exist / Endure
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https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702621996340
DOI: 10.1177/2167702621996340