21st May 2024 Blog

Mindfulness and Mental Health - opening Pandora's Box?

Anxiety • Lived experience • Wellbeing •

To mark World Meditation Day, a McPin team member shares the benefits – and potential pitfalls – of the growing trend of meditation and mindfulness on our mental health.

George L. Clarke 

Image: Mahakala – a Tibetan Buddhist deity relating to an aspect of ourselves which can be unlocked or discovered through meditation

It’s safe to say meditation is trending, not only in the mental health space, but also in corporate and tech boardrooms for productivity and stress reduction.  

In healthcare, this has been in the form of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which has been rolled out widely, and is prescribed to many with various mental health issues.  

Typically, MBSR courses run over eight weeks in a group setting, led by a qualified practitioner.  

My question in this blog, is whether there is a missing link in the widespread rollout and promotion of meditation techniques, especially for those already suffering with their mental health. 

On my journey, I faced many struggles, and times when it felt like my mental health was getting worse, not better. 

A passion for meditation

My personal journey with meditation has been a long one, with plenty of ups and downs. I can say that meditation was one of the main tools I used to recover from my anxiety, which had affected me since adolescence.  

As a result of my personal success with the techniques, I developed a passion for meditation. During the pandemic I was practicing for 1-2 hours a day.  

I now do some support and teaching for others, including running a meditation club for my colleagues at McPin. But on my journey, I faced many struggles, and times when it felt like my mental health was getting worse, not better.  

I was lucky that I had good information, connections to Buddhist traditions which understood the ups and downs, as well as a good general support network.  

Meditation opens and unlocks the mind

Meditation is an extremely powerful gateway to parts of our mind which are usually only indirectly impacting our lives, and are typically deeply locked away.  

So, while meditation can be very helpful for increasing awareness of the things which may be troubling us, it can also open Pandora’s Box. 

My concern is that the widespread use and promotion of meditation or mindfulness in western mental health care provision lacks an awareness of and a connection to the roots of these practices.  

Meditation...means initially opening the door to sub-conscious parts of ourselves, which may cause temporary or permanent worsening/emergence of symptoms. 

The history of mindfulness

Mindfulness as a technique emerged in early Buddhism around 250 BCE and has been continued and developed by the various Buddhist traditions over 2000 years.  

Meditation was primarily a spiritual tool to empower a total liberation of the mind, and spiritual awakening. This process means initially opening the door to sub-conscious parts of ourselves, which may cause temporary or permanent worsening/emergence of symptoms.  

This is something that is understood well within spiritual traditions and communities. In the Chistian tradition, St. John of the Cross referred to this as “The Dark Night of the Soul”, and in Buddhism these stages are commonly known as “The Knowledges of Suffering”.  

I would like to note that these are things which people commonly experience who start off without any history of mental health issues.  

The western medical system and meditation

The current state of the western medical system is not equipped to understand and deal with the phenomenon of “when things get worse” because of meditation, especially when those who are being prescribed these techniques are already starting off with fragile mental health.  

It is common for people to not only experience symptoms such as anxiety or low mood, but also psychotic experiences, especially for those predisposed.  

Some important research has been done on this by Willoughby Britton who found that: “Meditation-related adverse effects (MRAEs) with negative valences or negative impacts on functioning occurred in 58% and 37% of the sample, respectively. Lasting bad effects occurred in 6–14% of the sample and were associated with signs of dysregulated arousal (hyperarousal and dissociation).” 

This should be a warning sign to those who think we can just recommend meditation to someone struggling with their mental health, without providing any other context, support or therapy.  

It’s clear from the research that in some cases that when some people meditate, they get worse, not better. 

If we are going to be prescribing meditation to patients, then those who deliver and oversee that care must have a better understanding the of practices and their roots.

Reconnecting the medical and the spiritual

As someone who is a proponent of mediation, and has seen meditation radically improve my mental health, I think it is vital that more research be done on the topic, including wider spiritual experiences, so that this knowledge can be integrated into our healthcare systems.  

If we are going to be prescribing meditation to patients, then those who deliver and oversee that care must have a better understanding of the practices and their roots.  

There needs to be a reconnection between the healthcare system and the spiritual traditions which created the practices they are looking to provide to patients.  


Resources

I would like to signpost a few resources:

  • Firstly The Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium whose aim is exactly what I have pointed to: ‘Pioneering research and advocacy for the responsible integration of meditation, psychedelics, and emergent practices among clinicians, academia and practitioners worldwide’. 
  • Dharma Seed – a useful free web resource  
  • Gaia House – a well-regarded retreat centre offering in-person and online teaching 
  • Mindfulness, Joseph Goldstein 
  • The Way of Effortless Mindfulness, Loch Kelly 
  • The Mind Illuminated, Culadasa 
  • A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield  

George L. Clarke is Research Administrator and Trainee Public Involvement in Research (PIiR) Officer at McPin.