Dangers Of Mindfulness: How Too Much Of It Can Lead To Suffering

Mindfulness is a life-changing belief and practice to have, however, too much of it can lead to more pain, hardships, and suffering. Too much of anything never is a good thing, you know.

Written By Jason N. Linder

Key Points:

Mindfulness has become over-hyped, misunderstood, and overly commodified.
The documented robust health effects are overstated and not enough health professionals are talking about the unknowns or downsides.
There are other ways to self-soothe besides mindfulness; it's one of many tools in the toolbox.

Let me start by making this very clear: Iโ€™m a big fan ofย mindfulness. Iโ€™ve practiced for over 10 years and read many books and articles about it. I also have aย mindfulness blogย onย Psychology Todayย and strongly believeย itโ€™s the next major health revolution. I also use it routinely in my teaching, therapy with clients, and in other professional realms. Still, itโ€™s timely and vital to recognize that mindfulness has become over-hyped.

Since the year 2000 especially, mindfulness has flooded the public news media and scientific literature (see the graph below). It has boldly emerged from the fringes and become referred to often as a substitute forย psychotherapy, aย resilience driver, a vehicle of corporateย well-being, and a widely implemented educational practice (Van Dam et al., 2018).

Much of the popular media fail to accurately represent theย scientific examination of mindfulness and have made overblown assertions about its potential and use cases. There have even been some depictions of mindfulness as a panacea for suffering, despite the fact that mindfulness was notย originally developedย to treat illness or disease.

Related: Toxic Positivity: Whyย It Is Not Always A Good Thing

As mindfulness has increasingly penetrated almost every realm of contemporary society, so have misconceptions about what it is (mindfulness scientific literature to this day still doesnโ€™t contain a clear and consistent definition of it; see Van Dam et al., 2018), whom it helps, and how it affects the mind, body, and brain. Misinformation and research with unsound methodology can harm, mislead, or at least disappoint the public (Van Dam et al., 2018).

According to directors of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the NIH, the biggest potential harm of mental health treatments (e.g.,ย mindfulness meditation) is unsubstantiated claims of its benefit without understanding possible adverse effects. Itโ€™s been largely overlooked that mindfulness or meditation-related experiences that were serious or distressing enough to warrant additional treatment or medicalย attentionย have been reported in more than 20 published case reports or observational studies (Davidson & Kaszniak, 2015).

Also, to date, โ€œofficialโ€ clinical guidelines about the state of meditation-related risks are in their infancy and only a handful of organizations and regulatory agencies have issued any statements. The American Psychological Association (APA) included descriptions of meditation-induced depersonalization and other clinically relevant problems or contraindications in both the 4th and 5th editions of theirย Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disordersย (APA, 2000, 2013).

The NIH states that โ€œmeditation could cause or worsen certainย psychiatricย problemsโ€ but does not provide any practice guidelines beyond a boilerplate disclaimer to โ€œcheck with your doctorโ€ before trying meditation (NCCIH, 2016). So, this means the media and health professionals are strongly endorsing it without it being properly vetted.

The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Implementation Resources (Kuyken, Crane, & Williams, 2012) is one of the first documents to list the potential risks of mindfulness on participants including increased likelihood ofย suicidality.ย Depression, negative emotions, and flashbacks during meditation for individuals withย traumaย histories.

At present,ย managementย strategies for potential risks have been largely limited to exclusion and informed consent. Both the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness and the Oxford Mindfulness Centre have published recommended exclusion criteria for standard Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and MBCT, both excluding current suicidality and/or any current psychiatric disorder.

Clearly, potential risks have been under-emphasized and still understudied, while its potential for healing and transforming suffering has been woefully overblown. Clearly, these are major under-examined dangers that can put the public at risk.

Related: How To Develop Emotional Stability: 5 Empowering Steps

When Is Mindfulness Right For Youโ€”And How Can You Know?

Despite the risks mentioned above, there are still many documented benefits of mindfulness. But, as the adage goes: if you only have a hammer, everything can look like a nail. The reality is that we need many tools in the โ€œmental health toolboxโ€ for a variety ofย stressfulย situations life will throw our way: what about the saw, screwdriver, or pliers?

A contributing factor is that we live in a consumerist, capitalist country. It has been overly commodified, its origins partially distorted. Not enough people, especially health professionals are researchers, are talking about the risks, contraindications, or downsides of practice, or who specifically itโ€™s best suited for and when.

So, itโ€™s not always the right moment to practice mindfulness.ย Everyย experienced mindfulness practitioner has had the experience of feeling worse after having practiced. Mindfulness tends to evoke or reinforce what is already going on in your mind and body. If youโ€™re worried about something that will happen in the future, or canโ€™t stop thinking about an event from the past, mindfulness may amplify your worrying, confusion, or suffering around this.

When this is the case, there are other ways to self-soothe besides mindfulness; itโ€™s one of many tools in the shed. The saying โ€œeverything in moderationโ€ couldnโ€™t be more applicable; too much of a good thing can always harm. We all can imagine the downsides of drinking too much water or recommending someone only consume veggies when theyโ€™re struggling withย nutrition.

Want to know more about the dangers of mindfulness? Check this video out below!

Conclusion

The odds are high that people have told you to learn mindfulness through an app or meditate more when youโ€™re feeling down, stressed, nervous, orย anxious. Itโ€™s also ostensibly becoming part of many psychotherapies. That said, mindfulness meditation is one of many tools, practices, and strategies to promote wellness, awareness, and calm. Itโ€™s vital to have a few others in yourย toolboxย and learn when and when not to learn or practice the others.

Related: The Hidden Dangers Of Toxic Positivity

Itโ€™s important we understand the risks and donโ€™t overstate the potential benefits until theyโ€™re robustly substantiated. Practicing mindfulness when youโ€™re not mentally ready, or when you actually need a nap, to eat, a massage, to work, or an important conversation with a loved one can clearly create more difficulties than itโ€™s meant to mitigate.

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) Washington, DC.
Kuyken, W., Crane, W., & Williams, J. M. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) implementation resources. Oxford, England: Oxford University.
National Institutes of Health. (2016). Adverse event and serious adverse event guidelines OHRP guidance on reviewing and reporting unanticipated problems involving risks to subjects or others and adverse events, OHRP guidance. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, Office for Human Research Protections, U.S. Department of health and Human Services.
Davidson, R. J., & Kaszniak, A. W. (2015). Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist, 70, 581โ€“592. doi:10.1037/a0039512

Written By Jason N. Linder 
Originally Appeared On PsychologyToday 
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