Meditation is one of the most often advised activities in and across the world when it comes to our mental health and spiritual well-being. Many people feel it improves our mood, heals emotional scars, and aids us in finding mental serenity. Researchers have shown that meditation can help us reduce stress, enhance our health, and improve our memory, according to numerous research.
However, what we don’t know are the harmful effects meditation can have on us in the long run. In the past, studies have listed down a couple of drawbacks and negative impact meditation can have on our physical and mental well being. A 2017 study conducted by researchers from Brown University and the University of California found a couple of side effects meditation could have on people. While it is also important to note that more research is needed to prove the same, we cannot really ignore these findings.
That said, here are some downsides of meditation that you may experience.
You may become more prone to anxiety attacks
Experts have claimed that meditation may cause anxiety attacks in people. Since meditation tends to bring back all kinds of emotions and memories, including the traumatic ones, it is believed that many negative feelings may erupt during a meditation practice. In the 2017 study, those who participated also showed signs of anxiety, fear and paranoia.
Increased dissociation with the world
While meditation has many positive impacts on the mind, it can also induce feelings of negativity, as per health experts. This in turn can sometimes cause feelings of dissociation and an unwillingness to connect with other people.
Additionally, while meditation helps you develop an understanding with yourself, it may change the way you see others and make it difficult for you to bond with others.
You may lack motivation
Reportedly, lack of motivation can be a result of meditation. Since meditation and mindfulness encourages a person to live a life of detachment, it may also lead to disinterestedness in every work, personal life and more.
You may experience sleep problems
In a study published by The American Psychosomatic Society, it was found that people who meditated a lot were more prone to damaged sleep cycles and had difficulty sleeping sufficiently. As per experts, meditation can increase a sense of alertness and focus, the extremities of which can lead to insomnia and other sleep problems.
Physical symptoms to watch out for
The 2017 study also found that meditation was likely to pose certain physical ailments in people too. Symptoms such as pain, pressure, involuntary movements, headaches, fatigue, weakness, gastrointestinal problems, and dizziness were all reported in people who were enthusiastic meditators.
However, more research needs to be conducted in order to prove the same.
While too much of anything may have it’s own share of side effects, there is no doubt that meditation has helped and healed a lot of people in the past.
