The mind’s abyss: exploring the adverse effects of distinct forms of meditation Bence Szaszkó* [1,2] , Ulrich S. Tran [3]

https://www.academia.edu/2997-9196/2/2/10.20935/MHealthWellB7666 Meditation, traditionally seen as a path to spiritual enlightenment, is commonly used in therapeutic contexts for its mental health benefits, such as reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. However, alongside these benefits, practitioners of diverse forms of meditation have repeatedly been reporting adverse effects (AEs) of meditation. While most of these AEs are transient, some of them are significant enough to warrant clinical attention. This review synthesizes the existing literature on AEs associated with three forms of meditation: focused attention (FA), open monitoring (OM), and loving–kindness/compassion (LK/C) meditation, linking AEs with their neurological underpinnings. Potential AEs range from heightened psychiatric symptoms due to increased interoceptive/exteroceptive awareness over intensified awareness of suffering—with the insular cortex playing a major role—to ego dissolution (accompanied by the deactivation of the default mode network) and subsequent depersonalization and derealization.