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More than a quarter of people who regularly meditate have had a “particularly unpleasant” psychological experience, including feelings of fear and distorted emotions, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of College London also found those who had attended a meditation retreat, those who only practiced deconstructive types of meditation, such as Vipassana (insight) and Koan practice (used in Zen Buddhism), and those with higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, were more likely to report a “particularly unpleasant” meditation-related experience.
However, the study, which was based on an international online survey of 1,232 people who had at least two months meditation experience, found women and those with a religious belief were less likely to have had a “particularly unpleasant” experience.
“These findings point to the importance of widening the public and scientific understanding of meditation beyond that of a health-promoting technique,” said Dr. Marco Schlosser, a researcher in the UCL Division of Psychiatry and lead author of the study. “Very little is known about why, when, and how such meditation-related difficulties can occur. More research is now needed to understand the nature of these experiences.”
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