The benefits of meditation are widely known. However, few talk, or even hardly know that it has its own set of downsides as well.
Researchers at Brown University are now speaking about the negative impact meditation has on people who have experienced trauma in the past.
According to them, meditation instructors need to be aware of the fact that their methods could cause certain people distress, which would be in sharp contrast to what meditation actually aims to achieve.
Lead author of study, Willoughby Britton, the director of the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Brown University, said that she became interested in studying the harmful affects of meditation when she realized that most current Her team at Brown interviewed meditators and instructors to look at meditation consequences that are not frequently discussed.
The research found that some meditators experience anxiety and panic during meditation sessions, as it brings traumatic memories to the forefront of their minds.
Britton said that those who come from dysfunctional or abusive families are at risk for responding negatively to meditation.
However, according to her, people who do not have a history of trauma may also experience issues to meditation practices.
