x.com/searobbing/status/2051362013943566432
1 correction found
Studies have shown that meditation causes permanent damage to the mind and soul.
This overstates the evidence. Reviews of meditation research report some negative experiences in a minority of participants, but they do not show that meditation generally causes permanent mental damage; major reviews describe mindfulness-based interventions as relatively safe.
Full reasoning
Available evidence does not support the claim that studies have shown meditation causes permanent damage.
- The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of NIH, says meditation and mindfulness practices are usually considered to have few risks. Its review notes that about 8% of participants in one 2020 review reported a negative effect, most commonly anxiety and depression, and that in an analysis of mindfulness-based stress reduction, the practices were not more harmful than receiving no treatment.
- A 2018 systematic review of randomized controlled trials found very few adverse events in mindfulness-based interventions. In the MBSR trials, none reported a serious adverse event, and the review concluded these interventions are "relatively safe."
- A 2022 review on adverse events in mindfulness meditation states that adverse-event reporting in human-subject research "has not revealed serious outcomes that needed hospitalization or caused serious harm due to mindfulness meditation."
So while some people can have unpleasant or adverse experiences during meditation, the published evidence does not show that meditation causes permanent damage to the mind. The post also adds "soul," but scientific meditation studies evaluate measurable health and psychological outcomes, not souls.
3 sources
- Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety | NCCIH
Meditation and mindfulness practices usually are considered to have few risks... about 8 percent of participants had a negative effect from practicing meditation... In an analysis limited to 3 studies... investigators found that the mindfulness practices were not more harmful than receiving no treatment.
- The Safety of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: a Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
In the MBSR group, none of them reported serious adverse event... Very few adverse events were reported in RCTs that used MBSR/MBCT. The MBSR/MBCT is regarded as relatively safe interventions.
- What Are Adverse Events in Mindfulness Meditation? - PMC
Adverse events... has not revealed serious outcomes that needed hospitalization or caused serious harm due to mindfulness meditation.