Meditation can be tremendously beneficial for many people. It has helped millions manage stress, develop emotional regulation, and find peace in chaotic lives. The research supporting its benefits for anxiety, depression, and general wellbeing is substantial.

But meditation isn't medicine. It's not universally beneficial. And for some people, in some conditions (like mine), it's actively harmful.

This shouldn't be controversial, but in our current wellness culture, questioning meditation is like questioning gravity. The Western meditation industry has stripped away traditional safeguards and convinced us that mindfulness is a panacea—good for everyone, safe for all conditions, with no contraindications.

This westernized, universalized framing is not only wrong, it's dangerous.

The Universal Solution Myth

Turn on any wellness podcast, scroll through Instagram, or walk into a bookstore's self-help section, and you'll find the same promise: meditation fixes everything. Anxiety? Meditate. Depression? Meditate. ADHD? Meditate. Bipolar disorder? Just breathe through it.

This commercialized, one-size-fits-all approach isn't just oversimplification—it's dangerousResearch shows that 25% of meditation practitioners experience adverse effects including anxiety, panic, and depression. Yet this is rarely discussed in mainstream Western wellness culture.. Traditional meditation systems included warnings and contraindications that Western adaptations have discarded. For certain mental health conditions, meditation can act like pouring gasoline on a fire. But the westernized wellness complex has convinced us that if meditation doesn't work for you, you're doing it wrong.

When Mindfulness Becomes Hypervigilance

The core instruction of mindfulness meditation sounds innocent enough: "Notice your thoughts without judgment." But for someone with anxiety disorders, paranoid ideation, or obsessive-compulsive tendencies, this can be a recipe for disaster.

When people are instructed to "observe their thoughts," they can become hypervigilant about every mental pattern. That passing worry about whether the door is locked becomes a meditation object. The brief flutter of social anxiety turns into something to "sit with" and "explore." The random intrusive thought gets elevated to spiritual significance.

Instead of creating distance from thoughts, meditation can make people hyper-aware of them. Every mental hiccup becomes a data point to analyze. Instead of finding peace, they become forensic investigators of their own consciousness.

For people prone to rumination, meditation can become the ultimate rumination tool, dressed up as spiritual practiceThis is particularly problematic for OCD, anxiety disorders, and depression where excessive self-monitoring can reinforce the very patterns meditation is supposed to interrupt..

The Mania Amplifier

Here's what the meditation teachers don't tell you: extended focused attention can trigger manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder. The same concentrated awareness that's supposed to bring calm can rev up an already overactive mind.

Intensive meditation retreats can be particularly dangerous for people with bipolar disorderIntensive meditation retreats combine multiple mania triggers: sleep disruption, social isolation, altered eating patterns, and prolonged altered states of consciousness. Yet most have no mental health protocols.. The combination of sleep deprivation, intense focus, and group energy can trigger manic episodes. People become convinced they're achieving enlightenment. Retreat leaders often encourage this as a "spiritual breakthrough."

What's actually happening is clinical mania, amplified by meditative practices designed to alter consciousness. These retreats typically have no mental health screening, no psychiatric support, and no understanding that their techniques can destabilize vulnerable minds.

The Dissociation Risk

Meditation often involves techniques designed to create distance from ordinary consciousness—watching thoughts like clouds, observing the self from a detached perspective, experiencing states of "no-self." For most people, this might be relaxing. For people prone to dissociation or depersonalization, it's psychological quicksand.

The same techniques that help some people feel grounded can make others feel like they're disappearing. The meditation instruction to "let go of the sense of self" can be terrifying when your sense of self is already fragileDepersonalization-derealization disorder affects 2% of the population. Standard meditation techniques can worsen these conditions by intentionally inducing the very states people are trying to recover from..

The Spiritual Bypassing Problem

The Western meditation world is full of language about "accepting what is," "letting go of attachment," and "transcending suffering." This sounds profound until you realize it's often code for avoiding dealing with real psychological problems.

Got trauma that needs therapeutic intervention? Just meditate on it. Dealing with clinical depression that might benefit from medication? Breathe through it. Experiencing psychotic symptoms that require professional treatment? Observe them with detached awareness.

This isn't wisdom—it's spiritual bypassing. And often, it's not even spiritual. Using meditation to avoid dealing with mental health issues that need actual treatment is like using prayer to treat a broken leg.

The Commodification Problem

The Western meditation industry has become a multi-billion-dollar machine that depends on presenting meditation as universally beneficial. Apps like Headspace and Calm have millions of users and investors to satisfy. Retreat centers charge thousands of dollars for experiences that promise transformation.

This commercialization has stripped meditation of its traditional context and safeguards. In original Buddhist and Hindu traditions, meditation was taught within comprehensive systems that included ethical guidelines, community support, and careful assessment of students' readiness for advanced practices.

Modern Western meditation has extracted the techniques while discarding the wisdom about when and how to use them safelyUnlike pharmaceutical companies, which must list side effects and contraindications, the Western meditation industry operates with virtually no regulatory oversight or safety requirements.. There's no money in nuance, no profit in admitting that their product might not be suitable for everyone.

The result is a culture that treats meditation like vitamin supplements—generally recognized as safe, good for everyone, and without contraindications. But consciousness is more complex than that.

What's Missing: Honest Screening

In traditional Buddhist and Hindu contexts, meditation was never taught as a standalone technique. It was embedded within comprehensive spiritual and ethical frameworks that included screening for mental stability, gradual progression, and robust support systemsTraditional Buddhist and Hindu meditation training involved years of preliminary practices, teacher supervision, community support, and ethical preparation. Students were assessed for psychological stability before advanced techniques, and certain practices were considered unsuitable for some temperaments.. Students spent years in preliminary practices before attempting intensive techniques.

Western meditation has stripped away these safeguards in favor of mass market appeal, turning complex spiritual technologies into consumer products.

A responsible meditation program would include:

  • Mental health screening before intensive practices.
  • Clear warnings about contraindications for certain conditions.
  • Recognition that some people should avoid certain techniques.
  • Integration with mental health professionals, not replacement of them.
  • Honest discussion of potential adverse effects.

Instead, we get apps that promise enlightenment with no warnings about what happens if your brain doesn't respond the way it's supposed to.

The Alternative: Contextual Practices

This isn't an argument against all contemplative practices or a dismissal of meditation's genuine benefits. It's an argument for returning to the traditional wisdom about what works for whom, and when—wisdom that Western commercialization has largely abandoned.

For people with certain mental health conditions, other approaches might be more helpful:

  • Movement-based practices instead of seated meditation.
  • Short, structured techniques rather than open-ended mindfulness.
  • Therapy-integrated mindfulness with professional guidance.
  • Practical grounding exercises instead of consciousness-altering states.

The goal should be stability and wellbeing, not adherence to a particular spiritual tradition.

A Personal Note on What Actually Helps

More helpful approaches might include: noticing when getting lost in thought patterns and redirecting attention to something concrete. Making coffee mindfully. Feeling feet on the ground. Paying attention to the weight of objects in hands.

Simple breathing practices can be beneficial—specifically, breathing through the nose with mouth closed throughout the day. This isn't intensive pranayama or complex breath work, just basic nasal breathing. It's grounding without being consciousness-altering, physiologically beneficial without being psychologically destabilizing.

These approaches aren't transcendent. They're not even truly spiritual. They don't involve apps or teachers or retreats. But they can work for people whose mental health needs require more stability than transformation.

Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is admit that the thing everyone says is good for you actually makes you worseThis parallels Kenneth's broader philosophy about rejecting universal solutions and honoring individual differences—the same thinking that led to "for humans" design principles in his technical work..

The Bottom Line

Meditation isn't medicine. It's not universally beneficial. For some people, in some conditions, it can be actively harmful.

If meditation triggers anxiety, amplifies intrusive thoughts, destabilizes your mood, or makes you feel disconnected from reality, you're not doing it wrong. You're having a normal response to a technique that doesn't match your mental health needs.

The wellness industry wants you to believe that if meditation doesn't work for you, you just need to try harder, find the right teacher, or push through the discomfort. Sometimes the healthier choice is to stop.

Your mental health is more important than spiritual trends. Trust your experience over wellness marketing. And remember: just because something is ancient and popular doesn't mean it's right for your brain.

Sometimes the most mindful thing you can do is not meditate.

On This Site

External Resources

  • Altered Traits by Daniel Goleman & Richard Davidson - Science-based look at meditation research
  • Buddha's Brain by Rick Hanson - Neuroscience of contemplative practices
  • The Trauma of Everyday Life by Mark Epstein - Buddhism and psychological suffering