Alone in Thought: The Risks of Meditation from a Psychotherapeutic Perspective

Meditation in the West is often described as helpful, whether used by individuals to relax or professionally in mindfulness-based treatment approaches. This article explores the lesser-known psychological risks of meditation, drawing on existing research about meditation’s adverse effects along with contemporary psychoanalytic concepts. One psychological risk of meditation is that it may unintentionally invoke a dissociative process to protect the meditator from experiencing aloneness and inner absence. The paper outlines three types of dissociation: meditation-related adverse effects, becoming lost in fantasy, and disrupting healthy inner associations. The experience of meditation is often challenging to describe, as focus is placed on sensory and subjective experience rather than language. For this reason, the author’s first-person accounts of meditation-related distress are included, as well as clinical considerations from his practice. The meditation style discussed is referred to as “open monitoring” among meditation researchers or “just sitting” in Zen Buddhism, a process of sitting still for long periods with eyes closed, without distraction or guidance, while noticing overall experiential awareness.