Beware of Mindfulness

A popular meditation technique
derived from ancient Buddhism
“can be harmful – and can even
make mental health worse.”

 

You’ll never find secular science journals praising the benefits of meditating on God’s Word, the Bible. Science is supposed to be separate from religion, right? But you will frequently find science articles and papers advocating the benefits of “mindfulness” as a therapy for reducing anxiety and depression (e.g., 8 April 2023). What they usually don’t tell you is that mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice and that it can be dangerous.

Mindfulness means focusing your attention on what your body is doing: your beating heart, your breathing, the positions of your arms and legs and the like. CEH has encountered many pro-mindfulness articles at science news sites over the years, and some in peer-reviewed journals. But once in awhile, a psychologist will come out and warn that it can be harmful, based on clinical reports in the literature of people whose mental health was made worse by trying it.

The last time we reported on this was on 12 May 2019. Now, another psychologist has come out to warn readers about what he has seen happening to practitioners of mindfulness.

Meditation can be harmful – and can even make mental health problems worse (The Conversation, 19 July 2024). Miguel Farias is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Coventry University near London, UK. There has been a surge of interest by scientists in mindfulness over the past eight years, Farias says. Why? “Since mindfulness it’s something you can practice at home for free, it often sounds like the perfect tonic for stress and mental health issues.” Books, YouTube videos and even phone apps make it look beneficial and safe. But where did this practice come from?

Mindfulness is a type of Buddhist-based meditation in which you focus on being aware of what you’re sensing, thinking and feeling in the present moment.

The first recorded evidence for this, found in India, is over 1,500 years old. The Dharmatrāta Meditation Scripture, written by a community of Buddhists, describes various practices and includes reports of symptoms of depression and anxiety that can occur after meditation. It also details cognitive anomalies associated with episodes of psychosis, dissociation and depersonalisation (when people feel the world is “unreal”).

Red flags should go up immediately upon reading this. Ancient Buddhists in India were not using the scientific method to test what types of mental activity improve well-being. They were following religious texts based on their theological views of the world.

Note: Those who claim Buddhism is not religious should look at some of the images of Buddhist monks and priests sacrificing to huge idols of the Buddha. Perhaps Siddhartha Gautama was not intending to invent a theology with his “Four Noble Truths” and his “Eightfold Path,” but he had distinctive beliefs about the spiritual nature of man, the nature of the universe, the means to enlightenment, and the moral duty of individuals. His adherents follow his teachings with a religious zeal that would put many church-goers to shame.

Dangers Then and Now

In the quote above, Farias mentioned five types of harm that were reported in the Buddhist “Scripture” by those who meditated in this way, up to and including psychosis. Similar types of harm are being reported by the practitioners of mindfulness today. Some of them are downright scary.

These studies show that adverse effects are not rare. A 2022 study, using a sample of 953 people in the US who meditated regularly, showed that over 10% of participants experienced adverse effects which had a significant negative impact on their everyday life and lasted for at least one month.

According to a review of over 40 years of research that was published in 2020, the most common adverse effects are anxiety and depression. These are followed by psychotic or delusional symptoms, dissociation or depersonalisation, and fear or terror.

Such adverse effects, Farias adds, are not limited to habitual practitioners, but include first-time users or dabblers into mindfulness. There are many, he admits, that seem to benefit from mindfulness meditation, but the promoters on social media rarely mention the potential harms.

Because of its advertised non-religious nature, mindfulness appeals to atheists, agnostics, and “nones” (no religious affiliation). Some of them even think it is a non-religious way to increase peace and compassion in the world, Farias says. But controlled experiments have not demonstrated benefits to it (25 July 2023).

Psychologists who have promoted mindfulness have no excuse for exposing their patients to these harms.

The western world has also had evidence about these adverse affects for a long time. In 1976, Arnold Lazarus, a key figure in the cognitive-behavioural science movement, said that meditation, when used indiscriminately, could induce “serious psychiatric problems such as depression, agitation, and even schizophrenic decompensation”.

Would anyone engage the services of a psychologist who creates terror and schizophrenia instead of curing it?

A Bitter Pill

Farias and a co-author sounded the alarm about adverse effects of mindfulness in a 2015 book he co-authored with Catherine Wikholm called The Buddha Pill. That did receive noteworthy news coverage, including a review in New Scientist, and a BBC documentary. Tragically, most promoters either think the harms don’t exist or will go away on their own with more meditation!

Promoters of mindfulness are ignoring detailed scientific studies on its effects in large surveys. Farias mentions some of them. Pity the children being exposed to this danger:

But there was little media coverage in 2022 of the most expensive study in the history of meditation science (over US$8 million funded by research charity the Wellcome Trust). The study tested more than 8,000 children (aged 11-14) across 84 schools in the UK from 2016 to 2018. Its results showed that mindfulness failed to improve the mental wellbeing of children compared to a control group, and may even have had detrimental effects on those who were at risk of mental health problems.

Farias is no preacher. He looks to further research in psychology as the way to get understanding of why adverse effects occur. “Research about how to safely practice meditation has only recently begun, which means there isn’t yet clear advice to give people,” he says. But “There is a wider problem in that meditation deals with unusual states of consciousness and we don’t have psychological theories of mind to help us understand these states.”

It is unethical, he concludes firmly, to advertise meditation without warning of its potential adverse effects. He ends by pointing to resources for those who have suffered from mindfulness, warning that “the public needs to be informed about its potential for harm.”

Farias is to be commended for sounding the alarm about risks from mindfulness, but he admits that “unusual states of consciousness” exist (like demon oppression?) and that “we don’t have psychological theories of mind to help us understand these states.” Uh, Dr Farias, have you tried reading the Bible?

Mindfulness is an occult practice, not a science! The Bible warns about the occult. Avoid all forms of divination, including the seemingly innocent ones like water witching and palm reading. They are doorways for demons to gain access to human minds that can lead to further deception and oppression later on. We re-quote our commentary from 12 May 2019:

“Secular scientists, by denying the spirit world of God and demons, cannot even ask the question if these people are seeing evil spirits in their meditation that are causing their bad experiences. The Bible strictly condemns opening up oneself to occult practices that tap into the spirit world. Notice that the Bible treats demon possession/oppression and mental illness as separate categories. Even though some demons can mimic physical effects of epilepsy, for instance, they are not treated the same in the Bible. However, demons are real, and capable of much harm. Their purpose is to deceive, cause suffering, and destroy. Jesus cast them out with a word, and they knew who He was.

“Some Eastern religions openly acknowledge demonic spirits and even worship them, adoring serpents and calling upon them. It is not surprising to Christian missionaries that symptoms of demon possession are very evident in those lands. Psychologists who refuse to consider the existence of evil spirits cannot begin to understand what is going on when they merely speak of “unpleasant experiences” by people who have opened themselves up to demonic powers, and are suffering the consequences. Imagine a secular scientist watching the man with the “Legion” of demons in Mark 5, then trying to write it up in a scientific paper in psychological terms! It would be completely baffling to him. He would see only a man acting crazy, but not the evil spirits controlling him. One can imagine what a psychologist would write about the swine, too!”

This time we add another comment. C.S. Lewis believed that a better way to deceive so-called “enlightened” intellectuals is through fake science, not demon possession.

Where to Turn

For those with anxiety and depression: hopefully you are convinced to steer clear of mindfulness and other psychobabble coming from secular psychologists. But where should you turn for help? Read our 6 Sept 2020 commentary to learn about meditation on the Word of God. That has the Manufacturer’s Seal of Approval for guaranteed healing. Psalm 1 gives very appropriate counsel about today’s article:

1 Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

We can deduce from this passage that secular and pop psychology is like chaff, and the Law of the Lord is like living water. Meditate on that and you have our Maker’s promise that you will prosper in whatever you do. (See also Joshua 1:8, and meditate on Psalm 119). This is so different from mindfulness! Mindfulness is self-centered. It has no more power than plugging an extension cord into itself. When you are plugged into your Creator through his word instead, and learn about his provision for us in Jesus, you have access to his healing power to offer grace and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 5:1-2).

For continued mental flourishing, try Thankfulness Therapy. This gets your mind off your problems and focused where it should be, on the awesome power, wisdom, grace and mercy of God. See Philippians 4:6 and Hebrews 12:28, and do a search in the Bible about thanks, thankfulness, thanksgiving, grateful, and gratitude. It’s hard to be angry, worried, fearful, bored, sad, bitter, or depressed when you are thankful. Gratitude cures a host of mental problems! Even scientists know that a grateful person is a happy person (22 Nov 2012), but true thanksgiving requires a Receiver (23 Nov 2017).

Recommended Resource: Learn how Dr James Tour meditates on God’s word, and see how God has prospered his science immensely. You can even listen to Dr Tour’s Bible studies that he publishes on his website.