Meditation: Is It Worth It?
pixabay.com
If you have not been living under a rock on Mars, then you have likely heard of meditation. If you are on a healing journey, you have also likely been told by somebody that you should try meditation. Possibly even that meditation will change your life, heal your trauma, or eliminate your mental suffering. Honestly, if you have gotten this far in life without somebody attempting to shove meditation down your throat, I would be surprised.
The benefits are impressive and varied, which is why meditation practice is encouraged for everything from cancer to depression and organ transplants to PTSD. But just because meditation can do so much for so many, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will do everything for everybody. And, if you are like me, the very fact that EVERYONE is touting it, encouraging it, and wagging it about in your face can you make very reluctant to try it all.
The Good
So, let’s cut through the bullshit and look at what meditation supposedly can do. Ultimately, studies show that meditation activates the parasympathetic response, and tones down the sympathetic response. Simply put, this means that it helps to activate your relaxation response and tone down the stress response. Part of what the body does in relaxation mode is repairing and healing. This may be a big part of why it has so many health benefits.
What health benefits does meditation have? Well, the list is pretty extensive. One review of the literature written back in 2017 found the following benefits:
Increase relaxation
Reduce stress
General sense of well-being
Reduction of anxiety
Reduction of depression
Increased ability to regulate emotions
Greater capacity to sustain attention (focus)
Help to undo conditioned behaviors (rewire the brain)
Make positive alterations to brain structure
Improve cognitive function
Slow brain aging
Improve sleep
Better regulation of blood pressure
Increased cardiovascular (heart) efficiency
Reduce ruminative (obsessive) thoughts
Increase empathy
Increase self-pity
Reduce perception/experience of pain
The Bad
Wow! Right? With those kinds of benefits, no wonder everybody is so gung-ho on meditation. Here’s the thing, though, that so few people talk about, meditation can also have side effects. And I’m not just talking about your leg falling asleep or being bored.
If you look hard enough or listen to what many people are often actively saying, you will hear about potential adverse effects of mediation. One review of the literature found that in 83 of the studies they reviewed, 65% of the studies mentioned at least one adverse event. The occurrence of adverse events in these studies ranged between 3.7% and 33.2%. This large range is due in part to the many different types of studies reviewed, but to summarize, on average they found adverse events occurred about 8.3% of the time.
Honestly, this isn’t too bad. In reality, the occurrence of the adverse events is likely on par with what you would experience in other psychological treatments, such as therapy. Not so bad statistically, but if they happen to you they still suck.
So, what were the most common adverse events?
pixabay.com
Anxiety
Depression
Gastrointestinal problems
Suicidal behaviors
Dissociation
Hyperarousal
Confusion
Attention problems
False memories
Reduced memory accuracy
Perceptual hypersensitivity
Interestingly, these adverse events occurred even for individuals who had no previous experience of mental health struggles. And, while the rates may similar to what many people experience from other psychological treatments, it is important to remember that many people who meditate may be doing so independently, without the guidance of mental health or medical professional. Meaning they are left to deal with these adverse events alone.
Everyone Is Different
pixabay.com
Now all of this, both the good and the bad, is not to say you should or should not meditate. I am a firm believer that when it comes to healing journeys, one size does not fit all. This means we each have to choose the tools that will actually work for us, for our issues, for our bodies, for our healing. I also believe that when it comes to knowing which tools work for you and which tools don’t, the proof is in the pudding. Meaning that you don’t really know until you try.
My sister and I grew up in the same household, exposed to the same trauma, and in many ways are very similar people. Yet despite these shared experiences, similarities, and common genetics meditation has had very different results for us.
Ivy has found meditating causes a lot of problems for her. Instead of calming her, it escalates her. Instead of inducing relaxation and healing, it triggers trauma, depression, and anxiety to run rampant in her mind.
I, on the other hand, have found meditation to be a large, necessary tool on my healing journey. Meditating has allowed me to change the way I view things, made daily life easier, and even helped me to resolve decades of generational trauma within my own head and heart.
A Guide for Your Jourme t
If you are wondering if meditation is right for you, the only way to really know is by doing. If you are interested in trying meditation but don’t know where to start, check out our recently released e-book: Meditation for Reluctant Beginners: A Get You Started Introduction for Those Still on the Fence About the Whole Damned Thing.
This meditation book cuts through the bullshit and provides you with the basics you need to know to get started. I condensed my personal (note this means NOT professional in any way) experience and knowledge into a convenient guide that includes information about meditation, instructions on how to actually meditate, and forms to help you along your way.
Equally important, this book also looks at the possible adverse effects, includes a form to help you know if meditation is not right for you, and offers alternatives to mediation that my sister has personally used to achieve benefits similar to those found in meditation.
While I highly recommend this book (obviously because I co-authored it, will profit from its sale, and personally find it amusing and informative), I also value your safety and mental health over any profit I could make. If you are honestly afraid of the possible adverse events of meditation, I still encourage you to try it. But do so under the guidance of a licensed mental health professional. If you want, you could still even use my book with your therapist!
Is mediation right for you? Will the benefits outweigh the possible side effects? You won’t know until you try! Buy the book today and get started on your journey.
