The Dark Side of Meditation
Summary
This episode explores the hidden risks of meditation, challenging its reputation as a harmless wellness trend. Host Hanna Rosen and staff writer Olga Kazan discuss research by Brown University psychologist Willoughby Britton, who documented severe side effects like psychosis, dissociation, and suicidal ideation in meditators. The story traces Britton’s journey from devoted practitioner to skeptic after witnessing patients hospitalized from retreats and experiencing her own dissociative episodes. Despite backlash from the meditation community, Britton’s work suggests that about 10% of practi…
Topics discussed
Sponsors and content warning
Host's personal struggles with meditation
The rise of meditation in Silicon Valley
MBSR and the perception of low risk
Introduction to researcher Willoughby Britton
Britton's background and trauma
Turning to Buddhism and meditation
The unpublished sleep study
Psychosis from meditation retreats
Experiencing dissociation
Theories on why meditation causes harm
The difficulty of retreats
Sponsor break
Nimitta and spiritual misinterpretation
Documenting severe side effects
Publishing the comprehensive study
Historical context and cultural shift
Backlash from the meditation community
Safe meditation guidelines
Britton's deconversion and conclusion
Credits and final sponsor
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