Dr Manocha discusses the adverse effects that can arise as a result of meditation in the following excerpt from his thesis.
“The National Centre for Complementary Medicine made the following statement about the safety of meditation:
‘Meditation is generally safe. There have been a small number of reports that intensive meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems, but this question has not been fully researched. Individuals who are aware of an underlying psychiatric disorder and want to start meditation should speak with a mental health professional before doing so.’
“However it is important to recall Ospina’s concluding statement from her review:
‘Many uncertainties surround the practice of meditation. Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.’
“That is, despite the very positive perception enjoyed by meditation, there is little evidence for a specific effect. While this is in itself not necessarily problematic for consumers, the risk vs benefit perception might change considerably if consumers became aware that there is a growing body of literature describing both serious and non-serious adverse reactions which some might perceive as contradicting the reassuring tone of the National Centre for Complementary Medicine’s statement. These experiences range from mild increases in anxiety (the opposite of the desired effect) to more severe symptoms such as epileptiform EEG changes, antisocial behaviour, depersonalization and occasionally even psychosis.”
More information on Dr Manocha’s thesis can be found here.