SOME OF US HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE: Meditation And Mindfulness Have a Dark Side We Don’t Talk About. “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’). In the past eight years there has been a surge of scientific research in this area. These studies show that adverse effects are not rare. . . . However, many meditation and mindfulness instructors believe that these practices can only do good and don’t know about the potential for adverse effects. The most common account I hear from people who have suffered adverse meditation effects is that the teachers don’t believe them. They’re usually told to just keep meditating and it will go away.”