Adverse Effects of Transcendental Meditation
July 12, 2017 Leon S. Otis 31 citations
A study at Stanford Research Institute investigated whether negative effects accompany transcendental meditation (TM) and whether its benefits arise from self-selection or can be realized by a random sample of volunteers. The TM group received standard training from the Students International Meditation Society (SIMS). Problems reported by TM subjects were interpreted by SIMS as "unstressing," a claimed natural consequence of early TM practice. Among naive meditators who decided to become TM teachers, more reported becoming depressed, frustrated, impulsive, and experiencing greater physical and mental tension and suspiciousness since starting TM, compared to naive meditators in the SIMS random sample.