In this frenzied day and age, more and more of us are turning to mindfulness to lower our stress and center ourselves. Based on Buddhist meditation, mindfulness spans a range of techniques that ask people to be more aware of their thoughts and feelings.
The benefits of mindfulness are well documented. But while some gurus claim it can do no wrong, a dark undercurrent lurks beneath. For some, it can worsen their mental health issues, cause trauma to flare up, or even push them to psychosis. Some meditators have tragically taken their own lives shortly after leaving retreats. There have also been scandals around data sharing, ripped-off customers, and exhausted employees. Here are ten tales from the sinister side of mindfulness.
Related: 10 Remarkable Stories of People Who Escaped the Rat Race
10 Young Woman Commits Suicide after Running Away from Retreat
In October 2022, a free-spirited young woman made the devastating decision to take her own life while taking part in a meditation retreat. Jaqui McDermott, aged 22, died during a 10-stay at an intensive Vipassana retreat in Merritt, Canada.
Vipassana is rooted in an ancient style of meditation going back 2,500 years. Fans include Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, and Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter. Guests participate in rigorous silent meditation sessions, starting at four in the morning and lasting 10 or 11 hours a day. They must hand over their phones and keys for the stay and are told not to speak to each other.
In her application, Jaqui explained that she had thought about taking her life when she was younger, although she had not been suicidal for seven years. But during her stay at the retreat, she spiraled into emotional turmoil and disappeared after nine days. Police later discovered her van around 30 miles (48 km) from the center.
Friends and family desperately tried to reach her, but after an eight-day search, her body was found. “It was just inconceivable.” Her mother, Nathalie, told podcasters from the Financial Times. “It was just unbelievable. And I remember I fell to the ground. Ugh, it was awful.”[1]
9 Meditation App Headspace Leaves Staff Burned Out
What is Headspace and How Did Headspace Become So Popular?
Headspace is supposed to help people ease their worries. But for its own staff, the meditation app has been a constant headache. The company once prided itself on its approach to internal welfare. Co-founder and monk Andy Puddicombe used to start every morning by leading workers in a guided meditation session.
However, employees claim Headspace fell into disarray due to the lockdown. As demand boomed, a culture set in of intense workloads and lengthy shifts. Some staff became so swamped that they had no time to use the bathroom and would end the day in tears. Several started going to therapy to deal with the stress of endless Zoom calls and piling deadlines.
There were also complaints about a lack of diversity; it took nearly a decade for Headspace to hire its first female teacher. Some former employees say the sad irony is that after they left the company, they found their mental well-being blossomed.[2]
8 Scientists Warn Mindfulness can Cause Trauma Relapse
The psychology of post-traumatic stress disorder – Joelle Rabow Maletis
Mindfulness can do amazing things for people’s well-being, but it is not for everyone. Experts warn that for people who suffer from trauma, it could make things worse. Encouraging people to be more in touch with their thoughts and emotions opens them up to dark, painful memories. For some, it even pushes people back into a traumatized state.
In a 2017 paper, scientists brought attention to a style of meditation known as the body scan. In the body scan, a voice asks patients to be aware of areas of the body from head to toe. The authors of the study say this technique can trigger harmful flashbacks in survivors of physical or sexual abuse.
Scientists say there are many benefits to mindfulness, including boosting links between different regions of the brain. However, more research is needed to understand the neurobiological effects.[3]
7 Yoga Teachers Delve into QAnon Conspiracy Theories
Disinformation abounds in the wellness community. How one anti-vax influencer broke free.
Many mindfulness and yoga influencers are buying into shadowy conspiracy theories like QAnon. Wellness followers are more likely to be more open to these fringe beliefs. Yoga leans on the idea that all things are linked and nothing is what it seems. These are also key themes of conspiracies. Both believe there is some elusive higher truth that only a certain few can access.
During lockdown, hoards of new-age thinkers began to fall down rabbit holes of misinformation. Experts call this the wellness to QAnon pipeline. Many started out teaching people to heal. But now they are pushing ideas around government mind control, COVID-19 denial, and other fringe beliefs.[4]
6 Another Life Lost After Attending Vipassana Retreat
What no one tells you about Vipassana retreats
In 2017, adventurous traveler Megan Vogt checked into a 10-day meditation retreat in Delaware. She hoped that the course would provide clarity in her path through life. But instead, Megan left the center in extreme distress, with thoughts of taking her own life.
According to her parents, Megan became obsessed with the idea that she was supposed to die. By not dying at the retreat, she believed she had damned her family and needed to make it right. Tragically, ten weeks after leaving the Vipassana retreat, she was found dead. Police say Megan had jumped 120 feet (36 meters) from the Norman Wood Bridge in Pennsylvania. “Please forgive me for doing this,” she wrote to her boyfriend, Brian Dorsey. “I remember what I did at the retreat. I finally got that memory. I can’t live with me.”[5]
5 Evidence of Mental Distress Dating Back Decades
Some advocates