What is a Meditation Related Challenge (MRC)?

Meditation Related Challenges (MRCs) are experiences that can arise during or after meditation. Think of it like this: some experiences are a normal, expected part of the journey, while others might be concerning, distressing, or disruptive to your daily life, and could lead someone to seek assistance. On this page, we aim to explain the difference between what is usual and what might be a cause for concern.

Understanding Meditation Related Challenges

For meditators experiencing distress, understanding MRCs is crucial. Some experiences are a natural part of meditation and don't disrupt daily life. However, others can be more challenging, potentially leading to actual harm, significant disruption, and profound distress. This section helps you explore and differentiate between these experiences, ensuring you know when to seek support.

What exactly is a Meditation Related Challenge (MRC)?

An MRC refers to difficulties or distressing experiences that can arise during or after meditation practices. We use this term to encompass a range of experiences, from typical mental fluctuations to more intense and disruptive states that may require attention.

Why is understanding MRCs important for meditators?

Knowing about MRCs helps you recognise when an experience is within the range of normal meditative phenomena and when it might indicate a need for support. It helps differentiate between temporary discomfort and more persistent, challenging issues that could impact your well-being and daily functioning.

Am I alone in experiencing these challenges?

Absolutely not. Many meditators encounter various challenges during their practice. It's a common, though often unspoken, part of the journey. Our mission at Meditators in Distress UK is to ensure you know you're not isolated.

Can one recover from a Meditation Related Challenge?

Yes, recovery is possible. With the right understanding and support, individuals can navigate and integrate these experiences constructively. We believe in your capacity to heal and find a path forward, and we're here to help guide you.

                             The detail on MRC's.

The Seven Main Domains of Meditation‑Related Challenges

Whatever you are experiencing right now if it is disturbing you, distressing, does not resolve and interrupts daily functioning, you don't need to read what follows. Trust your own intuition, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck....it IS a duck! Your experience may not be detailed here, that's ok, its fine to contact us to clarify what is going on for you and what you would like to do about it! 

 

According to the Varieties of Contemplative Experience (VCE) study, meditation‑related challenges fall into seven major phenomenological domains. These domains emerged from extensive qualitative interviews with more than 60 practitioners and 30 experts. The VCE study was published in 2017 at around the same time that David Treleaven's book on Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness was released. Both have had a considerable impact in raising awareness of Meditation Related Challenges. 

1. Somatic

  • Unusual bodily sensations - e.g. feet on the wrong way round

  • Pain, pressure, heat, vibrations, energy‑like movements

  • Motor disturbances or autonomic changes - not feeling in control of ones movements or one is being moved by an invisible force.

2. Affective

  • Intense or dysregulated emotions that are overwhelming 

  • Anxiety, fear, panic, grief, anger, numbness, depression

3. Cognitive

  • Racing thoughts, intrusive thoughts, frightening thoughts, thoughts that one knows are not logic or part of reality

  • Rumination, obsessive thinking

  • Difficulty concentrating or organizing thoughts - being wired or alternatively, brain fog

4. Perceptual

  • Changes in sensory perception - e.g. colours are super bright, synaesthesia

  • Visual, auditory, or tactile anomalies

  • Derealization‑like or dreamlike experiences - feels like everything is happening at one remove

5. Conative

  • Changes in motivation, will, or goal‑directed behaviour 

  • Apathy, impulsivity, or compulsive practice

6. Sense of Self

  • Alterations in identity, agency, or self‑boundary

  • Depersonalization‑like experiences

  • Feeling unreal, fragmented, or “not here”

7. Social

  • Interpersonal difficulties 

  • Feeling isolated, misunderstood, or unable to relate 

  • Conflicts with teachers or communities including moral injury

These seven domains together encompass more than 50 specific types of experiences documented in the VCE taxonomy.

In all of the above, a salient aspect is that these experiences are unwanted, unwelcome, persistent, feel beyond one's control and may interrupt daily functioning. They often get worse the more one practices, and in many cases don't stop when we stop practicing. 

Meditation is a process that leads to insight, personal (and/or) spiritual development, and is wildly advertised as a method for feeling/being better in some way. If it is not at least a gentle pause in your life but becomes something disruptive and disturbing, you may need help.

If you think you may be experiencing any of the above or are in acute distress please reach out (at the moment until this site is fully operational) Cheetah House.

 

Link to original research: The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists | PLOS One

 

Research on the topic is growing daily. We hope to add more links to help you understand and resolve any difficulty you may be experiencing. This requires an ongoing top up as new articles are published. If you know of something interesting and helpful, do let us know.

Specific Experiences

Cheetah House has developed excellent information on the domains as listed above including written and video resources.

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Dissociation & Hyperarousal — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Perceptual Changes — Hypersensitivity & Derealization — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation —Fear, Anxiety, Panic, Paranoia — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Meditation & Motivation Issues — Anhedonia & Avolition — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Worldview Change, Scrupulosity, and Loss of Meaning — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Problems with Sense of Self — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Social Impairment — Integration After Meditation Retreat — Cheetah House

Adverse Effects of Meditation — Involuntary Movements, Convulsions, Energy — Cheetah House

 

Cheetah House is a not-for-profit. If you benefit from any of their information or resources please consider making a donation to them, any amount, no matter how small, can help! Thank you.

 

 

You are not alone. Help is here.

At Meditators in Distress UK, we want you to know two crucial things: you are not alone in facing these challenges, and recovery is absolutely within reach. We are dedicated to providing the guidance and support you need to navigate difficult meditative experiences, especially if your teacher or organisation has been unable to assist. Help is here, and you don't have to go through this alone.