Meditation—A Slippery Slope for Psychosis: A Case Series... : The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (original) (raw)
Brief Reports
A Case Series With Review of Evidence
Yadav, Jagriti MD∗; Bhardwaj, Akansha MD†; Jangid, Purushottam MD‡; Singh, Priti MD‡; Gupta, Rajiv MD‡
∗Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Pt B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana
†Department of Psychiatry, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, New Delhi
‡Institute of Mental Health, Pt B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India.
Send reprint requests to Akansha Bhardwaj, MD, C-728, Palam Vihar, Gurugram, Haryana 122017, India. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
The practice of meditation has been traditionally viewed as a self-regulatory approach that aids in psychological well-being. Over the last decade, mindfulness-based meditation has gained a separate therapeutic significance in various mental health conditions. There has also been considerable understanding of the adverse effects of meditation over the years. Despite this, there is still underreporting of the altered behavioral presentations arising possibly because of intensive and unguided meditation practices. We present two cases of meditation-related psychosis with different clinical presentations. The write-up highlights the need for tailoring the meditation practices after evaluation of mental state of the individuals and early detection of “at-risk” mental states. There should be regular screening of emergence of any unwanted effects during the course of meditation and the guides should be able to detect the early warning signs of psychosis.
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