3 Surprising Things You Should Know About Meditation and Trauma
Try meditation, they said. It will help with stress and anxiety, they said.
So you decide to take a class. And you expect to feel relaxed and at peace.
Instead, you feel the opposite as your brain floods with negative thoughts and painful memories. Your breath becomes shallow and you start to panic. You think you’re supposed to suck it up and stick with it, so you try not to move. But you feel trapped and all you can think about is bolting for the door.
It shouldn’t be like that.
But your negative response to meditation is more common than you might think, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. If you have past trauma or high anxiety, meditation can actually make things worse. For some, meditation and trauma are not a recipe for healing, but a recipe for disaster.
Meditation is often recommended for people experiencing anxiety or stress. It can be a great way to settle your mind, gain perspective, reduce stress, and increase happiness. So how do you know if it’s right for you?
Did you know that in the United States, at least 70% of adults have experienced some kind of trauma in their lives? Since that includes most of us, here are some things to be aware of when deciding whether meditation should be a part of your trauma recovery plan:¹
Why meditation can have harmful effects on trauma survivors
Trauma occurs when our minds are overwhelmed by an event or series of events. We are most vulnerable to trauma in our youth, so things that happen early in life may have a profound impact on us as adults.³
That’s why meditation can have harmful effects on some people – it may reopen old wounds.
A common misconception is that meditation and trauma go hand in hand. Often, meditation is used to alleviate the stress that trauma creates in our body. However, this isn’t the case for everyone.
Meditation can have harmful effects on trauma survivors.
Setting aside quiet time to focus on what’s going on in your body can actually trigger your fight or flight response. You may feel disoriented or experience powerful flashbacks.²
Healing from trauma depends on developing the ability to be “embodied” and self-regulate. Mindfulness and meditation can increase nervous system dysregulation for some patients because you’re “quieting the mind” and suddenly you are now very aware of all of the pain in your life – it can flood you.
If you’ve been working through these issues with a therapist, the harmful effects of meditation can cause unexpected setbacks.
Let’s see how your body may respond when this happens.
What are the harmful physical side effects of meditation?
Trauma sufferers can experience a range of physical side effects from meditation that include:
Dizziness
Panic attacks
Gastrointestinal issues
Sexual issues
Nightmares
Fatigue
Heart racing
Hyperventilation
The way our bodies respond to trauma and how we store it in our bodies is beyond our control (until we learn healthy ways to influence it). Our minds may have suppressed memories or feelings related to what we experienced. And as the stillness of meditation draws our attention inward, it can unlock all the things we’ve been holding deep inside.
Our body reacts the same way it did to the initial trauma because it perceives even the memory of the situation as an actual threat. So while you may be in a peaceful meditative space, your body is on full alert and ready to protect you at all cost from danger.
Are you struggling with chronic pelvic pain? It may be caused by your body holding onto past trauma. This may be the case even when there’s no history of assault or abuse. Trauma stored in the body may manifest as vulvodynia, vaginismus, dyspareunia, or some other type of pelvic pain.
Your doctor may recommend mindfulness as part of your treatment plan. But meditation is not a good fit for everyone.
Some chronic pain warriors are triggered by meditation, which can intensify their pain instead of making it better. That’s why it’s so important to work closely with a trauma-informed therapist that can guide you through the process and develop a customized treatment plan.
A trauma informed therapist can guide the way
Mindfulness can be an essential piece of your healing journey. But without the proper guidance and supervision, meditation can have harmful effects on trauma sufferers. So it’s best to work closely with your doctor to monitor your progress and response to meditation techniques.
You are your own best mental and physical health advocate. So it’s entirely appropriate to ask your doctor about their training and experience working with trauma and its effects on the body. They are trained to help you overcome physical symptoms, which is vital to your recovery; but the mind-body connection is very powerful. Many physical symptoms cannot be explained by disease or injury to the body. And there are also psychological responses that cannot help directly pinpoint a specific mental health disorder.
So while doctors can have good intentions, if they’re not trauma-informed and trained, they might be prescribing meditation incorrectly.
A trauma-informed therapist understands how and why meditation can have harmful effects if not properly guided.
If your therapist believes that meditation is a good fit for you, they may start with a short, guided session. After a few minutes, you’ll have the opportunity to stop and assess how you feel. This provides a safe environment for you to try meditation techniques and be monitored for any triggers or trauma responses.
Since meditation can have harmful effects on some people, your therapist will make sure you know it’s ok to stop at any time. If you feel triggered at all, you’ll discuss what to do differently next time to avoid any issues.
Here are some things you might feel that indicates meditation is triggering a trauma response:
Floaty, ungrounded sensations
Increased emotional dysregulation
Panic
Dizzy sensations
Numbed sensations in your extremities
Narrow vision (if your eyes are open)
If you notice these sensations on your own, you can try a few things to regulate your nervous system in safer, more accessible ways. You can try these three techniques my clients have found incredibly helpful in easing into a more balanced medication practice:
Technique #1 – The Soft Gaze
Opening your eyes and taking a soft gaze instead of closing them. A “soft gaze” is like looking gently. Pick a point 3 feet in front of you. Then soften your focus and don’t try to notice details.
Technique #2 – The External Anchor
With eyes closed or with a “soft gaze”, focus on noticing neutral sensations on your fingertips or toes. Pick a sensation on one of those parts of your body to call your “anchor”. If you get distracted with big emotions or overwhelming unpleasant sensations or thoughts, just simply notice you are distracted, then return back to focusing on your anchor.
Technique #3 – The Clothes
Focusing on the breath is a major trigger for a lot of people, because when they focus on their breath, they notice how uneven or constricted it is. So instead, focus on how your clothes move against your skin as you breathe. Simply notice where it feels pleasant, neutral, warm, cool? If you get distracted just return back to your clothing. And remember you can use your “soft gaze'' here as well.
If you’d like to have a trauma-informed therapist review your treatment plan and make recommendations to speed up your healing journey today, check out my website.
² Is Mindfulness Safe For Trauma Survivors? - The Science of Psychotherapy
