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Is Mindfulness Making Us Ill?
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Is Mindfulness Making Us Ill?

It’s the relaxation technique of choice, popular with employers and even the NHS. But some have found it can have unexpected effects

Dawn Foster
The Guardian, 2016
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8

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  • Innovative

Recommendation

Mindfulness is meant to help individuals to calm down and relieve stress, but sometimes the practice does the opposite. In this article, The Guardian reporter Dawn Foster interviews individuals who suffered from mindfulness’s unexplored negative side effects, as well as researchers and experts in the field. After her well-balanced analysis, Foster concludes that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to stress reduction can – and often does – lead to adverse outcomes. getAbstract recommends Foster’s insights to doctors, policy makers and stressed individuals.

Take-Aways

  • Mindfulness as a way to relax and take time for “self-examination” has surged in popularity.
  • However, mindfulness can trigger or exacerbate some mental health issues.
  • Researchers haven’t studied the full range of meditation’s psychological effects.

About the Author

Dawn Foster is a writer on politics, social affairs and economics for The Guardian, a regular political commentator and the author of Lean Out.

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    J. S. 7 years ago
    Having read the full article, I think the author Dawn Foster is missing the point of practising mindfulness. It isn't to relax. The discomfort she felt while being asked to eat a sandwich mindfully is an experience - made up of thought, emotion - and the very focus of mindfulness is noticing without judgement our moment by moment reactions. If relaxation comes sometimes fro being mindful, that's a bonus (although there are some guided mindfulness meditations that aim to bring about calm and relaxation).