dhamma.org, one provider of 10-day vipassana courses, notes that “someone suffering from psychiatric problems, or someone undergoing emotional upheaval” should not participate in one. I’m not sure whether that extends to meditation in general, but I imagine that if being alone in your own head for a while would be scary, distressing, or dangerous, it would probably be healthier to work on that by other means before trying meditation.
Other than that, I don’t know; I’d also be interested in answers to this.
Tthere is also evidence that meditation can help people with schizophrenia. I think they say that for liability reasons, as I don’t doubt meditation can make someone spontaneously go even more crazy.
dhamma.org, one provider of 10-day vipassana courses, notes that “someone suffering from psychiatric problems, or someone undergoing emotional upheaval” should not participate in one. I’m not sure whether that extends to meditation in general, but I imagine that if being alone in your own head for a while would be scary, distressing, or dangerous, it would probably be healthier to work on that by other means before trying meditation.
Other than that, I don’t know; I’d also be interested in answers to this.
Tthere is also evidence that meditation can help people with schizophrenia. I think they say that for liability reasons, as I don’t doubt meditation can make someone spontaneously go even more crazy.
Got a reference for that? My flatmate used to enjoy meditation a lot prior to his psychotic break, and is now explicitly not allowed to meditate.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19267396
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18041355
http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/mh_bcmh/docs/confandtraining/2007/MindfulMedPtSchizDaubertDec07.pdf
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00936351
Thanks!
There are a lot of different kinds of meditation. Lumping them together might like assuming that all exercise can be expected to have the same effect.
yeh, I’m not sure which type he used to do, although I suspect it was Vipassanna or closely related.
Doesn’t all exercise have largely the same effect in terms of peripheral benefits? Release of endorphins, better sleep, and so forth.
Not all exercise (especially if you include amount as well as type) is good for all people.
Good point, I was naively assuming reasonable types and limits.