ADVERSE EXPERIENCES & PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCIES
MEDITATION
Psychosis Has Been Documented
A review of published medical literature identified 28 cases of psychotic disorders occurring in association with meditation across 19 studies. Among those cases, researchers reported:
• 14 cases of acute psychosis
• 7 cases of schizophrenia
• 3 cases of mania with psychotic symptoms
• 1 case of schizoaffective disorder
Practices described in the cases included several forms of meditation as well as Bikram yoga and Pranic Healing. The researchers cautioned that these reports do not establish that meditation caused the psychiatric conditions. Factors including insomnia, food restriction, previous mental illness, stress and psychoactive substance use were present in some cases.
Approximately 1 in 10 Reported Functional Impairment
Meditation is frequently promoted for relaxation, stress reduction and mental well-being, but research has also documented adverse experiences. A 2025 population-based study of 886 U.S. adults with meditation experience found that 31.4% reported a challenging, difficult or distressing meditation-related experience, while 9.1% reported functional impairment associated with adverse effects. An earlier U.S. population-based study similarly found that 10.6% of meditation practitioners surveyed reported some degree of functional impairment associated with meditation-related adverse effects, while 10.4% reported adverse effects lasting one month or longer. Reported adverse experiences have included anxiety, depression, traumatic re-experiencing, emotional sensitivity, cognitive disturbances, dissociation and other psychological symptoms. These findings do not establish that meditation caused every reported symptom, nor do they establish a spiritual explanation. They do demonstrate that negative and sometimes functionally impairing experiences associated with meditation have been documented in peer-reviewed research.
8.3% Reported Adverse Events
A systematic review of 83 studies involving 6,703 meditation practitioners found an overall prevalence of meditation-related adverse events of approximately 8.3%. Reported adverse effects included anxiety, depression, cognitive disturbances and, in some studies, suicidal thoughts or behaviors. The researchers concluded that adverse events during or following meditation are “not uncommon” and may occur even in individuals with no previous history of mental-health problems.
YOGA
A Documented Kundalini-Related Hospitalization
A published psychiatric case report describes a 19-year-old woman who had been independently practicing Hatha yoga, Kundalini asana, pranayama and meditation. She reported sensations she understood as energy moving upward through her chakras and subsequently developed severe psychiatric symptoms, including auditory hallucinations, delusions, disrupted sleep and impaired functioning. Her condition progressed to mutism, refusal of food and catatonic symptoms, resulting in presentation to a psychiatric emergency department and hospitalization. She was medically diagnosed with schizophrenia with catatonic symptoms and treated psychiatrically. This case does not establish that Kundalini practice caused her psychiatric illness or that her experiences had a spiritual cause. It does demonstrate that an experience understood by a patient in Kundalini terms has been documented alongside severe psychiatric symptoms requiring emergency medical treatment.
What We Do—and Do Not—Know
There is currently no reliable national statistic measuring how many people are hospitalized because of a “Kundalini awakening,” yoga, meditation or other spiritual practices. Hospitals do not routinely classify admissions this way, and individual case reports cannot establish how common these events are. The medical literature does, however, document adverse psychological experiences, functional impairment, psychosis and individual psychiatric hospitalizations occurring in association with meditation, yoga and related practices.
Reformed New Agers in Christ approaches these findings from a biblical Christian worldview. Many former practitioners describe experiences they understand spiritually, including oppression, attack or demonic activity. Those testimonies and their theological interpretation should be distinguished from the medical evidence presented above.
The scientific literature can document symptoms, associations and clinical outcomes. It cannot determine whether a spiritual dimension exists or what its theological meaning may be.
