The Dark Side of Modern Mindfulness: A Psychological Evaluation to today’s Meditation Trend

Joseph V. Zeidan, M.Sc, Mental Health Specialist, Author

This article provides literature comparison between the research into mindfulness and a qualitative analysis to clients’ feedbacks to using mindfulness meditations in their everyday lives. The idea is that achieving a mindful mind also means being able to comprehend yourself without being guided by language or self-talk, which means that body sensations are key attributes to achieving a healthy meditative mind. Without that, mindfulness becomes a door to emotional distancing, antisocial behavior, cognitive repression, and lack of empathy.

In this article, you will read how you can achieve a proper mindful mind and the true meaning of “Embracing yourself”.

Introduction

“Mindfulness is one of the newest modalities that supports pain management, and appears to be an effective way in reducing subjective pain experience”. (Grudny, 2016, p.1)

Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. The main ideologies of mindfulness focus on the fact that human beings spend most of their time ruminating over the past or stressing over potential outcomes in the future that are in no way justified to happen. In that sense, the act of mindfulness trains the human mind to slow down, capture each moment that passes by, and let it be in the present without any emotional connection that comes with usual rumination. That means that mindfulness helps the mind to identify each moment and acknowledge its presence whether its negative or positive, but rather without focusing on the spectrum of what is negative or positive; the ability to let things be the way they are without fully reflecting the circumstances on the human being’s own self-image is a hard act on its own no matter how simple it could sound. 

The human mind is constantly on the run, moving in a spiral shift from the general factors of life’s challenges all the way down to specific outcomes that symbolizes a person’s sense of worth. This spiral constantly moves from the past to the future with little stops over the present moment which causes negative outcomes in mental health that hinders the mind in a constant flux of self-loathing and pessimism. Mindfulness defines the boundaries of depression and despair in a way that sets limits for the effect of this pessimistic pattern in a certain space of an individual’s lifestyle. It is known that mental health disorders affect all aspects of the daily functions, so mindfulness provides the ability to fully control where and how these mental health challenges can affect these functions.

In a research done by Sara Lazar (2016) in Harvard university titled “the effect of meditation on brain structure”, the team in charge reported the first effect of meditation using FMRI as the main instrument of the research and comparing them to brain scans of non-meditators. They found that the amount of grey matter in the insula increased in those who practiced mindfulness. The controlled group was based on 20 meditators that have been practicing meditation for over 9 years, and 20 non-meditators that are on the same living situations. The experiment was done in which the team obtained highly detailed pictures of the brain of these meditators and compared them with images of a controlled group of the non-meditators through using systematic observation of the brain scans. The meditators have been practicing mindfulness for nine years, with an hour a day of meditation, and they were all citizens living with regular jobs. Non-meditators were chosen to have no experience in Yoga or meditation. The team also reported: “We found that particular areas of the brain of the meditators were significantly thicker than the same areas in non-meditators. Moreover, the amygdala has decreased grey-matter density in meditators who experience less stress.

In addition, the science behind mindfulness is described by showing its effect on the brain through the Three-Brain Theory: 

-       First, the reptilian brain (or Archipallium) is the part of the brain that is in charge of the basics like breathing, heart rate, sleep, sex and strong emotion (Ruby Wax, 2016).

-       Second, the Limbic system (or Paleopallium) that helps individuals remember their feelings. 

-       Last, the neocortex (or neo-mammalian brain) in charge of problem-solving, self-regulation, impulsive control, attention, empathy, etc. In the limbic area, there is the amygdala which is the emergency button for the fight-or-flight response when a person feels threatened or in any type of danger.  Research using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) shows that “emotions aren’t restricted to the amygdala but are dispersed throughout other areas of the brain”.

Living in the Future is not as bad as Advertised

“If happiness is the summit, we all are trying to conquer, then what does it matter how we reach the top?” – (Khan, The Apeiron Blog)

We can’t forbid ourselves from building anticipation and excitement to a vacation or a project coming our way. We get nervous for a presentation same as we do when a vacation is drawing nearer to its date. We lose sleep because of the excitement sometimes, but it is not always so bad. The key is to know where does this behavior stem from. Living in FEAR of the future is the main problem, and that is where mindfulness is supposed to help. 

Modern mindfulness techniques only provide limited understanding in being grounded and present, when in fact the whole purpose is to control the sense of fear to the unknown and accept what we can’t control. This helps us focus more on what we can control. 

Meditation provides the notion that everything outside our body cannot be controlled, therefore doesn’t need so much attention. Everything related to the body is what we can control, and that needs care and attention. 

If there is a substantial amount of fear manifested by cognitive questions starting with “what if…”, that is where mindfulness would help in shutting down these useless assumptions. 

However, this meditative tool should never stop us from building anticipation towards something exciting, because a mindful lifestyle’s purpose is to control our abilities to visit the past and build a future without being sucked into the negatives of the matter.

Modern Mindfulness & Apathy

“This being human is a guest house. Every moment a new arrival… Welcome and entertain them all… Even if they are a crowd of sorrows… still treat each guest honorably” – The guest house, Rumi

Over my time in my practice worldwide, I have noticed that people who adopt a meditative lifestyle without diving deeper into the psychological construct of the mind, and without understanding the spiritual history of this technique, they end up mixing empathy with apathy and identifying it manifesting a form of emotional intelligence by not being affected. This is a tremendously rooted problem in the misconception of a mindfulness practice because this lifestyle makes us more aware of our emotions and their link to our physical form. The idea is to be able to control your body sensation in response to an emotion, and that provides the first step to emotional control. However, this specifically means that once we invest in our body and mind, we start to find the best ways to express the emotions we feel to be able to satisfy them besides repressing them. 

When we are sad, maybe our body tells us to cry. When we are anxious, maybe our body would tell us to hug our aching stomach and breath to calm yourself down. Sometimes your body tells you to scream or run, but it never tells you to be violent. The main point of a mindful practice is to be aware of your body’s needs through our introspective abilities, and through proprioception of how the world affects us. Mindfulness teaches us that emotional neutrality (or apathy) is impossible, and violence is the mind’s way of using the body to run away from subjective vulnerabilities.

Mindfulness teaches us that vulnerability is never a weakness, but to let your emotions flow like a river and trust that the stream will take us to a healthy beautiful field.

Conclusion

Modern day mindfulness has taken a turn for the worst if left unchecked. The western culture has taken this lifestyle of wisdom and spirituality and dangerously simplified it to a point where it is causing more harm than good. 

It is crucial for anyone who teaches mindfulness to have the roots embedded perfectly, to understand that ruminating over the past or future is not a problem as long as it is not bound my fear, and to understand that the body communicates to us. We need to listen to it to know how to satisfy these guests of emotions that come to this guest house called the mind.