Depersonalization and meditation.
Psychiatry May 1990 DOI: 10.1080/00332747.1990.11024497 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6 |
| Population | Meditators interviewed for the study |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Argues that meditation can cause depersonalization and derealization, and that the meanings meditators assign to these experiences largely determine whether anxiety is present; depersonalization need not involve significant anxiety or functional impairment and can become an apparently permanent mode of functioning. Proposes that Depersonalization Disorder may be treated through symbolic healing, changing the meanings associated with depersonalization, and that catastrophic interpretations can produce panic or anxiety. |
Abstract
From a review of the literature on meditation and depersonalization and interviews conducted with six meditators, this study concludes that: 1) meditation can cause depersonalization and derealization; 2) the meanings in the mind of the meditator regarding the experience of depersonalization will determine to a great extent whether anxiety is present as part of the experience; 3) there need not be any significant anxiety or impairment in social or occupational functioning as a result of depersonalization; 4) a depersonalized state can become an apparently permanent mode of functioning; 5) patients with Depersonalization Disorder may be treated through a process of symbolic healing--that is, changing the meanings associated with depersonalization in the mind of the patient, thereby reducing anxiety and functional impairment; 6) panic/anxiety may be caused by depersonalization if catastrophic interpretations of depersonalization are present.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 28
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science PLoS One November 7, 2018
- When the Window Cracks: Transparency and the Fractured Self in Depersonalisation Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences June 6, 2020
- Spirit possession in South Asia, dissociation or hysteria? Part 1: Theoretical background. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry March 1, 1994
and 23 more in the library
Cites 6
- Depersonalization in the light of Brentano's phenomenology British Journal of Medical Psychology December 1, 1982
- Self-induced depersonalization syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry November 1976
- Depersonalization in a Group of Normal Subjects The British Journal of Psychiatry September 1, 1966
- Episodic Depersonalization The British Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1964
- Personality and Depersonalization under Sensory Deprivation Conditions Perceptual and Motor Skills April 1, 1964
and 1 more in the library