Have you ever tried meditation… and ended up feeling more anxious, spaced out, or teary instead of calm?

You are not broken, and you’re definitely not alone.

New research is finally catching up with what many of us quietly knew: while mindfulness and meditation can be hugely helpful, a significant number of people experience difficult, even distressing side effects like anxiety spikes, panic, or feeling disconnected from their body or reality.

So let’s talk about this honestly, and gently, as we look at how to practise in a trauma-aware, safe way. It can be a really helpful practice if practiced at the right pace in the right way.

What the Research Says

A few headlines from recent studies:

• A big review of meditation research found about 8% of people experienced adverse events, with anxiety, depression and “cognitive anomalies” (feeling weird, disconnected or foggy) among the most common.

• A 2025 summary of new work suggests 25–87% of meditators report some kind of adverse effect, and 3–37% say it affects daily functioning. Many of these are temporary but still scary if you don’t know what’s happening.

• In mindfulness-based programmes, around 58% reported at least one negative effect, and 6–14% reported lasting bad effects linked to things like hyperarousal (wired, on edge) and dissociation.

At the same time, a huge body of research shows mindfulness can reduce anxiety and depression, improve emotional regulation and stress resilience, and even change brain structure in helpful ways.

So the takeaway isn’t “meditation is dangerous” – it’s:

Meditation is powerful, and powerful things need care, context and pacing, especially if you’re already struggling with your mental health or past trauma.

Why Might Meditation Make You Feel Worse?

Here are a few common reasons people may struggle:

You suddenly notice what you’ve been numbing

Meditation turns the volume up on inner experience. If you’ve survived by staying busy, scrolling, or dissociating, sitting still can bring up old grief, fear, anger or shame that’s been parked for years.

Body sensations can feel threatening

Research shows that people with anxiety often experience bodily sensations (heartbeats, tightness, dizziness) as scary or overwhelming.
So when mindfulness asks you to “notice your breath” or “feel your body”, your nervous system may go: absolutely not.

If you’ve experienced trauma, inner silence can feel unsafe

For trauma survivors, closing your eyes and going inside can sometimes trigger flashbacks, intrusive memories, or dissociation (feeling detached from yourself or reality).

Too much, too fast

Jumping from zero practice to a 30-minute intense meditation every day is like going from couch to marathon – your mind and nervous system haven’t built the muscles yet.

How to Practise Mindfulness More Safely

You’re allowed to adapt practice to fit your nervous system, not force your nervous system to fit the practice.

Here are some trauma-aware, gentle ways to do that:

1. Start with micro-mindfulness, not marathons

Try 30–60 seconds at a time:

• Feel your feet on the floor

• Take one slow breath out

• Notice one thing you can see, hear, and feel

That counts as mindfulness. Let your system learn: “Oh, this is safe. We’re just checking in.”

2. Practise with your eyes open and anchored in the room

If closing your eyes triggers anxiety or dissociation, don’t do it. Instead:

• Keep your gaze soft on a point in the room

• Feel the chair under you, the texture under your hands

• Let part of your attention stay with the environment, not only inside

You can be mindful and grounded in the here-and-now.

3. Stay with external anchors first

If the body feels like a war zone right now, don’t dive straight into it.

Try focusing on:

• Sounds in the room

• The feeling of your hands holding a warm mug

• The sensation of your feet pressing into the floor as you walk

Over time, you might add tiny visits to internal sensations, but you don’t have to rush that.

4. Use the “yellow flag” rule

A simple way to judge:

• Green flag: Slight discomfort, but you still feel present and able to stop any time.

• Yellow flag: You feel buzzy, spaced out, panicky, or on the edge of tears. Time to pause, open your eyes, move, feel your feet, maybe step outside.

• Red flag: Flashbacks, intense dissociation, thoughts of self-harm or suicide, or feeling totally out of control. In this case, stop the practice and reach out to your GP, mental health team, or a crisis line.

Mindfulness is not meant to override your safety signals.

5. Choose guided, trauma-sensitive support

Going it alone with a random YouTube video is very different to being held in a gentle, structured process.

Look for:

• Short practices

• Lots of emphasis on choice (“if this feels too much, you can…”)

• Invitations to stay grounded in the present environment

This is the approach we use in my Transform Your Life Using Mindfulness e-guide and Mindfulness Starter Kit – step-by-step, bite-sized practices designed for real, overwhelmed nervous systems.

6. Remember: stopping is allowed

If a particular practice consistently makes you feel worse, you are not failing at mindfulness. It’s just not the right method or dose for your system right now.

You’re allowed to:

• Shorten it

• Change it

• Or stop it and try something else (like mindful walking, colouring, or breath with movement)

When to get extra support

If meditation brings up:

• Intense panic attacks

• Feelings of unreality or being “out of your body” that linger

• Flashbacks or intrusive memories

• Thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here

please treat that as a signal for support, not a sign you should just “push through”. Speak to your GP, mental health team, or a trusted professional.

You’re not too “broken” for mindfulness

The fact that meditation sometimes makes you feel worse doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It means your mind and body are trying to protect you.

With the right pace, structure and gentleness, mindfulness can still become a powerful ally in your healing.