When meditation feels unpleasant: what to do next

If sitting is uncomfortable, or a practice feels upsetting, you are allowed to stop. Nothing about meditation asks you to push through distress. Discomfort is information about what suits you today, not a test you have to pass.

What if sitting is uncomfortable?

Start with the body. Move to a chair, put a cushion behind your back, or lean against a wall. You can keep your eyes open, shorten the time, or stand and rest your hands on a counter.

Changes to posture and length are everyday comfort choices.

If you follow a particular teacher’s or app’s method, changes to the method itself are best checked with that provider. Pain is not proof of progress. If a pain keeps returning, it deserves a doctor, not more effort.

What if it feels upsetting rather than relaxing?

This can happen, and it is worth taking seriously. The NHS says mindfulness is not helpful for everyone, and that some people feel worse after trying it¹.

A 2020 systematic review of 83 studies with 6,703 adult meditators found adverse events in 55 studies and an overall prevalence of 8.3 percent². The most commonly reported events were anxiety, depression and cognitive anomalies³. The authors said such events can occur in people with no prior mental health history³.

Those numbers describe groups, so your own feeling is the better guide. They show that a hard reaction is a known possibility, and that it is sensible to take it seriously.

Try this: a gentle stop

Use this any time, in a car park, on the LRT or at your desk.

1. Stop the practice. You do not need a reason.
2. Open your eyes and look slowly around the room. Name three things you can see.
3. Press your feet into the floor and feel the chair under you.
4. Drink some water, or walk slowly for a minute.
5. Tell someone you trust, if you would like to, or simply rest.

Later, write three lines you could show a professional: what you did, for how long, and what you noticed.

Who can help?

A doctor or a counsellor is the right place to go if this keeps happening. NCCIH advises telling your health care providers about complementary approaches you use, and asking about the training and experience of a meditation instructor⁵.

It also advises against using meditation or mindfulness to replace conventional medical care or to delay seeing a health care provider⁴. Our support page lists Malaysian places to start, and finding suitable support explains how to take a first step.

If you feel you might harm yourself, or someone else is in danger, call your local emergency number now.

Fitting this into real life

You may be in a shared room, on a break or around family, so a quiet stop might be all you can do. That is enough. If a practice does not sit well with your beliefs, choose a different, plainer activity, such as a walk or a cup of tea made slowly.

When you feel steady again, the gentle restart planner can help you choose a very small next step, at your own pace, if you want one.

Where to go next

Return to the what the research says hub. To understand what a checklist or quiz can and cannot tell you, read why a self-help tool is not an assessment. If a busy mind is the worry, thoughts during practice explains why they are ordinary.

If you prefer to avoid apps altogether, see other practical resources on this site. You can always put the practice down, and nothing here needs you to pick it up again.