A wide range of adverse effects can arise for some practitioners, but they’re more commonly seen in people engaging with intensive practice, such as sitting for multiple hours per day or going on retreat.

In more extreme cases, these side effects can last for weeks or months, interfering with daily life. When this occurs, it’s commonly referred to as the “dark night”. This term is used in some meditation groups to describe the difficult psychological and existential territory meditators can encounter. It’s commonly triggered by deep insights into the nature of impermanence, or from seeing through the solidity of the self. This territory is not exclusive to meditators, some people find themselves there after a psychedelic experience or any kind of spiritual and contemplative practice.

During this phase of practice, the normal sense of self and the seemingly solid ego structure is starting to change. Your psyche is in a transition phase where the old self-image dissolves but a new sense of self or worldview hasn’t fully formed. This process can bring up a lot of psychological content or unresolved trauma that has been repressed for years. It can feel like the mind and body is clearing out old patterns to make room for a more open and present way of being.

This phase affects everyone differently. It all depends on your psychological makeup, personal history, what led you there, and the context and guidance you have. It took me about five months to fully move through it, but some people take much longer, while others fly through it. If you’re experiencing this now, know that it’s a normal stage of psychological and spiritual growth, and it will get better. To quote Jeanne Zadie, “After accompanying a number of clients through the dark night and out the other side, I have not met one who would have traded the experience and its outcome for anything. And yet, during the experience, it’s another story.”

The resources below give you everything you need to understand the dark night, and the tools and support to help guide you through. I also recommend exploring some of the Heart-centred or grounding practices which you can find in both the Heart or Body section, these can be extremely beneficial for people struggling with adverse effects.

Online Resources

Cheetah House – Resources for meditators in distress

For anyone experiencing adverse effects from meditation or other spiritual practice, this is the best all around resource. They’ve been working for years with teachers and students to gain an understanding of the wide range of effects people can experience during the Dark Night. The website offers an extensive symptoms list, and provide access to teachers, support groups, and other resources for people in crisis.

Jeannie Zandi – The Breakdown of the Mythology of Me (Article)

This article is intended for psychotherapists but I’d highly recommend reading it for anyone curious about spiritual awakening or spiritual crisis. Whether you’ve gone through one yourself, you’re in the middle of it now, or you’re just curious, I think It’s one of the most clear descriptions of the process I’ve come across.

Spiritual Crisis Network UK – Resources page

This website is less about meditation related difficulties and more about the connection between mental health crisis and spiritual transformation. On their resource page you’ll find books and other web resources related to awakening, as well as some simple grounding and self care practices.

Dharma Overground – Online forum

Here you can find a wide range of discussions around the dark night. This forum is full of meditation practitioners who have traversed this territory many times, so you’re very likely to find discussions relevant to your situation.

Reddit Streamentry – Health, Balance, and Difficult Territory

The specific post I linked has a good overview of the dark night territory. It covers some of the difficulties people can face, offers some perspectives from different teachers, and has a list of relevant books and other therapeutic resources. This is also a very active community so if you’re ever in need of specific practice advice or other meditators to talk to, I’ve found it to be a very welcoming place.

Podcast Episodes & Books

Buddhist Geeks #301: Varieties of Contemplative Experience (Podcast episode)

A discussion on helping mindfulness practitioners through episodes of the contemplative Dark Night, how mental disease does and doesn’t get addressed in the community, and some shared characteristics of people that experience the Dark Night.

Buddhist Geeks #302: Mental Illness and the Dark Night (Podcast episode)

This is part two of the discussion linked above.

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha – Daniel Ingram (Free book chapter)

Daniel Ingram offers an in depth description of the psychological states people predictably pass through during the Dark Night, explained from the perspective of the “progress of insight”. The link above will take you directly to a chapter in his book about these stages.