Mindfulness Bullshit - Part II

So you wanted citatations?

Whenever I call out mindfulness as bullshit, I get heaps of calls for evidence for my claims. That’s great, and only right. Stay skeptical! The problem is that I don’t have the time or the energy to keep writing the same explanatory notes and listing the same quality references every, single, time.

Below is an extract from a book I wrote a couple of years ago, based on a paper of mine which can be found HERE. But first an additional note and citation that is more recent, adding to the considerable evidence we already have that mindfulness can cause great harm and not only should not be recommended, but should be absolutely contraindicated for some groups.

Less than 0.1% of mindfulness studies can be regarded as credible¹. Most are manipulated in order to try to show mindfulness in a positive light, carefully avoiding comparing mindfulness with other more beneficial activities, and completely ignoring confounding variables.

Nevertheless one such large study (8,400 students) published just last year could not disguise the actual harm done to the children who participated via their schools².

Extract from “Treat Your Own Chronic Pain”

Mindfulness can be regarded as another name for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (I know, some people want to split hairs but it has the same genesis and so many overlaps - it’s all the same bullshit with questionable history and hyped-up, unvalidated claims). It comes directly from Eastern philosophy and Buddhist meditation practice, first gained a foothold in Europe, and now unfortunately has spread worldwide and is popular amongst psychologists, even though so far valid studies show it to have no or little effect^3,4, and clearly not superior to anything else at all that someone may do for recreation. 

A significant quantity of poor-quality, flawed studies claim to show benefit for mindfulness. Quality studies and reviews of those flawed studies basically debunk them and it is by now unquestionably clear that mindfulness is no more beneficial than other forms of relaxation (and is probably far less beneficial) such as reading a book, listening to music, chatting with friends, taking a nap, or going for a walk⁵.

Buddhists refute the unwarranted claims for mindfulness, neuroscientists are horrified by the hype, and are also deeply concerned that mindfulness has been corporatized in a way that is intended to support employees to tolerate unnecessarily stressful conditions instead of fixing the conditions⁶.

In mindfulness one mindfully contemplates and recognises one’s thoughts and experiences and “accepts” them, which supposedly reduces suffering (here we are again with the BS claim that we only suffer because we think we’re suffering). Proponents of mindfulness make all kinds of claims for health and wellbeing and this is what deeply annoys neuroscientists, who say this is a hyped-up claim and that mindfulness studies are of appalling quality⁵.

I find it deeply concerning that people are asked to spend hours “belly-button gazing” their feelings about their pain and distress, especially when issues need to be resolved, or when it’s possible to simply eliminate those things very rapidly and permanently, without fuss. In other words, mindfulness should not be used to manipulate people into putting up with things they have no need to put up with⁷.

In addition, mindfulness is a sedentary “activity” that therefore does not contribute to mental or physical health in the way that an active recreational or social choice is proven to do.

Studies purporting to show benefit from mindfulness have indeed been so atrociously designed that they are fatally flawed and few or no conclusions can be drawn from them. Of great concern is the fact that mindfulness can actually be dangerous for some people with particular psychological disorders, or who are facing real stress in their lives, and can lead to anxiety, panic attacks and depression⁷. It is terrifying that it is being used in schools by practitioners who are not trained to recognise contra-indications and likewise may not even recognise that damage is being done. At a time when critical thinking skills are in dire need, we should not be enabling anti-critical, anti-science principles and practices in our school populations.

In addition, when we expose the general public to psychology-endorsed quackery we don’t just promote gullibility, we actively denigrate science and increase disrespect and resistance toward health experts who are doing their best to promote good health practices that are scientifically based.

There is no indication at all that many hours of mindfulness (which is what it is claimed is necessary before “results” can be experienced) are superior to a brief walk, a nap, having a hobby, kicking a ball around, watching television, listening to music, or spending time relaxing with friends or family. We should not be pushing clients to spend so much time and effort learning and using a spurious technique when they can get better and faster benefits from doing far more fun, rewarding, and beneficial activities.

In a paper published in the journal “Perspectives on Psychological Science” in October 2017⁸, the author claimed that current research on mindfulness was completely unsatisfactory, and said: “As mindfulness has increasingly pervaded every aspect of contemporary society, so have misunderstandings about what it is, whom it helps, and how it affects the mind and brain. At a practical level, the misinformation and propagation of poor research methodology can potentially lead to people being harmed, cheated, disappointed, and disaffected”.

A comprehensive meta-analysis and review was carried out for the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality¹. This paper screened over 19,000 citations and shockingly could find only 47 that were of sufficient quality to analyse. (In other words over 99% of these studies were crap – such is the standard of research trying to prove that this rubbish has value.) Nevertheless in relation to analysis of this scant number of quality papers, it included the scathing conclusion: “The modest benefit found in the study …. begs the question of why, in the absence of strong scientifically vetted evidence, meditation in particular and complementary measures in general have become so popular, especially among the influential and well educated…What role is being played by commercial interests? Are they taking advantage of the public’s anxieties to promote use of complementary measures that lack a base of scientific evidence? Do we need to require scientific evidence of efficacy and safety for these measures?”

Allan Goroll, a doctor at Harvard University said of this analysis: “Contrary to popular belief, the studies overall failed to show much benefit from meditation with regard to relief of suffering or improvement in overall health.”

A more recent study by Collins et al⁹ found that daily playing a game of Tetris on a mobile phone both in the laboratory and in the field in relation to work stress was superior to mindfulness in terms of increasing energy and job satisfaction, and reducing stress. Mindfulness was associated with decreasing energy levels.

At this stage we do not have any evidence that investing public money in mindfulness training or treatment is of any benefit. Some people may enjoy it, in the same way that they may enjoy a massage, or enjoy a hobby, and that is a matter of personal choice, not a matter for the public purse.

And it’s completely inappropriate for psychologists to be promoting it or using it as treatment. If you are someone with depression, anxiety, trauma, borderline personality disorder, psychosis etc, mindfulness is completely contraindicated and damned dangerous.

Note to mindfulness believers and fanatics: “Only 9 citations?” you may scornfully ask. Let me repeat, there are literally thousands of studies showing glowing conclusions for mindfulness - no-one disputes their existence. And let me repeat (again) that 99.9% of them are manipulated, incompetent, or plain fraudulent. I am heartily sick of reading them and feeling like I need a shower afterwards. There are far fewer debunks because … it’s been so thoroughly debunked that no serious scientist in interested in pointlessly wasting time, energy, and precious research funds on something that’s completely and utterly dead in the water.

What’s immeasurably better than mindfulness? Literally anything that you enjoy doing whether active (like dancing, kicking a ball around, playing computer games, playing a sport, baking, crafts, clothes shopping or a hobby of some kind), or passive (like listening to music, watching television, sitting chatting with friends) is healthier and more enjoyable and far less likely to cause you harm.

Any of these things can be safe, enjoyable, and beneficial and none of them involve taking some expensive course from a “mindfulness teacher”, or ask you to believe bullshit. Also, none of these things are “mindfulness” (you’d be amazed how many people, when shown that mindfulness doesn’t “work”, then claim that all this other leisure stuff is mindfulness. Does my head in.

1.          Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EMS, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018

2.          1. Montero-Marin J, Allwood M, Ball S  et al. School-based mindfulness training in early adolescence: What works, for whom and how in the MYRIAD trial? Evid Based Ment Heal. 2022:117-124. doi:doi:10.1136/ebmental-2022-300439

3.          Semple RJ, Droutman V, Reid BA. MINDFULNESS GOES TO SCHOOL: THINGS LEARNED (SO FAR) FROM RESEARCH AND REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES. Psychol Sch. 2017. doi:10.1002/pits.21981

4.          Farias M, Wikholm C. Has the science of mindfulness lost its mind? BJPsych Bull. 2016. doi:10.1192/pb.bp.116.053686

5.          Van Dam NT, van Vugt MK, Vago DR, et al. Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2018. doi:10.1177/1745691617709589

6.          Sharf RH. Is mindfulness buddhist? (and why it matters). In: Meditation, Buddhism, and Science. ; 2017. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190495794.001.0010

7.          Lindahl JR, Fisher NE, Cooper DJ, Rosen RK, Britton WB. The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists. PLoS One. 2017. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0176239

8.          Gunnar MR. Perspectives on Psychological Science: Right Way/Wrong Way Symposium. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2017;12(4):680-683. doi:10.1177/1745691616689088

9.          Collins E, Cox A, Wilcock C, Sethu-Jones G. Digital Games vs Mindfulness Apps: Which is More Effective for Post-Work Recovery? (Preprint). JMIR Ment Heal. 2018. doi:10.2196/12853