The Dark Side of Meditation Retreats

Introducing Untold: The Retreat, a new podcast from the special investigations team at the Financial Times. In the first episode of The Retreat, Madison Marriage receives an email from a desperate father named Stephen. Over the past five years, he says, his twin daughters have changed drastically. They were bright and outgoing, with exciting plans for their future. But over their early twenties, they became increasingly distressed, struggling to eat or sleep and disassociating from normal life. Stephen believes the root of his daughters’ problems is a particular network of intensive meditation retreats.

For support or more information about adverse meditation experiences, take a look at the Cheetah House website.

If you are in need of urgent mental health support, please contact your local emergency services or reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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