Why Mindfulness Backfires for Some People

Here’s how to manage it if you experience an adverse reaction

Photo: madison lavern/Unsplash

One February night a few years ago, I sat on my bed and began taking deep breaths. Determined to finally get my escalating anxiety under control, I’d asked my therapist for the simplest path to mindfulness. She told me to start small, and that it was part of a practice. Which meant that it…