safety
A year ago we wrote about how we think about safety in retreat design so that people could make informed decisions. This post shares what we've observed since. We plan to update it annually.
Across approximately 1,200 students over two years:
About 3% experienced transient difficulty during or shortly after retreat: sleep disruption, emotional intensity, unfamiliar physical sensations, disorientation, or dissociation. These can be genuinely uncomfortable but typically resolve within days with rest and support.
One person experienced acute mania requiring psychiatric care. This was a serious event, and we took it seriously. This participant had no prior psychiatric history and an unusual profile we hadn't seen before. The participant received care a few days after retreat, was prescribed medication, and recovered over approximately four months. We remained in contact throughout.
We screen for psychiatric history and recent major stressors before retreat. During retreat, facilitators check in daily. We maintain pre-vetted same-day psychiatric resources for each retreat location. After retreat, we follow up and maintain a clear pathway to reach us if difficulties emerge.
When things go wrong, we stay in the relationship. We don't disappear.
We can't reliably predict who's at higher risk. The participant who experienced mania passed our standard screening. We don't know whether this episode was caused by meditation, our particular brand of meditation, or would have happened off retreat. We're continuing to measure and learn.
If you're considering a retreat and want to understand these cases in more detail—who was affected, what their experience was like, or how it resolved—see our detailed case studies or reach out directly to retreats@jhourney.io.