Mental Health and Meditation...if you're hurting

Get help.

But I do think Kyle's post here  and Petteri's post here needs a response. It's not like I strongly disagree with them, but I do want to put my 2 cents into this.  My response goes like this:

•  Meditation, at least the mindfulness-based koan and shikantaza of zazen should not, in and of itself, be causative in inducing extreme mental states.  Rather I would say that the environment, the teacher, the belief system of the subject, and underlying mental health issues have probably a much bigger role to play here.
• Thus it is not surprising that the article Petteri quoted consists of ancedotes. Then again, when we get to "transpersonal psychology" I think it's safe to say that we're standing a little out of scientific method land.
• The reason I wrote the first two bullet points was my skeptic radar pinged loudly when I started reading Kyle's article.  Now I've seen my fair share of ...um...how to say it...disturbed people...in my years in zendos.  Hang around one long enough and a mentally disturbed person is almost guaranteed to show up.  And this is not surprising: Buddhism promises a path to the transcendence of suffering, and by gum, the mentally disturbed are nothing if not suffering. Two plus two... So why was my skeptic radar pinging loudly?
• It's because real scientific studies show that therapeutic methods based on mindfulness are more effective at treating some kinds of mental disturbances than antidepressants.  It's also because such techniques are correlated with enhancing cognitive function.
• But that's to say that strong medicine can be strong poison if not used skillfully; hence the issues of
• Getting an ethical teacher who is not immovable, and aware of mental health issues
• Making sure the setting isn't like some weird Large Group Awareness Training. (Did I write "Genpo Roshi?" No. I did not write that.)
• And make sure you're at a point in your life where, even if you're feeling suffering (who isn't?), you're not at the point of doing something dangerous.
• What Kyle and Petteri say is quite true: if you've got mental health issues, get them treated. Not only is there no shame in that, as Kyle said, but in reality, if you think you are covering them up well from others, you're only fooling yourself.  Trust me, everyone who knows you wishes desperately you would see the writing on the wall.  Dare to share your feelings with others.
• Having said that, though, I can tell you that I have been quite down emotionally in my life, and my practice has been invaluable to me, and I know that's true for others as well.  Moreover, I've known people whose family had had very serious mental health issues, and they weren't always impressed with the results.   Regarding  mental health, "treatment by professionals" has had a very checkered history of effectiveness to the point that there's lots of people who think Tom Cruise might have a point when he goes psychotic raving about psychiatry.  
• Even today, when it comes to some forms of behavioral disturbances, such as addiction,  most treatments in the US provided by most professionals are more akin to putting the leeches to someone thanto providing a treatment that is safe and effective.  And more Buddhist teachers should be aware of that. Yes, folks, even when it comes to professionals, caveat emptor. 
• Buddhist teachers are not trained mental health professionals, unless of course, they've been trained to be mental health professionals. 
• And finally, as I wrote here, don't forget:  The power of a belief, of a certainty that things are "this way" and "not that way" seems to have a profound effect on the incidence of particular types of mental suffering.  Even in the dark hard times we all experience in meditation, one should try to keep in mind that this is stuff the mind is throwing up to you, and as far as the present moment is concerned it has all the import of an itchy foot.  Hard to keep in mind, I know, I know.  But when once you have had the experience of the waning of such dark feelings and memories you realize that transcendence is possible.  For some it might take skillfully realizing that some kind of counseling or medication is needed before this state can be reached.  But usually, much more frequently, it's going to wane by itself.