The people in the second group, whose purpose of meditation was to open up and accept themselves, got all the expected benefits of meditation: less anxiety, stress, worry, depression and better mindful awareness. The other group, however, who used meditation to manage difficult feelings or get rid of stress and fear did not experience these benefits.

It’s a bit of a catch 22, really – people who want to deal with their stress through meditation probably won’t be able to achieve that. So what’s the solution? The research suggests that a lot of us probably need to change our mindset when we meditate, looking at it less as a solution to all of our problems and more of an open-ended practice with many possibilities.

The one reason meditation isn’t working for you, according to new research