Meditation and Time Distortions

Hello, and welcome back to the blog. As an anxiety therapist in Chicago specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), I spend a lot of time helping people understand the link between their thoughts, feelings, and actions. One of the most powerful tools in my toolkit, and increasingly a central component of modern CBT like Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), is meditation.

But as more and more of my clients explore this ancient practice, a fascinating, almost philosophical question often arises: “Is it just me, or does time feel completely different when I’m meditating?”

It’s a wonderful, disarming question, and the answer is a resounding, fascinating yes. Let’s dive into why your perception of time feels distorted during meditation, what this tells us about anxiety, the proven benefits of the practice, and why a few harmless (and sometimes less harmless) side effects are a normal part of the journey.

The Anxious Mind vs. The Meditative Mind: A Lesson in Time Perception

Think for a moment about your everyday experience of time when you’re caught in an anxiety spiral.

When you’re waiting for a test result or a stressful meeting, minutes can feel like an eternity.
When you’re worrying about the future, you feel constantly rushed, like time is slipping away from you.
When you’re stuck in rumination about the past, those memories can feel intensely present and never-ending.

Anxiety, from a CBT perspective, is often a distortion of time itself. Our anxious thoughts pull us relentlessly out of the present moment and into a future filled with catastrophic predictions or a past filled with regret. This creates a state of hyper-arousal—your body and mind are on high alert.

The Science of “Time Distortion”

Research actually supports the idea that anxiety can cause a time overestimation—you literally perceive negative or high-arousal time intervals as longer than they actually are. The anxious brain, with its rapidly firing worry cycles, is essentially running the internal clock on turbo-speed.

Now, contrast this with meditation. When you practice mindfulness, you intentionally shift your attention:

From the Future/Past to the Present: The core principle is non-judgmental awareness of the present moment.
From Cognitive Overload to Focused Simplicity: You focus on a simple anchor, like the sensation of your breath.

By slowing down the torrent of racing, high-arousal thoughts, you are, in effect, slowing down your internal pacemaker. As a result, many meditators report a feeling of timelessness or the subjective feeling that the time they spent meditating passed faster than expected. A 20-minute session might feel like five.

This isn’t a magical vanishing of time; it’s a profound shift in your attentional focus and arousal level. You’ve temporarily stepped off the anxiety-fueled treadmill that was making every moment feel long, demanding, and overwhelming. And that is a huge win for managing anxiety.

Benefits of Meditation: A CBT Perspective

In my practice, I don’t see meditation as a replacement for CBT, but as its perfect complement. Mindfulness and meditation offer the skill that makes CBT’s cognitive restructuring possible.

Here are the key benefits, viewed through a CBT lens:

1. Creating Cognitive Distance (The “Gap”)

CBT teaches you to identify Cognitive Distortions (like all-or-nothing thinking or catastrophizing) and challenge them. But when anxiety hits hard, it feels impossible to pause and challenge the thought.

Meditation gives you the distance you need. By observing your thoughts as “just thoughts” (like clouds passing in the sky), you create a crucial gap between the thought (“I’m going to fail”) and your automatic anxious reaction (panic, avoidance). This is the foundation of cognitive flexibility. You learn: I have a thought, but I don’t have to believe it or act on it.

2. Reducing Emotional Reactivity

Anxiety thrives on an automatic emotional and physical reaction. A physical sensation (a racing heart) triggers a fearful thought (“I’m having a heart attack”), which escalates the sensation, creating a panic loop.

Meditation, especially the body scan technique, teaches you to observe physical and emotional sensations without judgment. You can notice the racing heart or the knot in your stomach and label it: “Oh, there is anxiety,” rather than “Oh no, I must escape!” This non-reactive stance starves the panic loop of the fuel it needs to continue.

3. Enhancing Attention and Focus

One of the most insidious side effects of anxiety is a scattered, frantic mind. Meditation is essentially a mental workout for your attention muscle. Every time you notice your mind has wandered (planning, worrying, judging) and gently bring it back to your breath, you are strengthening your ability to focus. A stronger focus muscle helps you:

Stay engaged in a productive task instead of getting pulled into rumination.
Stay present during difficult conversations.
Increase your tolerance for the ambiguity and uncertainty that anxiety hates.

The Harmless (and Not-So-Harmless) Side Effects

Now, let’s talk about the experiences that lead to that initial question about time distortion. While meditation is overwhelmingly positive for most people, it’s not a guaranteed, risk-free path to instant bliss. As a therapist, I believe in informed consent, meaning you should be aware of all potential experiences.

The Common, Harmless Side Effects

These are temporary, usually mild, and an indication that your practice is actually working by shifting your internal state.

Heightened Sensory Awareness: You might suddenly become intensely aware of the clock ticking, the neighbor’s distant dog, the feel of the clothes on your skin, or a minor ache in your knee. This is because you’re actively reducing the mental noise that usually filters these things out. It can be distracting, but it’s a sign your attention is becoming sharper.
Emotional Surfacing (The “Emotional Detox”): As you sit quietly, your mind and body might release emotions you’ve been unconsciously suppressing—sudden sadness, irritability, or even waves of intense joy. This is not a failure of meditation; it’s a form of emotional processing. Simply observe the feeling without judgment and let it pass, like weather.
The “Wandering Mind Workout”: For someone with anxiety, the feeling of a constantly thinking mind can be a source of stress. In meditation, your mind will wander—often a lot. This is normal. The harmless side effect is the frustration you feel every time you have to redirect it. Remember the redirect is the whole point! Be gentle with yourself, which is a core mindfulness skill.
Temporary Time Distortion: As discussed, feeling like time flew by or, conversely, feeling like five minutes lasted an hour, is a common and harmless perceptual shift. It’s a barometer of your mental state.

When to Pause and Consult (The Less Harmless Effects)

While rare, some individuals, especially those with a history of trauma or severe mental health conditions, may experience more challenging side effects.

Increased Anxiety/Panic: For some, the act of sitting still and tuning in to the body can feel deeply uncomfortable or even triggering, especially if they associate stillness with past trauma. When you stop distracting yourself, highly charged anxious energy or dormant trauma may surface. If you experience intense, escalating anxiety or panic, stop the formal seated practice and try a grounding or movement-based practice like mindful walking, or consult with your therapist.
Dissociation or Depersonalization: Some people report feeling disconnected from their body (depersonalization) or the world around them (derealization). For those prone to these experiences, meditation can sometimes exacerbate them, particularly with very intense, long, or non-guided practice. If this occurs, stop, open your eyes, and use physical anchors (like holding a cold glass or pressing your feet into the floor) to re-ground yourself. This is a strong sign to consult a mental health professional.
Intrusive Memories: In quiet focus, long-forgotten traumatic memories may resurface. While confronting and processing trauma is part of healing, it should be done in a safe, contained environment with the guidance of a trauma-informed therapist, not alone in a high-intensity session.

My CBT Prescription: Start Slow and Be Gentle

The beautiful irony of your question—Does time become distorted?—is that the very distortion you notice proves the power of the practice. It shows you that your brain is malleable, that your perception of reality can be shifted simply by changing your attention.

To minimize challenging side effects and maximize benefits, follow this CBT-informed plan:

Start Small: Begin with 3-5 minutes a day. You wouldn’t run a marathon on day one; don’t try to clear your mind for an hour. Consistency (daily 5 minutes) is infinitely more powerful than intensity (one 60-minute session a month).
Use an Anchor: Always use a simple focus point—your breath, a sound, or a guided voice. This is your “home base” when the anxious thoughts and feelings appear.
Practice Non-Judgment: The most crucial CBT/Mindfulness skill is acceptance. Don’t judge your practice as “good” or “bad.” If your mind was racing, simply notice that, gently thank it for sharing, and return to your breath. That moment of redirection is the successful rep in your mental workout.

Meditation is not about escaping time or thoughts; it’s about changing your relationship with them. It allows you to transform the anxious, over-estimated rush of time into a spacious, present moment where you can finally choose your response, rather than just reacting.

Start today. Give yourself the gift of a new relationship with time.