How Vipassana Impacts Mental Health and Everyday Life: Psychologist and Practitioners Share Their Experiences

When I registered for my first Vipassana course in October 2025, I was looking for a space to clear my mind, a space where I can process all what’s going on in my head. My search for something that would help me meet the unfiltered version of myself lends me to this centuries old Indian meditation Technique, Vipassana. Cut off from the whole world, my first ten-Day silent Vipassana meditation retreat took me into my inner cosmos with no escape even when you want to avoid it. On the arrival day, I was asked to submit my mobile phone, any other gadgets I have, all the reading or writing materials, and even any spiritual item I might have carried. For the first four days, I was taking it like any other meditation practice, except for the profound silence, as talking or even making eye contact with other participants was not allowed. But the last six days made me understand what all the hype for.

There is a growing community of people across the world who are choosing Vipassana meditation not just as occasional retreats but also as part of their daily routine. Many consider it a game changer for different aspects of their life including mental health and overall well-being. In the current competitive world, where stress, mental hurricane, and anxiety have become increasingly prevalent, the search for effective mindfulness and healing practices has intensified. Vipassana, an ancient meditation technique rooted in Buddhist tradition, is increasingly serving that purpose for crores of people all over the world.

Many believe that Vipassana helps transform behavioural patterns and calms the mind in a pretty holistic way. After my retreat, I find myself mentally more stable and contentment, and to explore its long-term impact on mental health, I spoke to Dr Neelam Oswal, a Vipassana practitioner from over a decade and a Clinical Psychologist at the Institute for Psychological Health, Pune, along with a few of other long-term practitioners who have personally experienced the transformation from chaos to calm.

What Is Vipassana Mediation?

Vipassana, which translates to, see things as they really are, not how they appear, is a self-purification technique through self-observation. Vipassana is a tried and tested meditation technique that leads to mental serenity by allowing you to experience the pain and understand its root, rather than being just a coping mechanism. It begins with the observation of breath and gradually takes you into the deep thoughts, emotions and physical sensations.

Dr Neelam Oswal describes Vipassana as mindfulness of the body and mind. "Vipassana leads you much deeper than what psychotherapy takes you in." She explains. “As Vipassana is known to work on mind, it is compared to psychotherapy by many people. However, unlike psychotherapy, which works mostly at the cognitive and behavioural level, Vipassana works on psychological issues through bodily sensations.”

During the discussion, Naren, a Chartered accountant who has been practising Vipassana for the past ten years, shared, "It is not just an intellectual talk, Vipassana works at the depth of the mind to change your habit pattern bringing lasting change. For instance, we’ve all been taught about honesty and truth since childhood, but it was through Vipassana that I gradually embodied it in my daily life."

Vipassana helps you observe your internal world as it is. It allows you to see your pain, insecurities, anger, and grief without any suppression.

According to experts, every thought, suffering, and pleasure has its unique sensations or vibration. Vipassana cultivates a faculty in the mind to observe these sensations as they arise and pass away, without any craving or hatred. "When we start seeing things for what they are, we cease to be the victim or the perpetrator but we become the ones observer, and that brings rare clarity," shares Anshima, a trained hypnotherapist from Mumbai who has been practicing Vipassana since 2017.

"For me, Vipassana is like cleaning the house. So every once in a while, you need to clean the house. Ideally, you do it every day, but If not, things tend to accumulate and the corners gather dirt. I practise Vipassana to clean the mental junk,” explains Pratyush, Director of strategic initiatives at the Mentora Institute and a regular Vipassana practitioner since 2011.

How Vipassana Differs from Other Meditation Techniques

Vipassana focuses on the internal objects of the body, mind and physical sensations, whereas other concentrative meditation often involve external objects such as mantras, chanting or any kind of verbalisation or visualisation to keep you in focus. Explaining the distinction, Dr Neelam Oswal says, “Vipassana is aptly called Mindfulness Meditation because of its objective of developing mindfulness towards your body. Unlike concentrative meditation, the object of Vipassana must be reality pertaining to mind and body and nothing else.

Also Read: This Is What My First 10-Day Vipassana Retreat Taught Me

Vipassana: Its Impact On Mental Health?

According to experts, the ultimate goal of Vipassana is Nibbana which means complete eradication of the roots of suffering, such as greed, hatred, and ignorance. Vipassana nurtures acceptance and a subtle joy of not letting the outer world control your brain, which is the root of depression and chronic stress in a way.

Naren shares, "Practicing Vipassana in all these years has benefited every aspect of my life whether it is personal, professional, emotional, and even my sleep patterns." He adds that despite being successful in his career, he used to carry a lot of fear, insecurities, and inferiority complexes. "Vipassana helped me uproot these patterns from the depths of my mind, and that changed my life forever."

Pratyush describes Vipassana in a similar way saying, "It is a space where I can process everything, whatever my conscious and unconscious mind is holding on to. When I need to make a difficult decision and lack clarity, I simply practise Vipassana and clarity naturally emerges,” he says.

For Anshima, the benefits have been both emotional and physical. "Vipassana has helped me feel more emotionally regulated and improved my interpersonal relationships. I experience less work stress and have become more accepting of myself and others. My physical aches and pains have also reduced, and there is an increased tolerance towards different experiences and people.”

The purpose of practising Vipassana is to understand that the source of suffering lies not in the outside world but in your own reactions and the solution also. As Naren explains, "Once you understand and work on the root of the problem, the branches naturally take care of themselves. Life becomes much simpler.”

Also Read: Buddha Purnima 2024: What Is Vipassana Meditation That Lord Buddha Preached? Know Its Benefits

How To Practice Vipassana?

To learn Vipassana technique, a fresh student must first undertake a 10-Day silent Vipassana meditation retreat at one of the many centres across the world. After completing the initial course, practitioners can undertake 1-Day, 3-Day, 30-day or even 45-day courses as well as continue their daily practice at home.

According to Dr Oswal, Vipassana is not a short term remedy but a lifelong discipline. “One must practise Vipassana regularly, ideally for an hour in the morning and in the evening to experience lasting changes,” she advises. She also mentions that it takes almost a year for anyone to actually transform the reaction patterns which gradually improves their mental health in different layers.

Bottomline

What I figured out is that Vipassana is not just a meditation technique, but a discipline of self-exploration. If you want to give your mind a peaceful corner in this overwhelming and stressful world Vipassana does wonders. It helps you develop equanimity towards all your emotions, whether painful or joyful, and enables you to live with awareness and lots of compassion.