Sensory deprivation tank

I just tried one out. It was way more relaxing and less scary than I thought it would be. With all the pressures of life right now, it was nice to have some time set aside to do nothing other than float in a dark bath for a while. I don’t think I would recommend it for people with auditory hallucinations. I started hearing music in there, and I haven’t had an actual hallucination in almost three years. But the tanks are known to do that to people. It was really warm and felt surreal. Kind of like the way your body feels when you’re half asleep and everything is fuzzy, but with your mind alert enough to have vivid daydreams or just drift from thought to thought.

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I don’t think I’d like that. Do you naturally float or what?

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The water has a heavy concentration of salt which means you can’t sink.

Just like the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

I learned this because when I worked at a place that had one of these tanks I had to carry ten,100 lb sacks of salt from the back of the building to the front and then up a flight of stairs one at a time to put in the room.

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I’ve always wanted to do that, but it’s contraindicated with some of my health issues. Maybe even the sz? I don’t remember. It’s been a couple years since I looked into it.

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I think that it can be dangerous for those suffering from psychosis.
I wouldn’t recommend it.

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Oh my gosh. I’m sorry you had to carry them up stairs. That really sucks!

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My therapist recommended it to me. I think it depends on the person and their symptoms/triggers.

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I’ve looked into them, but ultimately decided against it, I would be too afraid of it triggering psychosis for me. Deprive my senses and let my mind go. No thanks.

I’m glad you found it relaxing! You deserve a respite

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Is it like a small enclosed space? I think I would get claustrophobic.

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I’m so jealous of your hallucination free status!

Sensory deprivation tanks are cool, I’ve always wanted to try one.

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Mine was, but they also have open air tanks. You can choose which kind you prefer.

oh I couldn’t do that…do you remember the movie “altered states”? they used floating sensory deprivation tanks too…scary scary…haha

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I think when I was younger I would have been more open to that, but I feel more vulnerable mentally now. Weaker. I do like that feeling when your half asleep though so maybe. I don’t know, maybe. It’s cool you tried it. It’s really interesting that you heard music.

I got to try a tank two or three times (for free) back around 1985 or 86.
I had heard all the hype and this was the eighties so the movie “Altered States” was on everybody’s mind.

I was actually let down by the experience. Ours was a big white tank with a swinging door that you crawled through. I was actually still somewhat psychotic but when I climbed in it was anti-climatic.

First of all, it didn’t scare me at all. Then it was just basically floating in warm water quietly. I got bored and I didn’t have any great insights or any great meditative state. It was relaxing but that was about it.
I will say though that my boss, who was in his late thirties got carried away with “taking a float” as we called it and went inside an hour a day every day for a month and he told us he started hallucinating. That was extreme though, most people who liked those just do it a couple times a month. But that cured him of using it too much, lol.

Incidentally, in 1985 we charged $20.00 to use it for an hour and a half.

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