Sensory Deprivation? Sure, why not?

sen·so·ry dep·ri·va·tion/ˈsensərē ˌdeprəˈvāSHən/noun

1. a process by which someone is deprived of normal external stimuli such as sight and sound for an extended period of time, especially as an experimental technique in psychology.

Sounds slightly awful when that’s all you hear, but I had read a lot of articles about how people were using float tanks to create sensory deprivation experiences that were helping them reset the way they were living their lives. I’d be lying if I said I understood how it is supposed to do that, but the gist of it is that you remove all the things that distract you. Then without those things claiming your attention you let your brain take a step back, which can apparently lead to decreased stress and anxiety, help you sleep better, and possibly lead to a lessening of any pain you might be experiencing. Sounded great to me so I decided I was in.

I know, it seemed kind of crazy to me too. But remember, I had decided there was no judgement while I was trying to find things that would help me put my life back together. So I looked online to see how far I’d have to go. I figured that if there was no place near enough that it would be a sign to skip it. Which I am fully aware is completely illogical, but somehow it made sense in the moment. Happily, it turned out that fairly nearby was a placed named Flōte (Still no kickbacks of benefits from using their name, I’m just letting you know a place you can go if you live on the NH Seacoast). I decided that since it was less than an hour away it was definitely a sign I should go so I went made an appointment for the next week.

When I got there I took off my shoes, signed in and waited for them to finish cycling the water and salt so my room was ready for me. There is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds of epsom salt in the water in those rooms so trust me when I say, you will float. I was actually hesitant because I am overweight so I had explicitly asked them about how much you could weigh and still float when I made the appointment. When they assured me I would be fine I decided to take them at their word. When I got there I was glad that I had. This was new, which can sometimes cause anxiety, but it was also pretty exciting and I think that kept me from feeling anxious. Once everything was ready I went in to my little private suite where I showered and put in ear plugs and then it was time to step down into the giant room sized tub. With my arms and legs stretched out I could touch the walls, but when I was just floating and relaxed there was more than enough room for me to float without touching anything

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I took these pictures and then shut everything electronic of mine off and hopped in. The water was warm and pleasant. I figured out how I was most comfortable, they had given me a little ring to put behind my head so I could float without worrying about falling asleep, and I leaned back and started floating.

As the colors changed, I got situated and relaxed, and finally turned the lights off. There were big dials for sound and light on the wall so it was easy to do from my newfound perfect floating position. I had decided to leave the background music on because it felt strange to be floating in the dark and complete quiet. Next time I think I’d turn the music off too, but for my first time it just felt like a little light background spa music was ok. For a while I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. I thought of every thing on my to-do list, remembered everything I’d forgotten to put on the list, recalled a dozen conversations I’d had that day, imagined different outcomes to those conversations, tried to stop thinking about mundane things like ‘call your mom to get her to send you that recipe’ because I felt like I was supposed to be thinking deeper more meaningful things. Maybe my brain just isn’t wired that way, maybe I needed more than one trip, maybe I should have turned off the music, but I felt like I spent the better part of an hour trying not to think. It reminded me of meditating when they tell you to let your mind drift and all I can think of is my grocery list or some ridiculous song lyrics from 1990.

Eventually my thoughts slowed down and I found myself noticing the air from the vent, the way the water rolled over my arms, the weird angle my knees were at because I was so relaxed, etc. I got really hyper aware of my body and everything I was feeling. It was an interesting set of sensations. I enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t feel like I had found something I couldn’t live without. That said, most people suggest going several times before you make that decision. So it’s not off my list forever, it’s just relegated to a lower level for right now while I’m trying everything I can fit into my schedule and my budget.

For me it was a lighthearted and easy experience that was relaxing, just not life changing. Unlike the next thing on my list, which absolutely changed my life…