What happens when your mind disconnects from all outside sensations?
First, you undress, put in earplugs, and step into a floatation tank, the water warmed to the temperature of your skin and saturated with Epsom salt. You hardly feel the water and you float effortlessly given its high salinity. Next, you close the lid of the tank and are greeted by darkness. You see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing …
Or do you? Recent research into so-called “sensory deprivation” tanks reveals that, despite the moniker, the experience in these tanks is more like sensory enhancement. Patients with clinical anxiety learn not only to feel their breath and heartbeat, but to also perceive these sensations as pleasant and less linked to anxiety.
