I've had an interest in float tanks (aka sensory deprivation chambers) for years now, but I've never gotten the chance to try one out. Nowhere around here has any, and they are very expensive ($4500 for the cheapest one).

Has anyone here ever tried one out, and if so did you find it helped your mental state at all?

For those unfamiliar with what they are, they're basically a pod with super salty water inside.



Because of the amount of salt in the water, your body will refuse to sink... similar to the Dead Sea. Once you're inside the pod the hatch is shut, and it seals out all light and sound from the outside. The temperature of the air and water are both kept around your body's natural temperature, and so it (supposedly) feels like you're floating in nothingness. Because your senses are all being deprived of any sensations, it allows your mind to completely shed all of those distractions. You can enter into deep meditation very easily, or begin to have mild hallucinations (sort of like hypnagogic imagery when you're falling on the verge of sleep).

I'm thinking perhaps with all my physical symptoms that accompany my PTSD and anxieties, maybe if I remove myself from experiencing any outside stimuli I'd be able to finally get to the core of those issues. Or at the very least, just get some reprieve from those symptoms.

Has anyone had any experience with these things?