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Comment by bambax | Hacker News Reader

I have never tried a flotation tank but am kind of interested; can someone talk about their experience? Is it just a fad or do you do it regularly, and what do you get out of it?

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Semi-regular user here (2-3 times / month). I view it as yet another tool under the "investigation of self" initiative that some people like me have taken on. What do I get out of it? Well, my experience in the tank differs every time. Some times I use it as a source of tranquility, some times I use it to focus on a certain topic I want to work out in my head, and some times I have absolutely zero intention and I just let the experience happen. Much like meditation, in the time immediately after the tank I find myself more aware, moving a bit slower, just kind of taking the environment in. First time I ever tried the tank was in NYC and I walked from Chelsea to the east side. The sounds of the city seemed much more sharp.

I definitely recommend meditating consistently before trying it, if you can. It'll make the adjustment a bit smoother because you won't be wrestling so much with "being alone with my thoughts" and you can concentrate on "holy shit, am I in outer space right now?!"

Your description is very similar to what I experience as well, but I only get to go once or twice per year (the nearest center is about two hours from my home). I always get it coupled with a full body massage just before, and my last visit was just this past Saturday.

This time I was able to, for a short while, convince myself that I was floating on the ocean at night and could see the stars. A very peaceful experience.

The outside world feels so much more harsh, sharp, and bright after a session.

Richard Feynman tried them out several times and had really interesting experiences. See https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51786 for his description.

I'd like to use it more, but it's a little cost prohibitive for me at the moment.

The biggest benefit for me is I'm able to say I'm going into a big tank of water for an hour so I won't be available for your call/text/yelling/whatever. I have problems feeling guilty about self-care, so I need that excuse to put myself first for a bit.

I went into my first experience expecting some sort of hallucinatory, transcendental experience. I did some meditation, but it felt forced. So I relaxed. That went almost too well. When I jostled back to full awareness, that's when things got interesting.

Normally when I back-float in water, I'm aware of its 2D surface. I need to stay on the surface. Above is impossible, below is bad. In the tank, I could relax because the salinity kept me afloat. I was able to think and move in three dimensions.

The tank became this empty space of three dimensional "white" board, albeit pitch black and a little confined so I couldn't go too crazy. But I was able to think out loud without looking weird. I could thrash my arms around as I visualized things against a blank canvas. I had a really interesting conversation with myself about web design, branding content, and readability.

The closest analog I can think of is movies like The Lawnmower Man where VR was this 3D empty, private space to manipulate with your mind.

I tried it once (back when Groupon was a thing), at a discount. It was ok, but nothing special. I mean not that different from lying in a bath or a bed in darkened quiet room, really not that much difference for me.

Also, if you go, I recommend you take some kind of floating neck support (or ask for one at the place where you are going) because towards the end, I could feel my neck starting to hurt (and I don't have a problem with my neck, it's just 1 hour is a long time).

I tried once and ended up falling asleep for half the period.

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