Monday, January 19, 2015

i'm no sugar cube

When I was in fourth grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I think it's over-diagnosed in children and I think that Ritalin might not be the best solution but I do think that I actually had/have it. Andrew notes that I'm one of the worst people for sitting still that he's encountered. We'll occasionally have an afternoon where we each just read our books but I'm usually looking for a project (which is why it's easy for me to explore new things), or I'm listening to music when I read, or I'm interrupting my reading to check on my Instagram feed, or just doing anything to keep busy. When we go to the beach, I usually take the dog for several walks because it seems like such a waste to just sit around. So, we were both very eager to see how I would do with today's new thing: a deprivation tank.

I have a few friends who swear by these things and I recently listened to a podcast where the host was talking it up so I made it a New Years resolution to do this. Since I had the day off for MLK Jr Day and Andrew had to work, it was the perfect time to go sit in a tank of salty water for 90 minutes.

I don't know for sure what I expected. I was thinking that I would be completely deprived of all my senses like I wouldn't hear anything or feel anything and that would all lead to a metaphysical experience. However, it just felt tedious and not too relaxing. One of the comments I read about floating is that the person felt like they were a sugar cube dissolving in water but that's not how I felt. I would occasionally drift into the side of the tank and, with my ears under water, I couldn't focus on anything but my heartbeat and my breathing. I guess that's relaxing but it wasn't as trippy as I was hoping. It was a unique experience and the time seemed to go by 3x quicker than I thought but I don't know if I'll be repeating this one. I'm glad I at least tried it though.

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