Can Flotation Therapy help with anxiety? | AD

This article looks at whether floatation can be an effective way to treat anxiety.

What is Floating?

Floatation involves lying in a floatation tank, a large, egg-shaped pod filled with highly concentrated Epsom saltwater heated to skin temperature. It is also known as Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) and sensory deprivation as you are deprived of all senses - sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. The tank is completely lightless and soundless and the Epsom saltwater causes you to float as you feel free from gravity.

Experience in the Tank

Whilst in the tank, you are freed of all external stimuli as you float weightlessly in the darkness and silence. Floating activates the parasympathetic nervous system which slows the heart rate and helps you to relax. Your brain reaches its lucid, not-thinking alpha state and any anxious thoughts dissipate. You then enter a theta state, a deep state of relaxation and meditation, a half-sleep state reached just before drifting off to sleep or waking up.

Floating and Anxiety - The Evidence

Justin Feinstein is a clinical neuropsychologist who investigates float therapy as a treatment for those with anxiety and depression. He carried out a study in which he mapped the brains of participants using fMRI and then took images again after a 60-minute float. He found that floating quietens the activity of the amygdala, the part of the brain which controls fear and anxiety.

A 2018 study on 50 participants with stress and anxiety-related disorders found that a one-hour session in a floatation tank can provide relief from stress and anxiety symptoms across a range of conditions including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder.

A 2016 study of 46 people with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) found that 12 floatation sessions over 4 months reduced symptoms of GAD including depression, fatigue, and sleep issues and 37% reached full remission of GAD symptoms post-treatment.

A 2006 study investigated the long-term effects of floatation-REST 4 months after treatment. Participants with stress-related pain underwent 12 float sessions and found that floating reduced pain, stress, anxiety, and depression and this was maintained for 4 months after treatment.

A 2014 study looked at sensory isolation and floatation treatment as a preventive healthcare intervention. The study found that 12 float sessions over 7 weeks decreased stress, depression, anxiety, and pain in healthy volunteers.

One 2013 study assessed a single patient with PTSD, ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression who floated over 50 times for a year and a half. The floatation therapy improved quality of life, wellbeing, and healthy behaviour and there were no negative effects. The participant did not take any medication during the course of the therapy.

Whilst there needs to be further studies into whether floating can be used as an effective therapy for anxiety, these studies demonstrate the promising impact that floating can have on treating anxiety and mental health. This is evidence that floating is scientifically proven to have a positive impact on the mind.

This post was written by i-sopod, a revolutionary float pod manufacturer and market-leading supplier to float centres in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia.

Year in Review 2019

This year as with the last, have been the hardest couple of years since I began my journey of mental illness when I was seventeen...albeit this year has been slightly better than the last.

I entered this year doing my dream job and moving flats so I am closer to work which gave me a much safer and shorter commute! I also get to enjoy London which I only dreamt of as a child. I have had accomplishments in my job, but also failures. It is what it is and it is definitely building my resilience. I know that it may take me longer to get to where I need to be and that's okay; some people are better at things than others. My new place still isn't much for what I have to pay, but it allows me to save up for a place of my own and in the meantime I have added my little touches to make it the best I can. I also got a new car which I had dreamt of as a child whilst still looking after my twenty year old model from my childhood. I have also been lucky enough to travel to two of my places on my bucket list this year; Australia and America. I feel very blessed.

I have made a few good friends too by stepping outside of my comfort zone and I am hoping to continue to make more next year before I eventually move jobs (maybe!)

I lost a pet this year and I feel I am soon to lose another and albeit they are small, they give me just as much love as any other animal could. Family illnesses have continued and it has been touch and go at some points and still is, which is bringing me into unchartered territory. I have always grown up having an ill family member, but this time around the options are getting thinner on the ground. I have also felt heartbreak over and over again and it is still one of the most painful things I have felt; it is grief. It has taught me that people can show you some very special things that you couldn't see before you met them and everyone has something to bring to your life. Those who are special will always remain special to you, no matter how near or far or whom they are with. It brings great sadness, but it also is a great teacher. I didn't realise until now that your heart could continuously ache for such a long time...

I have built so much strength this year and at many times I have reached the lowest point that I could possibly go. Pure loneliness and heartache and not being able to express it either. Confusion, suicidal thoughts and self harm, trying to heal versus wanting to talk to others and feeling as if I could never make it out alive..it's been a tough one. I have made mistakes and I am not perfect, but looking back to this time last year, I have grown.

Time and space is still the best healer I know. Also, civility.

I hope that next year I continue to progress in my career, save or find somewhere to live and continue to listen to myself to ensure I understand my decisions fully. Only you know you. I hope that health and happiness surrounds myself and those around me because grief really is the worst pain.

How music helps combat anxiety through rhythm | AD

Humans are rhythmic creatures: everything we do comes from the pulse. Your heartbeat is a rhythm you can’t live without and today we’re going to discuss how tempo and rhythm can help you control your body in ways you might not have under your control otherwise.

Specifically, we’re going to discuss how tempo – in song and life – can adjust your psychology. It sounds complicated, but these are techniques and methods you can use all on your own to improve your mental and physical health.

If those sound like worthwhile uses of your time, read on…

The tempo of music is the pulse, the rhythm, the beat of it. It’s the predominating beats and the time between them, and how many of them you’re going to get in a minute. This is an interesting measure because it tells you how much is going on, in some ways.

It’s often a measure of the pace, which is an important piece of music. You don’t need to know how to write a symphony to understand the basics: tempo is one of the key aspects on how a song or piece of music affects how you feel.

It’s not just that, however. The song and it’s tempo will affect your mood andyour body/brain. It carries some effects that you might never have noticed, but that science has begun to unravel.

For example, music and it’s tempo/mood can affect your mood subconsciously, as well as having direct physical effects. You might be familiar with usingsome of these techniques when you’re studying or working hard, but how much deliberate thought did you give to them?

If you’ve ever gotten fired up in the gym to a specific song, it’s totally plausible that you’re experiencing the tempo of the song. This is something we see all the time with runners, for example, where pace is important for better running cadence – equally in rowing and cycling.

In these cases, what happens is that the tempo of the music adjusts your mental and physical state.

When you run to music, you’re tactically using it to increase your mental arousal/anxiety. This is because doing challenging things is often about increasing mental arousal and using the response, which boosts short-term performance.

On the other hand, too much of this anxiety/mental arousal can cause you to get flustered or lose focus. It also contributes to stress if over-used and can rapidly damage things like your mood, sleep quality, or mental health.

You want to increase short-term mental arousal/anxiety, but ensure that your overall levels are well managed. Fortunately, music can go both ways: it can promote relaxation and combat anxiety as much as it can elevate them.

While up-tempo music is known to increase mental arousal, the opposite is true: lower tempo, relaxing music can improve relaxation. This has the opposite effects: better rest, the ability to lower heart rate and anxiety, and overall improvements to ‘winding down’. These are the benefits that are key to recovery.

The stress you expose your body to is not fundamentally different from the kind your mind experiences. They’re combined to determine how stressed you are at both a physiological and psychological level.

Sure, those long work hours might not wear down your muscles, but your physical and mental health take a hit. As a result, the changes you experience to your mental arousal are tied closely to your body and brain.

For example, excessive chronic stress is a risk factor for common problems like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and mood disorders like depression. These are all significant changes that you want to avoid.

Equally, excessive stress has real knock-on issues. One you’ll notice rapidly is poor quality sleep, as well as even being restless and waking up in the night. Similarly, you’ll experience way more fatigue if you’re constantly struggling to relax, as well as poor recovery from exercise, and low mental performance.

Basically, if you’re chronically stressed you’re going to be chronically sub-optimal. It’s a health risk, and it’s a risk factor for mood disorders, physical disorders, and mental decline. If you’re not certain yet, it’s really worth avoiding and fighting!

The role of music is to aid in active relaxation. It’s exactly what it sounds like: taking time to deliberately relax. This doesn’t mean laying on the sofa watching a tv series – it means actively taking some steps to change your habits to relax effectively.

Common examples of yoga and meditation aren’t for everyone, but they work. Equally, reading a good book while listening to low-tempo, ambient music is a good practice. You could also stretch to music, if you’re trying to improve your health, fitness, and performance.

The best place to look is for tempos that are at – or below – 80 beats per minute. BPM, the unit we use to measure song tempo, is a good indicator. If you also pay attention to the mood of the piece – ideally something relaxing and sedate – you can build a great playlist for relaxing.

This is one of the reasons why low-tempo, smooth jazz is really popular. Equally, it’s 21st-century successor LoFi music is really popular for promoting a relaxed, focused environment. You can go for this kind of vibe in most genres if you know the BPM and the overall vibe of the songs!

In this way, you can start taking control of these subconscious and physical processes yourself. Just like you might use them to amp yourself up, you can go the other way and wind down with calming sounds and environments.

You should especially consider the things you expose yourself to in the hour or two before sleep. Too many loud noises, high-tempo songs, or screens all contribute to high pre-sleep anxiety and thus poor sleep quality. Define this as relaxation time and you’ll notice better performance in everything the next day!

Equally, the combination of tempo and relaxation are great for the mind. Studies tell us that a steady tempo is great for memory, which is also bolstered by better relaxation/sleep quality.

This makes proper tempo and it’s effects on the body/mind. This kind of small change and mindful use of music, tempo, and relaxation all add up to better recovery and performance. You can improve almost every aspect of your life by controlling your anxiety and balancing it with relaxation.

Tempo is one tool to this end, and it’s one you can start being mindful of and implementing right now!

There are few things that have as much effect on your health as the balance between stress and relaxation. It’s one of the conditions of modern life that we’re stressed all the time and struggle to find balance.

This is harmful to your health at every level – physical and mental. Something as simple as knowing what tempos are for, and how you can use them to help you relax effectively, can be a significant bonus in the long term.

Take control of yourself, your body, and how you feel on a day to day basis. It’s a small step away and you can make significant changes to your entire existence. You can find song BPMs online and you can look up the ones you already know to get a better idea of what you’re looking for!