Float Therapy & Your Mental Health

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As mental health awareness grows and stigmas subside, we are learning just how many people struggle to keep their mental wellness in check. This is due to factors including high demands for professional achievement, social connection, relationship stressors, community involvement, and personal growth. There are a hundred and one things that take our time and attention, and we often put ourselves last, and with that, our mental and physical health. But the message that’s emerged in these new and interesting times is that you need to make time for wellness, or soon illness will come rearing its ugly head. 

Float Therapy has an abundance of positive health factors for your mind, body and gut - but how is it a complementary treatment in your mental health journey? Read on as we dive into how this treatment helps to manage and minimize symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Find Freedom Through Floating

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Float therapy or Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (R.E.S.T) reduces the sound, sight and touch of your environment by placing you in a pool filled with magnesium sulfute so you float effortlessly, the room is pitch black, there are no sounds except the rise and fall of your breath. These conditions bring your body into a state of rest. There is no strain on the body and no external stimuli to process. All that is left to do is breathe, allow the stresses of the day to melt away for a while, and bask in the ease of your meditative state. 

Allowing your mind time to unplug and switch off decreases anxiety and depression and the effects compound the more regular your float practice! When you float, your brain releases different chemicals and other neurotransmitters which contribute to a sense of euphoria and feelings of calm. These responses in the body happen automatically even if you struggle to “switch off”.

Studies have shown that participants who struggled with mental health issues like anxiety, stress, depression and sleep issue like insomnia saw improvements in their symptoms after regular use of float therapy. In another study, just one float therapy session saw a reduction of symptoms in people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder such a depression, fatigues, sleep issues and irritability. 

Hard evidence aside, you can feel the difference the moment you step out of your float. Many people experience euphoria, clarity, calmness, stillness and most feel rejuvenated following a float session. 

Float therapy is also an effective complementary treatment for people who suffer from P.T.S.D. When you float, you’re muscles naturally loosen in the zero-gravity environment, you will effortlessly release tension throughout your body which can be a welcomed relief in areas we hold the most tension. As you let go deeper and deeper into stillness, your mind will register a rested state and you will be able to easily meditate, which also serves as a complementary treatment for P.T.S.D. Being able to reduce stress, anxiety and pain during and after your float all help to manage symptoms related to P.T.S.D. Plus, since float therapy has been proven to help deal with sleep issues, getting a better nights sleep is also a huge factor in alleviating symptoms.

What Makes City Cave Unique? - No more Salty Coffins


Traditionally float therapy meant being confined to a small, dark tomb-like vessel and told to relax. Many people who struggle with anxiety and claustrophobia would have an additional hurdle beyond their minds racing as they attempt to adjust being in what can only be described as a “salty coffin”. The founders of City Cave loved to get their float on but they too struggled with how flat therapy was delivered, and from that, the dawn of the float pool was created! 

Sharing the same benefits of float tanks but with a whole room to yourself, many people whose anxiety included confined spaces find this treatment method to be more manageable, comfortable and in line with their needs. Plus in a time where social distancing is on the forefront of everyone’s minds, the ability to engagein a positive self-care experience that is virtually solitary is a unique and valuable treatment that many people rely on to keep their mental health in check.