Black box warnings are everywhere these days. It shows how common major safety concerns have become, especially for medications targeting depression and anxiety. Most antidepressant medications like SSRIs now contain a suicide warning, and anti-anxiety medications using benzodiazpines have an addiction warning. Adverse events can also occur with psychedelics, and just this week, an FDA advisory committee rejected MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, with many reviewers commenting on the lack of safety data. Indeed safety issues and side effects can be found with behavioral interventions too, like psychotherapy and even meditation.
Given this context, it is no wonder that the first float study funded by the NIH is focused on safety. The results were published today and make a compelling argument for the safety of floatation therapy in individuals with clinical depression and anxiety, including PTSD. There were no serious adverse events, minimal negative side effects, and numerous positive side effects. If floating were a pill, everyone would take it!
The study is open access and freely available to read and share online at: