PTSD is a major mental health condition that millions of veterans suffer from after they returned home from serving overseas. Now, a new form of therapy is helping veterans with PTSD cope with their disorder.

Known as floatation therapy, this form of therapy involves laying in a small pool filled with 10 inches of salt water containing roughly 1,000 pounds of magnesium sulfate, also known as Epsom salt. The high levels of salt allows the person to float in the water, which is heated to 94.2 degrees Fahrenheit, the same temperature as the human body. This makes the person floating feel as if they are floating on air, giving them a sense of peace.

The floatation therapy is conducted in a dark, soundproof room that is known as a “sensory deprivation chamber.” This allows the human brain to calm and enter the Theta state, which is the frequency at which the brain operates right before it goes into a deep sleep.

Air Force veteran Trey Hearn found this form of therapy to be so beneficial that he decided to team up with his brother to open Float Brothers in Destin, Florida. He explained that this form of therapy makes veterans feel a sense of safety that allows them to approach suppressed traumatic experiences during an “internal counseling session with themselves.”

Wesley Hernandez, a 33 year-old veteran who has been regularly doing floatation therapy since June, said it has helped him tremendously.

“The last time I went, I didn’t even want to get out of the water; it’s an escape from the stress and the drama,” Wesley said. “It’s like a deep meditation.”

His wife Leah agreed with him.

“Of all the therapies gifted to us by the Wounded Warriors Project, floating has been the one that he seems to want to do over and over,” she said.

We’re glad that this form of therapy is giving veterans the help that they need! Find out more about this in the video below!