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Health

I Tried Alternative Therapies to See If They Could Help Me

In an age of anxiety, wellness trends are booming – could isolation tanks and gong baths hold an answer?
Hannah Ewens
London, GB

Alternative therapies are no longer the preserve of people who own multiple pairs of harem trousers. They're getting trendier, sleeker and more acceptable as spirituality and wellness become part and parcel of everyday life.

VICE UK's Hannah Ewens has watched the rise of these treatments over the last half a decade. Having spent thousands on talking therapy herself, she decided to investigate whether people looking to manage their mental health and wellbeing should bother shelling out on these alternative techniques, or if they're all overpriced fads.

In the process, she was gonged into peace of mind by sound therapist Louise Shiels and floated away in an isolation tank at London's "leading float centre", Floatworks. Later, she deep-breathed into her bodily-held trauma and anxiety at Breath Pod, and visited Rachel Welford to learn how to tap away fears using the Emotional Freedom Technique.

@hannahrosewens