Isolation - Mind Field (Ep 1) 

"I think I'm gonna have dinner now." - Michael Stevens, 11:00 a.m.

When Michael says “good morning” and he’s only slept for like an hour and a half... actually weirdly disturbing.

William: “I spent years, sometimes months on end, in this little room with no external stimuli, only food slipped through a slot in the door and my own thoughts. It is, quite literally, mentally scarring.” Michael: “Cool! I’m gonna do it too!” William: 👁️ 👁️ 👄

28:29 I appreciate their restraint in not jumping up and walking over and ending the experiment when he cracked the door, but rather waiting to see what he would do.

Honestly, when he said "I don't think I'm getting out today.", I felt kinda sad.

"I've known Michael for 3 years and I've never seen him do a pushup."

There's 2 things that actually make it easier for him 1. He knows if he gets too crazy he gets released. 2. He knows he's being watched, he still has a camera to interact with. It'd even worse if you don't have those.

The last several minutes of Michael's time in the room were literally identical to depression; that is _exactly_ how depressed people act.

The heartbreak in his voice when he says “I don’t think I’m getting out today”

Imagine when they walked in they say “Oops totally forgot that you were in here Michael, it’s been a month”

Man, what are we doing in this country with our penal system? Seeing Michael essentially in solitary for three days, but by choice, was sobering. I spent a little over three days in a community jail back in 2010 (I was literally wrong place wrong time on Friday evening of the weekend before new years, my charges were all dropped in court a couple months afterwards), and even though I was surrounded by people and there were stimuli like books etc, I found myself pacing the same way he did. I did pull-ups on my bunk until I couldn't anymore. I read every single book there because I couldn't sleep. I cried in the shower where the warm water did something to make me feel better. And I was only there for three days. I can't imagine how much worse it would have been to be in solitary. At this point, I'm certain that every person who has spent time in jail has experienced trauma or brain damage of some variety, and it definitely needs to change. I think of Otto Warmbier (the kid who visited North Korea and was imprisoned for stealing a poster). He came back with extreme brain damage, but there were no signs of physical assault or extreme abuse. While I'm sure something nefarious happened there, I do wonder how much of that was due to his brain decaying from his time spent in solitary confinement in a hostile, foreign country. We see it with mass murderers on trial, too. They oftentimes appear completely catatonic. While these people need to be severely punished, is it really humane to be giving them brain damage and possible psychological damage beyond repair before they've been sentenced? I'm impressed by the man in the video who said he spent 5 consecutive months in solitary and now well spoken and wise he appeared. Imagine how alive that man must've been before they stole pieces of his personality from him. We're supposed to be against cruel and inhumane punishment here, yet Michael's video makes it clear that our entire penal system is cruel and inhumane as is. Especially when it's a matter of a truly innocent person being imprisoned. I don't know what the answer is. So I don't know that I should've even brought up the issue, but something has to change. At the very least we need to be looking to rehabilitate criminals so they don't get out and go back to doing the same shit. Again though, I don't know what the answer is. Thank you for doing this Michael. This was harrowing to watch. As a biophysicist who does research on how the brain works and operates, I'm particularly interested in how isolation might harm us. Some individuals never get over the trauma of isolation and literally go insane from it. I'm curious where that difference lies and what we can do to prevent it from occurring in general. This video was as enlightening as it was horrifying. Thanks for everything you and your team do for the good of science.

I love this video but i cant help but laugh at Michael spinning in circles at 19:30 Truly insightful

I worked as a prison guard in a solitary confinement area. The other guards really just stayed in their central area. I would actually get out and go by each cell and talk to everyone for a bit. Let them know what all was happening in the world, what time it was, what was going on in the world, etc. I had grown men, literally crying to find out it was raining outside, they literally couldn't remember what raid looked like. It's inhumane.

“Being in a room like this can lead to brain damage” 3 years later “Do chairs exist?”

This video has made me uncomfortably aware of all the little things and ways I think to cope with being alone. I don't really have that many friends and have recently recovered from a really tough depression in which I completely isolated myself for probably about 99% of my time. I feel... sober? now. As if I was lost in my own world for an eternity and so many habits I have of viewing the world are so... flawed than the way the actual world operates. I can't really put the experience into words but I think that's the point. Isolation has to be one of the worst things you can do to a human being.

"He who travels the fastest, travels alone. He who travels the furthest, travels with others." That's a top tier quote right there.

"Now I'm upset." I think this is the first time I've seen Michael express any sort of negative emotion.

“I don’t like the smell of this soap” “Clearly Michael is very uncomfortable right now”

"I don't think I'm getting out today" Absolutely heart breaking

My biggest toxic trait is thinking I'd be able to get through this with my adhd alone💀

I'm curious as to what he 'dreamt' that made him open the door.

I feel bad for the poor editor that had to filter through 72 hours of footage.

27:32 even when he is half awake he still got that signature eyebrow raise

Watching someone else deal with depression, anxiety, and isolation helps me fully understand how hard it was for my parents and family to see me struggle with it.

Michael: "I'm kind of scared about this" *3 days later* "This soap is really unique. It's not a kind of soap I've used before."

Michael: I will be staying in this room... for three days Me: I will be watching free Mind Field episodes... for three days

This is how I was during COVID isolation. I vividly remember staying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and I couldn't even understand what the teacher was saying in online class. Even though I knew it was morning, my body couldn't tell, because I never opened the blinds, and my room was always dark. I have never, ever felt depression like I did then. I became obese, I over-ate because it was the only thing to do, and I got to a point where I felt desperate to get out, do something, be somewhere. The moment schools opened for half-days, I was rushing to be there, every day I could. I just wanted to talk to someone other than my abusive family. It was the worst 2 years of my entire life. I don't think I've been the same since then.

The moment when he opened the door and then just went back in blew my mind. I don't even know what it means, it was just unbelievable.

I'm really surprised that he didn't end up playing with those bottles. Stacking, tossing, something.

I’m ok with staying in that room for 3 days, but I’m not ok with everybody able to hear everything hitting the water when I take a shit

At my worst, I pretty much put myself through this, in the sense that I wasn’t allowing myself any communication with others. I trapped myself in my room & I only had myself, alcohol and tv/my phone to entertain me. I’d comment on posts on social media, but outside of that, there was no verbal communication. When I was inebriated, I’d react/talk to myself about what was happening in the videos/shows I was watching & acting as if I was filming myself and talking to an audience. In that state, since I was actively doing it to myself, I didn’t recognize that I wanted communication. I was just scared to communicate because I had shut myself off from other people for so long. What Michael said at the end, about experiences, really struck a cord with me because it reminded me of what I’d been missing in those moments. I had nobody except myself. And the sad thing is, I did it to myself. Glad to be better & I’m glad that I’ve gotten better at communication. I struggle sometimes, but that’s part of the process. All in all, I guess losing your mind is important sometimes, right?

The biggest unspoken factor is how bright it is in there, greatly affecting his sleep

Michael's wife: **crying because vsauce might lose his sanity** Michael: "i dont like the smell of the soap"

It's SHOCKING, what lengths people will go to just to avoid boredom.

I have been disabled in bed for over 15 years. I experience a lot of isolation. If it were not for video games I'd be totally unraveled. I miss my friends and playing music with them the most. I have become very adept at maladaptive daydreaming, a trauma response to long term isolation.

This is the living embodiment of “Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with rats. And rats make me crazy.” EDIT: thanks for almost a HUNDRED likes on this comment?! Wow, I didn’t think a stupid shitpost would make me the talk of the town! You know where else you can do this? ON MY VIDEOS THAT I’VE MADE.

If I were left alone in a room for three days like that I'd have developed a new language and created a tribe of people composed of nails and pubes and established myself as their god.

When he came out he should have said HEY VSAUCE MICHAEL HERE

Michael is an amazing example of a human person just like you or I, who will go through great lengths to explore the world of science. Thank you, Michael.

This is probably the BEST thing to get out of RU-vid Originals...

He should've just said prime numbers for 72 hours.

Michael not only returned to us but also made Mind Field free. Truly a generous god

Nice to see Michael becoming OMORI from the hit indie rpg game OMORI

This reminds me of my visit to the mental hospital. It’s not completely solitary confinement goddamn it was hard. I remembered my third night there I didn’t have a roommate so I was completely alone. I started pacing around, looking for something, anything sharp and talking to myself. I started pulling at the sheets but they were sewn onto the mattress. Tried suffocating myself in the pillow but it was breathable. There was a window covering up the actual window and the windows were frosted so I couldn’t see outside at all. I started desperately trying to pry off the window and I went to bed crying because I wanted to go home. That was with stumli and other people to talk to. I think I would’ve fully gone mad if I spent those three days in that room. Not to mention, our prison system is just evil for placing people in those.

If he was in there against his will, not knowing he will be out in those 3 days I bet he would suffer brain damage.

Michael is a brave man for letting those legs hang off the bed while he sleeps

Watching someone else react to your words help you truly experience it is a monumental insight

I was held in isolation for 94 days for a crime I didn't commit. Time progressively slows down to the point where an hour feels like an entire day. You find yourself creating entire alternate realities in your mind. You go from sleeping half the day to pass time to being awake for days daydreaming half the time. You entirely lose track of time, day and night. It is by far the worst thing I could ever imagine having to experience. I would have rather been tortured. Luckily I had access to read 3 books per week or I would have quite literally lost my mind

Soap: *exists* Michael: “and I took that personally”

Who is here after Michael made all the epis free? I am crying in broke

That chamber changed michael forever, he will never be the same

He was never the same after this video....

Cool to see Michael spend 3 days as a discord mod

Prisoner: Isolation is really bad Michael: I'm doing that for three days because I want to Prisoner: "confused look"

Fascinating! I experienced pretty intense boredom on a 10 day meditation retreat and found it very interesting how my brain would conjure up all sorts of memories to keep me distracted

After this, he became insane, staring into our souls in every short he makes.

Why didn't you do bottle flips??!

"I've known Michael for 3 years and I've never seen him do a push up." LMAO.....

25:25 the “Did I…?” is just life with ADHD.

i feel like mr beast didn’t actually spend 7 days in the room, considering the effect less than half of the time had on vsauce

i take a 3 hour nap and I don't know what day it is

"This is about as boring as a room can get." Wrong. It has carpet.

Jameson was not a good test subject I wouldve sat there for 3 hours zoning out, making my own movie in my mind. Take a nap, sing a song, sort out my life.

I always thought I'm alone and isolated but after watching this one I must conclude: NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Me: mom get me popcorn. Mom: why. Me: I'm going to watch someone get tortured

"Why is this on RU-vid Red?! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" 1. It's a half an hour 2. He had scientists and doctors help him (and I doubt it was free) 3. He had that isolation room and observation room built for this (or rented for this, if it existed already) 4. He rented the sensory deprivation chamber RU-vid Red allows its creators to go above and beyond with their videos. Get over it.

Did anyone 32:14 else notice he sort of had a lisp and I seems like h e got more of lisp after the chamber

He was never the same after this

*goes to bed at **3:35**pm wakes up at **4:50**pm* 'I don't know if I slept for 8 hours or if I slept for 3' Oh boy

*You could flip the bottles.*

This has made me realize my overeating may come not only from my original issues but more recently is being effected by my sleep being fucked for a few years

Love how when he goes insane he does vsauce in his head

"Good morning." - Michael Stevens, 4:00 p.m.

I felt so bad when he counted 6 not 9 water bottles :(

I really liked to watch the full time of 72 hours and how you managed the suffering of isolation !

oh so this is how he went insane

I wonder what would have happened to him if while being isolated one song was on repeat for the span of that time. I feel like that would have really mentally screwed him up.

"Mum, I'm bored." "Be glad you're not like Michael, sweetie."

Imagine if he stopped believing there was anything outside the room. That would have been chilling

I have been watching vsauce for over 12 years, but still i was today years old that i found out that vsauce is actually married.

i like how his mom was almost crying while he was worried about his water

"Me with myself for 3 days- sounds like my weekends

It's good to know that there are videos like these to watch whenever I'm washing dishes or doing laundry. Thanks, youtube. And yeah, knowledgeable videos like this keep me away from boredom so this is damn right.

is this why his new shorts are so insane

So if people would rather torture themselves than be bored, that means boredom is the ultimate torture.

I really like the idea of that door opening at the end and some guy telling him "dude, you've been in there for 15 minutes"

Man I'm happy I got to know your channel. You are the best teacher I have ever had.

My Psychology teacher played this in my Psychology class. Its one of the only Psychology videos i purposely wanted to watch in my free time.

“... I don’t think i’m getting out today” was weirdly both sad and funny at the same time

from his ama: Q: Hey Michael! In episode 1 of Mind Field there was a scene when you woke up and appeared quite disoriented and confused, so confused that you needed to open the door to the test chamber to confirm your reality. I'm dying to know what were you dreaming about? A: Essentially, I had started to lose the ability to differentiate dreams from reality. For some reason, I was in the room in both. I dreamt that someone (not anyone I'd ever met, but someone who seemed familiar in the dream) had come into the room and told me I was done. That 72 hours was up. But then I woke up. But I didn't realize that I'd woken up. I saw the door closed and wondered why they'd left and closed the door behind themselves. I figured everyone was just busy or something and that I could come out when I felt like it. So I opened the door but it was so dark and nothing was moving. I was really confused and anxious about being confused. Who had been in the room? Why was I alone? I had been so certain that I was finished. That I could come out. But no. I was still alone. Always had been.

I don't know why but seeing Michael pace around in circles while counting was hilarious

I remember I was a patient in a mental hospital, and the hardest part about it was nights Because we had to have the lights off there was no clocks just wouldn’t know. I remember waking up in the night and panicking after trying to figure out if I should go back to sleep or stay awake I can’t even imagine being completely separated from everything for three days

That was damn interesting. I wanna know what he dreamt though.

Petition to release the raw 72 hour footage. #releasetherawfootage

I like to use these "Mind Field" videos as a kind of countdown to Christmas. In Sweden we celebrate Christmas during Christmas Eve (nobody cares about Christmas Day, except that it is considered a holiday), and it is tradition to have some Christmas-themed television series every year throughout December up to and including date 24, and there are exactly 24 "Mind Field" videos, so that is perfect, lol.

“he’s not enjoying this, he wants out of there” @28:20 thanks for the insightful input!

Hey! Vsauce, depression here.

Scientist: You should never confine your self in a room for more than 3 days Vsauce: I'm gonna do what's called a pro gamer move

Him saying "good morning" after like an hour of sleep will always kill me lol

It maybe true that "He travels fastest travels alone" but he who travels furthest, travels with others 33:02