Prolonged trials submerge consciousness until ordinary life disappears

Evidence

Being in trial, Schlichtmann once said, is like being submerged in deep water for weeks at a time. The world above becomes a faint echo. War, scandal, and natural disaster may occur, but none of it seems to matter. The details of the case occupy every waking hour and usually intrude into dreams as well. Existence becomes spartan. When you finally come to the surface to breathe normally again, the world seems altered in fundamental ways. Win or lose, you set about rediscovering pleasures only dimly remembered. Colors seem brighter, food tastes better, the weather is of compelling interest. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 614

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The immersion-loss-reentry structure generalizes: any totalizing absorption (trial, surgery, campaign) recalibrates the sensorium and makes return feel like resurrection.
• XREF: connects to: Brief attentive retreats change how one perceives ordinary life afterward

Broader Connections

• Brief attentive retreats change how one perceives ordinary life afterward #complicates (0.75)