Amanda: Discovering the power of positive stress

You know the saying, “You’re getting on my last nerve…”? Before I began my journey into cold water therapy, that was how I felt all the time – as though I had just one nerve left and it was starting to fray. My entire body was in such a state of stress that I had difficulty focusing – it felt as though I lived in a fog punctuated by only migraine headaches.

The cause of my troubles is hard to pinpoint, but looking back it seems as though little things built up over time and eventually became overwhelming, to the extent that my body was in a state of “dis-ease”. At that point, I took an introspective look at my life and decided to put healthy development strategies into place. 

I started by reading about the Wim Hof Method, and followed his guided cold shower routine. Wim Hof is famous for his ability to withstand cold: he has run barefoot in the Arctic; climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts; and subjected himself to very long periods of immersion in cold water and ice. But Hof does not love the cold – in fact, he says he hates being cold – the cold is simply a tool to help him train his mind and his body. 

For me, setting an intention to do something uncomfortable, painful even, and pushing past my defense mechanisms to actually complete what I set out to do was an eye-opening experience. Focusing on deeper, controlled breathing and fighting the urge to panic was harder than I could have imagined. I learned to use self-talk to counter my panic (“You are calm…you are okay…you are not going to die…”), and then switched to more positive affirmations as I began to take control of my flight-or-fight response (“I am calm. I am thankful. I am alive!”). 

I then took what I had learned from cold shower therapy and applied to full cold water immersion, which has not only helped me build mental resilience, lower my heart rate, and reduce inflammation, but has been essential for stress management. At one point I dropped something on the floor and noticed that, for once, I didn’t wince as it hit the ground. I thought, “Wow! That’s how someone with a regulated nervous system should react!” I also have fewer headaches and migraines, and the fog that was clouding my mind has lifted. 

For me, the hormetic effect of cold water immersion has been obvious: a small amount of positive stress has empowered my health, forcing my mind to adapt and creating excitatory neurotransmitters that contribute to my mental clarity and positive attitude. Physically and mentally, I am in a new state of balanced, grounded well-being.