From Burnout to Joy: The Life Changing Benefits of Cold Water Immersion | Vitruvian

Video·John Richter - Chest Freezer Cold Plunge·9 min read·September 17, 2021

A personal account of trauma, burnout, chronic fatigue, and the cold water ritual that helped one woman find steadier energy, deeper sleep, and a renewed sense of joy.

Before the Cold

Jyn Hodgson lives in Derbyshire, just south of Manchester. She entered the conversation through cold water, but her story begins long before the first shower, in a body that had carried too much for too long.

For years, achievement gave her a way to keep moving. She thrived in pressure, threw herself into work, and used intensity as a shield against childhood trauma that had never settled. The pattern looked productive from the outside; inside, it was survival shaped into a career.

The cost accumulated quietly. Violent dreams followed her through life, and her energy never felt reliable. Even at university, people noticed that she needed regular rests to recharge, as if her system required pauses other people did not need.

In her forties, that strain became harder to contain. Public conversations around abuse in the United Kingdom brought old trauma closer to the surface, and she began to understand that the symptoms were not weakness or temperament. They were the body remembering what the mind had worked to bury.

The years that followed were marked by PTSD, chronic fatigue, unstable emotions, and sleep that gave little restoration. Work became harder to hold. Caffeine and sugar became tools for getting through the day, brief sparks against a deeper depletion.

She kept trying to keep her job, even when her energy crashed and time away from work became unavoidable. The pressure to function did not create capacity; it only deepened the exhaustion. Eventually, she lost the role she had fought to protect.

By then, she had searched widely for support. Supplements, keto, meditation, counseling, exercise, clean eating, cutting alcohol, stopping caffeine, returning to caffeine, sleep medication, and other prescribed support all entered the picture. Each carried effort, intention, and hope.

Nothing within reach restored the equilibrium she needed. She was open about her experience because silence had already taken enough from her, yet openness did not remove the fatigue or the night terrors. She needed a practice that could meet the body directly.

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[Music] hi this is john with chest freezer cold plunge and i'm really grateful and plunge and i'm really grateful and excited to have jyn hodgson's hodgson excited to have jyn hodgson's hodgson with us this morning and we're just with us this morning and we're just going to have a conversation about her going to have a conversation about her journey with the cold water what was journey with the cold water what was going on with her before going on with her before she started this practice and how it's she started this practice and how it's made a difference for her and then we'll made a difference for her and then we'll also have a little bit of a chat about also have a little bit of a chat about how she how she got this chest freezer cole plunge up got this chest freezer cole plunge up and running and uh she can maybe give and running and uh she can maybe give you some insights or tips about uh how you some insights or tips about uh how she went about doing that and you know she went about doing that and you know what her do-it-yourself skill level was what her do-it-yourself skill level was before before but really the most important thing is but really the most important thing is uh not really so much about the how she uh not really so much about the how she did it but the why she did it so jyn did it but the why she did it so jyn welcome thank you for having this welcome thank you for having this conversation with me today well thank conversation with me today well thank you so much it's a real pleasure to be you so much it's a real pleasure to be here and and try to help spread the word here and and try to help spread the word about cold water great so so just so the about cold water great so so just so the people watching can know where you are people watching can know where you are uh where where are you in the world

uh where where are you in the world i'm in um sunny derbyshire which is just i'm in um sunny derbyshire which is just south of manchester so everyone's heard south of manchester so everyone's heard of manchester united they're just the of manchester united they're just the road from me road from me all right awesome all right awesome so uh so tell me why don't we start with so uh so tell me why don't we start with just uh you know what was you've had just uh you know what was you've had quite a story and uh i know a little bit quite a story and uh i know a little bit about it just from what i've read in the about it just from what i've read in the group that you're in and um i would love group that you're in and um i would love for you to share uh just whatever you'd for you to share uh just whatever you'd love to share with uh just about your love to share with uh just about your the challenges that you were facing and the challenges that you were facing and the struggles that you were facing the struggles that you were facing before you found cold water and maybe before you found cold water and maybe you can tell us a little bit about what you can tell us a little bit about what you tried and you tried and what wasn't working to start with to what wasn't working to start with to kind of frame this conversation kind of frame this conversation okay so okay so um about two years ago um about two years ago i started to struggle with work i've i started to struggle with work i've always been a real high achiever always been a real high achiever and i've thrived under a pressurized and i've thrived under a pressurized myself i realized now that that was myself i realized now that that was because i was trying to distract myself because i was trying to distract myself from from trauma trauma which i um which i um you know experienced as a child

you know experienced as a child and i think there's only so much you can and i think there's only so much you can put your body through decade after put your body through decade after decade i decade i all my life i've had violent dreams and all my life i've had violent dreams and nightmares nightmares i've always been extremely i've always been extremely intense intense and i've had real issues with my energy and i've had real issues with my energy levels levels even at university people used to even at university people used to think it was quite amusing that i needed think it was quite amusing that i needed to have rests all the time to kind of to have rests all the time to kind of recharge recharge and as i you know as the decades passed and as i you know as the decades passed i'm in my 40s now i'm in my 40s now that got worse that got worse but also um the metoo movements sprung but also um the metoo movements sprung up and here in the uk um you know don't up and here in the uk um you know don't even like say his name whole jimmy sabal even like say his name whole jimmy sabal um affair he was a um affair he was a big tv personality and he'd been allowed big tv personality and he'd been allowed to abuse many many to abuse many many children and adults children and adults and and i realize now that triggered ptsd myself i realize now that triggered ptsd myself which i think had had low lying all my which i think had had low lying all my life i'm getting better understanding of life i'm getting better understanding of it now

it now and and i got really very seriously ill i got really very seriously ill with it with it you know just go down the list of you know just go down the list of symptoms and i have them all i was symptoms and i have them all i was acutely ill acutely ill and uh and uh i also developed i also developed chronic fatigue chronic fatigue so that kind of you know so that kind of you know ptsd you're ptsd you're oh my gosh your energy levels are all oh my gosh your energy levels are all over place your emotions all over the over place your emotions all over the place place i've always had difficulty controlling i've always had difficulty controlling my emotions that's why i was kind of a my emotions that's why i was kind of a workaholic workaholic he's just throwing myself into work and he's just throwing myself into work and exhausted myself with bats exhausted myself with bats and um my sleep was terrible and um my sleep was terrible um my diet was terrible i was propping um my diet was terrible i was propping myself up with caffeine and sugar just myself up with caffeine and sugar just to try to get through the day desperate to try to get through the day desperate to keep my job trying to work through to keep my job trying to work through fatigue fatigue and um and um you know just kept having to have time you know just kept having to have time time off work and it was just terrible time off work and it was just terrible and and yeah eventually i did lose my job that yeah eventually i did lose my job that tends to be what happens to people

tends to be what happens to people because you know there's no system to because you know there's no system to fall back on you've got to work you've fall back on you've got to work you've got to try to work and that's what the got to try to work and that's what the doctors encourage you to do doctors encourage you to do but when you've got um but when you've got um ptsd and fatigue like i think i don't ptsd and fatigue like i think i don't even taste it as a mental health thing even taste it as a mental health thing anymore it's actually recognized that anymore it's actually recognized that trauma is in the body as much my mind i trauma is in the body as much my mind i think this is a massive thing for cold think this is a massive thing for cold water water um um you know i found myself in in a really you know i found myself in in a really bad place with an illness which i bad place with an illness which i couldn't control i tried everything couldn't control i tried everything i tried supplements i tried keto i tried i tried supplements i tried keto i tried meditation meditation i tried you know obviously there's times i tried you know obviously there's times when you can't do anything you just when you can't do anything you just there on the sofa just try to recharge there on the sofa just try to recharge and um and um you know you know counseling all that kind of thing and i counseling all that kind of thing and i was pretty desperate so so you it sounds like you've done you so you it sounds like you've done you did a huge amount of things did a huge amount of things could be honestly you know i tried i could be honestly you know i tried i tried everything exercise tried everything exercise and sleeping tablets because i was

and sleeping tablets because i was having such terrible time sleeping having such terrible time sleeping there's a virgin i you know got my calm there's a virgin i you know got my calm up and i was oh doing all the dietary up and i was oh doing all the dietary stuff clean eating cut out alcohol stuff clean eating cut out alcohol cut out caffeine back on caffeine so i cut out caffeine back on caffeine so i was like so i mean there's nothing i was like so i mean there's nothing i felt within my grasp that i hadn't tried felt within my grasp that i hadn't tried and then and then in um in um i think it was in december i started i think it was in december i started seeing pictures of a few friends seeing pictures of a few friends going in the local river doing cold going in the local river doing cold water water and some people had um told me about and some people had um told me about outdoor swimming and how much it helped outdoor swimming and how much it helped them them so i've been very open about what i've so i've been very open about what i've been going through because been going through because um um well i just i just felt it it helps me and it would help other people because it's such a help other people because it's such a kind of closed thing and a closed kind of closed thing and a closed experience you go online to read about experience you go online to read about ptsd and ptsd and chronic fatigue and it it doesn't even chronic fatigue and it it doesn't even scratch the surface of what it's like to scratch the surface of what it's like to experience it right and i think there's

experience it right and i think there's here at least in the us i know there's here at least in the us i know there's also a very big stigma with expressing also a very big stigma with expressing anything that's going on emotionally or anything that's going on emotionally or or mentally in terms of you know ptsd or or mentally in terms of you know ptsd or insomnia or anxiety or depression insomnia or anxiety or depression you know people it's it's not okay to you know people it's it's not okay to say hey i'm feeling these huge heavy say hey i'm feeling these huge heavy things in my life and it's impacting my things in my life and it's impacting my work my relationships my family work my relationships my family everything everything absolutely so yeah so so i really want absolutely so yeah so so i really want to acknowledge you just to say that to acknowledge you just to say that you're having the courage to speak out you're having the courage to speak out and be very open about that makes a huge and be very open about that makes a huge difference and that i think that's going difference and that i think that's going to inspire a lot more people to where i to inspire a lot more people to where i think ultimately my hope is that someday think ultimately my hope is that someday this can be a normalized conversation to this can be a normalized conversation to say that it's okay to talk about these say that it's okay to talk about these things and address them things and address them well and you know well and you know i know this makes people uncomfortable i know this makes people uncomfortable and i you know i didn't mention it but and i you know i didn't mention it but what i do want to say is that i was what i do want to say is that i was abused as a child and i kept that in for abused as a child and i kept that in for many many years many many years and actually i've learned that when you and actually i've learned that when you keep that trauma inside not only are you keep that trauma inside not only are you damaging yourself you're stopping other damaging yourself you're stopping other people from speaking out and being able people from speaking out and being able to report it

to report it and that's what i did i went to the and that's what i did i went to the police and police and um um you know you know got somewhere with them we got a certain got somewhere with them we got a certain um certain distance but i've learned um certain distance but i've learned that keeping these things in and not that keeping these things in and not talking about it and the shame of it talking about it and the shame of it you're not helping yourself and you're you're not helping yourself and you're not necessarily helping other people not necessarily helping other people that's just my view of it and that's my that's just my view of it and that's my experience but i kind of do want to say experience but i kind of do want to say that as well that as well right and and that's that's actually right and and that's that's actually almost an entirely different almost an entirely different conversation but it's certainly conversation but it's certainly tangential to what we're talking about tangential to what we're talking about which is the like the shadow work or the which is the like the shadow work or the integration work you know i think uh integration work you know i think uh almost everybody has some degree of almost everybody has some degree of trauma uh trauma uh or another in their lives and we don't or another in their lives and we don't want to talk about these things because want to talk about these things because they're uncomfortable they're uncomfortable trauma comes in so many different forms trauma comes in so many different forms and i've learned so much and i've learned so much and that's where i'm quite passionate and that's where i'm quite passionate about the cold water because now i about the cold water because now i understand more about how trauma works understand more about how trauma works it's not up here it's not up here it's actually right down here

it's actually right down here and i think well i passionately and i think well i passionately passionately believe for some people passionately believe for some people that you know cold water and i do the that you know cold water and i do the breath work as well because i believe breath work as well because i believe that adds to it that adds to it there's clear um there's clear um phil phil is it how do i say this you know the is it how do i say this you know the actual um actual um the studies which you can actually say the studies which you can actually say this is what is physically happening in this is what is physically happening in the body the body and this is what cold water does to it and this is what cold water does to it some people need to know the science i some people need to know the science i actually don't because i within days i actually don't because i within days i was was um getting benefits from it and that was um getting benefits from it and that was just from starting with the cold water just from starting with the cold water swimming swimming yeah so i saw these yeah so i saw these i'm sorry i was to ask you were you i'm sorry i was to ask you were you doing the wim hof method officially at doing the wim hof method officially at that point did you add the breathing or that point did you add the breathing or was it just the swimming that started to was it just the swimming that started to even make that difference well this is even make that difference well this is awful i can't really swim very well at awful i can't really swim very well at all so i'm not a swimmer and i used to all so i'm not a swimmer and i used to hate getting cold a lot of people say hate getting cold a lot of people say that oh i don't like being cold i was that oh i don't like being cold i was quite a cool person quite a cool person i'm not you know one of these to strip i'm not you know one of these to strip off and just run and jump in a lake i am

off and just run and jump in a lake i am now but i wasn't there now but i wasn't there and but yeah someone i know and but yeah someone i know who one of the ladies who was getting in who one of the ladies who was getting in the water was quite open with me about the water was quite open with me about her ptsd and how she felt the water was her ptsd and how she felt the water was helping helping and i was literally at desperation and i was literally at desperation points um i was unemployed points um i was unemployed i was very hesitant to apply for jobs i was very hesitant to apply for jobs because i couldn't rely on my health because i couldn't rely on my health whether i would have a crash or not whether i would have a crash or not that's really really difficult you know that's really really difficult you know i don't let myself down again i don't let myself down again as i felt i was doing for an employer so as i felt i was doing for an employer so i was desperate i was desperate and so and so um she said why not try a cold shower um she said why not try a cold shower and so and so i did i just turned my shower to cold i did i just turned my shower to cold and got under it and got under it and basically i was like me and basically i was like me something like that right about um i something like that right about um i think i managed to do just under 30 think i managed to do just under 30 seconds my first time seconds my first time and i did measure the water temperature and i did measure the water temperature here in the uk it was in january it was here in the uk it was in january it was about six degrees so it's pretty chilly about six degrees so it's pretty chilly and then from that um

and then from that um well i stuck at it did it the second day well i stuck at it did it the second day and then on the third day and then on the third day for me something absolutely incredible for me something absolutely incredible happened happened i managed to get up to about i think i managed to get up to about i think about one and a half to two minutes about one and a half to two minutes and i suddenly felt this and i suddenly felt this i'm used to it now but then i felt this i'm used to it now but then i felt this surge surge of of energy energy and all i can describe is happiness and all i can describe is happiness and all my life and all my life i've just been dead inside i know i've just been dead inside i know i've i've tried to make a smile of course i've got tried to make a smile of course i've got loving family and things but i knew i loving family and things but i knew i believed i wasn't truly feeling believed i wasn't truly feeling happiness it was just somehow locked happiness it was just somehow locked down in me so i've punished myself my down in me so i've punished myself my whole life what i felt i allowed to be whole life what i felt i allowed to be done to myself done to myself and just to feel that moment of and just to feel that moment of what can i describe it as sheer joy what can i describe it as sheer joy but also to feel the energy because but also to feel the energy because i realized i thought this energy is

i realized i thought this energy is inside me inside me it's here it's almost as if it got it's here it's almost as if it got unlocked in that moment unlocked in that moment and that was a turning point for me and and that was a turning point for me and uh from that i continued the cold uh from that i continued the cold showers showers i was getting that lift i was getting that lift i was also doing the breath work as well i was also doing the breath work as well which which i didn't get the lift from but i was i didn't get the lift from but i was kind of feeling mellow and relaxed so kind of feeling mellow and relaxed so that was kind of really nice that was kind of really nice but then the next big moment was the but then the next big moment was the week after week after and someone said hey we're going down to and someone said hey we're going down to the reservoir the reservoir and bear in mind it was i think it was and bear in mind it was i think it was like minus 15 degrees wind chill so i like minus 15 degrees wind chill so i was actually really lucky we had a was actually really lucky we had a really severe winter here really severe winter here and we broke the ice i got in that water and we broke the ice i got in that water and i sat in it for four minutes i and i sat in it for four minutes i didn't have any specialist gear my feet didn't have any specialist gear my feet were freezing were freezing my hands felt like concrete blocks my hands felt like concrete blocks and and i got back in my car hot water bottle i got back in my car hot water bottle and all that drove home

and all that drove home started shaking started shaking like i really thought i'd hurt myself like i really thought i'd hurt myself i'm like this this isn't good you know i'm like this this isn't good you know this is can't be good this is can't be good but then about two hours later but then about two hours later we've gone out to walk dog to try and we've gone out to walk dog to try and get my circulation going get my circulation going and um i had what i classed as one of my and um i had what i classed as one of my most remarkable moments in my life most remarkable moments in my life in that um we were walking down the in that um we were walking down the canal and i stopped dead in my tracks canal and i stopped dead in my tracks because i felt because i felt the thing that had been there the thing that had been there for decades in my mind i felt it lived i for decades in my mind i felt it lived i felt the blackness felt the blackness i thought would like to see my mind i thought would like to see my mind actually lift and i think anyone who's actually lift and i think anyone who's experienced depression experienced depression will know what i'm saying when i say will know what i'm saying when i say that that and it just it was gone and it just it was gone it was so strange it was gone it's it was so strange it was gone it's something i've had to fight to kind of something i've had to fight to kind of push back and hold back on so much of my push back and hold back on so much of my life and this was within the first like life and this was within the first like week or so this was in the second week week or so this was in the second week the second week so maybe about eight

the second week so maybe about eight days in eight nine days in days in eight nine days in and it was replaced not by nothing it's and it was replaced not by nothing it's not it just went it was replaced by this not it just went it was replaced by this feeling of just like fuzzy feeling of just like fuzzy joy in my mind joy in my mind it was just i'd never felt anything like it was just i'd never felt anything like it it's not like being happy maybe when it it's not like being happy maybe when you see a long lost friend or christmas you see a long lost friend or christmas day or something like that it was day or something like that it was something i've physically not something i've physically not experienced experienced so so you know and that lasted the whole you know and that lasted the whole evening a couple of hours and so i kept evening a couple of hours and so i kept my practice up sometimes going in uh my practice up sometimes going in uh twice a day i actually started going in twice a day i actually started going in the stream at the bottom of my garden the stream at the bottom of my garden [Music] [Music] and those feelings started to get and those feelings started to get stronger and continue for longer stronger and continue for longer and it literally changed my life and it literally changed my life my partner calls me new gen because she my partner calls me new gen because she just says my personality has changed so just says my personality has changed so much much um i don't give a black moods anymore um i don't give a black moods anymore they've never come back they've never come back i'm not saying i'm yeah how long has it i'm not saying i'm yeah how long has it been though certainly oh gosh um well it been though certainly oh gosh um well it will be will be nearly nine months now

nearly nine months now i don't i don't i've not felt it again i've not felt it again i've continued my practice so i do cold i've continued my practice so i do cold water almost every day without fail water almost every day without fail and um and um you know i don't get the mood swings you know i don't get the mood swings they gradually stopped i used to get they gradually stopped i used to get really bad pms and i was just horrible really bad pms and i was just horrible and cold and and cold and angry and i didn't get any of that angry and i didn't get any of that anymore anymore my energy levels i stopped i still had my energy levels i stopped i still had fluctuations so when my engine would fluctuations so when my engine would drop down i'd jump in the shower or go drop down i'd jump in the shower or go down the stream down the stream but gradually that stops i've got such but gradually that stops i've got such steady energy levels i don't need to steady energy levels i don't need to rest rest in the day anymore in the day anymore actually something if you don't mind actually something if you don't mind saying el shamaca what happened to me saying el shamaca what happened to me this was about this was about two to three weeks in two to three weeks in so i always had these awful violent so i always had these awful violent dreams and i understand now that was my dreams and i understand now that was my trauma playing out being chased being trauma playing out being chased being murdered being terrified every night murdered being terrified every night it's all i used to dream about it's all i used to dream about and food started to get less severe as i and food started to get less severe as i was doing the water

was doing the water i've been a few weeks in so my worst i've been a few weeks in so my worst dream i used to have this i call it a dream i used to have this i call it a night terror it was so bad i'd wake up night terror it was so bad i'd wake up and still be in it and still be in it was of um was of um his house and i'm being chased in this his house and i'm being chased in this house to the death by some just like the house to the death by some just like the living dead you know it was just living dead you know it was just terrifying terrifying so so there i was in my dream walking down the there i was in my dream walking down the street and i could see the house street and i could see the house it's amazing it's amazing horror house horror house and in my dream and in my dream i actually said i'm going to change back i actually said i'm going to change back for a nice house and i changed it this for a nice house and i changed it this nice house nice house and since that night i have never had a and since that night i have never had a nightmare again nightmare again wow wow wow wow you know i actually decided not to have you know i actually decided not to have another nightmare in my dream i think i another nightmare in my dream i think i understand now it's called lucid understand now it's called lucid dreaming never had it before dreaming never had it before never had it since never had it since and um actually as time went on i and um actually as time went on i stopped dreaming all together um and you know i do the breath work before bed and again i credit it with

before bed and again i credit it with the cold water the breath work helps as the cold water the breath work helps as well well and that's changed my life i sleep and that's changed my life i sleep literally like a baby literally like a baby that's that's awesome that is an amazing that's that's awesome that is an amazing story oh i've got more john yes tell do story oh i've got more john yes tell do tell tell no no i used to suffer really bad headaches i used to suffer really bad headaches and headaches version on migraines so and headaches version on migraines so i'd have to take um i'd have to take um something called sulfate max in the uk something called sulfate max in the uk which is uh opioids can't take more than which is uh opioids can't take more than three days i would have to take those on three days i would have to take those on a very regular basis i wouldn't go a very regular basis i wouldn't go anywhere without them anywhere without them if i wasn't taking those i was taking if i wasn't taking those i was taking headache tablets and occasionally i had headache tablets and occasionally i had the migraine tablets and it was constant the migraine tablets and it was constant and my partner had always said you need and my partner had always said you need to go and do something you know see a to go and do something you know see a doctor doctor those stops those stops literally that was a game first week or literally that was a game first week or two and i am headache free i i mean two and i am headache free i i mean maybe i've had maybe i've had a couple of headaches in the last a couple of headaches in the last nine months maybe when there's a storm nine months maybe when there's a storm coming can be a bit sensitive but only coming can be a bit sensitive but only very minor so again

very minor so again it's it's and have you have you still continued or and have you have you still continued or needed to take that medication at all needed to take that medication at all no i'm on no medication at all now um i no i'm on no medication at all now um i did go off my meds i was on some st did go off my meds i was on some st john's warts john's warts the reason i went off the meds is the reason i went off the meds is because you know i was on various uh medications from the doctor and it was like a from the doctor and it was like a cocktail and i felt that was cocktail and i felt that was i wasn't at the i wasn't at the point of uh literally being so desperate point of uh literally being so desperate that i had to take it so i felt it was that i had to take it so i felt it was best to take her off so i stopped by best to take her off so i stopped by just just just as just as a quick note uh we do just as just as a quick note uh we do want to say that i'm not a physician and want to say that i'm not a physician and i'm guessing you're not a physician i'm guessing you're not a physician either so if anybody is on medications either so if anybody is on medications you would did you did you talk with your you would did you did you talk with your doctor or did you make the choice to do doctor or did you make the choice to do this on your own no i agreed with my this on your own no i agreed with my doctor to take proper medication doctor to take proper medication and we said we would review whether i and we said we would review whether i needed to go back on it needed to go back on it and that is when i started cold water and that is when i started cold water you know and i went from um you know and i went from um just being you know i fought all my life just being you know i fought all my life with depression i used ever used to feel with depression i used ever used to feel flat or black

flat or black or and you know kind of shut out often or and you know kind of shut out often disassociated at times and disassociated at times and that was why you know i let my life that was why you know i let my life throw myself into work because that was throw myself into work because that was the only time the only time you know i could forget about feeling you know i could forget about feeling like that so kind of been on and off like that so kind of been on and off antidepressants my whole life and then antidepressants my whole life and then when the ptsd came in you know it was when the ptsd came in you know it was kind of kind of um um a bit more heavy-duty medication a bit more heavy-duty medication and so is this is this a physician that and so is this is this a physician that you have seen over time that really you have seen over time that really knows your history and is familiar with knows your history and is familiar with you oh i'm afraid we're in the uk john you oh i'm afraid we're in the uk john so you see a different doctor every time so you see a different doctor every time every time you go to a there's no every time you go to a there's no there's no consistency sadly there's no consistency sadly but he did see your chart with your but he did see your chart with your history or at least she he or she saw history or at least she he or she saw that history um was your doctor or that history um was your doctor or physician so surprised at your ability physician so surprised at your ability to wean off and no longer need these to wean off and no longer need these medications or did they have any comment medications or did they have any comment or thought about what you were doing or thought about what you were doing no this is the uk we've got no this is the uk we've got you know it's a really desperate you know it's a really desperate situation with gps so um no no no not at situation with gps so um no no no not at all

all i've got to say you know it was just i've got to say you know it was just like here's some led to tribe and like here's some led to tribe and there's no effort to look at why i there's no effort to look at why i needed that medication needed that medication um i'd suddenly you know maybe it's the um i'd suddenly you know maybe it's the same i've had to do a lot of the work same i've had to do a lot of the work myself to understand it myself to understand it and um and um you know and try to find solutions i you know and try to find solutions i mean you know with some groups on mean you know with some groups on facebook and i'm sure you know so a lot facebook and i'm sure you know so a lot of people just desperate desperately of people just desperate desperately trying to overcome trying to overcome chronic fatigue long covered depression chronic fatigue long covered depression anxiety all anxiety all all you know insomnia exhaustion all you know insomnia exhaustion whatever it is whatever it is and um trying to find their own and um trying to find their own solutions and you know all our bodies solutions and you know all our bodies are different are different yes and you know cold water i don't yes and you know cold water i don't promise that anyone's going to get the promise that anyone's going to get the results that i have results that i have but i think it's worth a try and i know but i think it's worth a try and i know a lot of people who it's well as you a lot of people who it's well as you know you know we both know what we've know you know we both know what we've seen on the group and other groups it's seen on the group and other groups it's helps very many people right and i think helps very many people right and i think that's an important thing to point out that's an important thing to point out because i know that there are uh some

because i know that there are uh some people who are kind of this in the people who are kind of this in the skeptical mindset and unless you have a skeptical mindset and unless you have a double-blind placebo-controlled double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical study done by a team randomized clinical study done by a team of researchers you know they're not of researchers you know they're not going to accept anything else as going to accept anything else as evidence and uh that's kind of uh evidence and uh that's kind of uh somewhat in opposition to just people somewhat in opposition to just people going out and doing these things you going out and doing these things you know we know we people can become their own researchers people can become their own researchers you know pay attention to their bodies you know pay attention to their bodies and get these incredible results for and get these incredible results for themselves and when you see themselves and when you see large numbers an increasingly large large numbers an increasingly large number of people being able to step into number of people being able to step into cold water and it's having these kind of cold water and it's having these kind of effects they got it makes you go effects they got it makes you go i wonder what's going on here but there i wonder what's going on here but there there now there is a growing amount of there now there is a growing amount of research that is ongoing that has research that is ongoing that has actually already been published and that actually already been published and that is continuing to be done uh taking an is continuing to be done uh taking an interest in the cold water immersion and interest in the cold water immersion and it's great to see that you know we can it's great to see that you know we can we can have these results without that we can have these results without that and that the evidence the the research and that the evidence the the research is actually starting to back what we're is actually starting to back what we're hearing the stories like what you're hearing the stories like what you're sharing with us sharing with us absolutely and you know it does honest

absolutely and you know it does honest thanks i'd never he even heard of a thanks i'd never he even heard of a vagus nerve before vagus nerve before but when when i read about it i'm but when when i read about it i'm thinking oh my gosh that's a feeling i thinking oh my gosh that's a feeling i used to call it my um fountain of used to call it my um fountain of happiness i'm like oh my god it switched happiness i'm like oh my god it switched on again so i've had this feeling coming on again so i've had this feeling coming up up from you know my kind of stomach area up from you know my kind of stomach area up through my body and over to my arms through my body and over to my arms which is where the vagus nerve flows which is where the vagus nerve flows maybe a coincidence maybe not maybe a coincidence maybe not but i think it's one of those things i but i think it's one of those things i totally agreed on with some you know totally agreed on with some you know sciences catching on to this and taking sciences catching on to this and taking a real interest because they can see how a real interest because they can see how many people it's benefiting but also many people it's benefiting but also you know i'll put my hand up i was you know i'll put my hand up i was desperate jumping in a cold shower was desperate jumping in a cold shower was no price to pay right no price to pay right trying to get my life back and i just trying to get my life back and i just all i wanted to do was to be normal all i wanted to do was to be normal again i didn't want to have an energy again i didn't want to have an energy crash crash um i didn't even think for a moment but um i didn't even think for a moment but it might help with ptsd and all the it might help with ptsd and all the other symptoms associated but i didn't other symptoms associated but i didn't even even think about the depression side of it think about the depression side of it yet

yet i've gone from a bit down here to i've gone from a bit down here to wanting to be here to literally wanting to be here to literally and you know i'm not selling anything and you know i'm not selling anything here here literally being up here literally being up here and it's it's transformed my life i'm so and it's it's transformed my life i'm so i don't know you know i have energy i don't know you know i have energy i'm i'm i don't have that i don't have that the black dog you know and that cloud of the black dog you know and that cloud of weighing me down anymore weighing me down anymore you know yeah normal i have good days you know yeah normal i have good days and bad days but not like before right and bad days but not like before right absolutely absolutely yeah so is there before we start talking yeah so is there before we start talking about the chest freezer part of this is about the chest freezer part of this is there anything else that you want to there anything else that you want to share just about your your past or just share just about your your past or just the journey that you've been on in terms the journey that you've been on in terms of how it's helped you that isn't a part of my life it hasn't helped helped you know i you know i sl i sleep i can't believe how well i sl i sleep i can't believe how well i sleep you know i got to a point of sleep you know i got to a point of dreading going to sleep because of what dreading going to sleep because of what i might experience while i was asleep i might experience while i was asleep i look forward to going to sleep now i i look forward to going to sleep now i wake up feeling refreshed

wake up feeling refreshed i just have i just have energy energy all day long all day long i would say settle down a bit because i would say settle down a bit because the first few months i was like i was the first few months i was like i was literally jumping out of bed you know literally jumping out of bed you know like full-on like full-on full of it and full of it and that kind of did settle down which i that kind of did settle down which i think is a good thing it's more normal think is a good thing it's more normal um i've just got really stable um i've just got really stable stable energy levels stable energy levels i don't get moody the same i don't have i don't get moody the same i don't have to try and control it or fight it all to try and control it or fight it all day long which is exhausting day long which is exhausting and i think also people do say you know and i think also people do say you know yeah i can get in this water and it's yeah i can get in this water and it's giving me loads of resilience you know i giving me loads of resilience you know i can do anything well actually that's can do anything well actually that's kind of true kind of true because because i have found that i've always liked i have found that i've always liked confidence i've been very successful but confidence i've been very successful but i've always lacked confidence like many i've always lacked confidence like many of us do of us do and self-belief you know i thought i was and self-belief you know i thought i was fundamentally an awful person fundamentally an awful person and so i and so i have thrived all my life on negative

have thrived all my life on negative thoughts basically about myself thoughts basically about myself but i don't do that anymore and when my but i don't do that anymore and when my mind starts to maybe mind starts to maybe talk to myself like oh you can't achieve talk to myself like oh you can't achieve this oh this isn't going to work i've this oh this isn't going to work i've got something inside me now somehow got something inside me now somehow that says that says i'm gonna have a go at making it work i'm gonna have a go at making it work i'm not gonna listen to you anymore and i'm not gonna listen to you anymore and i just didn't have that before so there i just didn't have that before so there is something there like i'll tell you is something there like i'll tell you today i didn't really fancy getting in today i didn't really fancy getting in my chest freezer this morning my chest freezer this morning i don't quite i don't jump in with wild i don't quite i don't jump in with wild abandon every day and i wasn't really in abandon every day and i wasn't really in the mood but actually i know that when the mood but actually i know that when i'm not really in the mood is precisely i'm not really in the mood is precisely when i should be getting in and i do and when i should be getting in and i do and i do it that's i do it that's i've taken my attitude into other parts i've taken my attitude into other parts of my life all right that's that's of my life all right that's that's amazing thank you amazing thank you thank you so so let's talk like how did thank you so so let's talk like how did the chest freezer fit into this then the chest freezer fit into this then where did where did you get the idea or where did where did you get the idea or come across the idea of uh using a chest come across the idea of uh using a chest freezer and why when you've got access freezer and why when you've got access to this there's these nice natural cold to this there's these nice natural cold waters and the cold showers uh what what

waters and the cold showers uh what what inspired the chest weezer part of this inspired the chest weezer part of this so um i was there going down to my so um i was there going down to my beautiful stream once or twice a day and beautiful stream once or twice a day and it really is very scenic it's like a it really is very scenic it's like a fairy glen you know i was putting photos fairy glen you know i was putting photos on instagram and people were saying oh on instagram and people were saying oh you should do retreats and stuff like you should do retreats and stuff like that looks beautiful and it's very very that looks beautiful and it's very very relaxing however relaxing however the water temperature started to the water temperature started to gradually rise as you would expect gradually rise as you would expect and i did notice and i did notice that the benefits were decreasing that the benefits were decreasing and by that i mean and by that i mean you know you know that kind of that kind of high high i was stopping experiencing i was stopping experiencing and and just just this extra this extra off it's been giving me off it's been giving me stuff it was almost like i think you stuff it was almost like i think you said about um being exponential also oh said about um being exponential also oh i can't remember used a really good i can't remember used a really good phrase john on the forum phrase john on the forum but you know it's like basically i but you know it's like basically i realized that the cold of a water as per

realized that the cold of a water as per the massive sugar for me when it was the massive sugar for me when it was probably probably a couple of degrees in in the river a couple of degrees in in the river so in the reservoir so in the reservoir the colder water the the greater the the colder water the the greater the effect so on odd days when without a effect so on odd days when without a heavy shower and it got colder and heavy shower and it got colder and faster again i come out with that kind faster again i come out with that kind of buzz feeling of buzz feeling kind of more energized whereas when i kind of more energized whereas when i was in there it was getting like 14 was in there it was getting like 14 degrees i've kind of read this is you degrees i've kind of read this is you know when you start to get around 13 14 know when you start to get around 13 14 15 degrees it's not really doing 15 degrees it's not really doing anything for your vagus nerve anymore anything for your vagus nerve anymore and i can kind of literally feel and i can kind of literally feel feel that effect on me feel that effect on me and so um and so um i've kind of seen this chess freezer i've kind of seen this chess freezer group popping up and i thought it looked group popping up and i thought it looked a bit crazy people starting chess a bit crazy people starting chess breezes so we've been looking at the breezes so we've been looking at the back of my mind about it back of my mind about it and and i knew i had to come up with a solution i knew i had to come up with a solution but also i was actually starting emdr but also i was actually starting emdr so it's one of these it's that weird so it's one of these it's that weird magic thing they do to help process magic thing they do to help process trauma yes because although i was

trauma yes because although i was feeling great if i feeling great if i let myself think about what happened to let myself think about what happened to me and the person who did it me and the person who did it i could feel this knot i could feel this knot of tension and discomfort inside of me of tension and discomfort inside of me and while i felt it was manageable i and while i felt it was manageable i felt so strong and so good i'm gonna get felt so strong and so good i'm gonna get i'm gonna get rid of that i'm gonna get rid of that so i was going to start emdr so i was going to start emdr and i thought i want to have and i thought i want to have the cold water there because i think i the cold water there because i think i might need it might need it and so and so i i joined your group facebook have been joined your group facebook have been pushing at me for a while because on a pushing at me for a while because on a few cold water groups few cold water groups and um and um i well straight away you know i well straight away you know i had to look around saw your book now i had to look around saw your book now for i think it was like 20 for i think it was like 20 19 pounds 19 pounds 30 something like that 30 something like that i know i know that 19 pounds if that's going to change that 19 pounds if that's going to change my life i'm going to pay it so i bought my life i'm going to pay it so i bought your book your book and i have to say i'm really um i'm a and i have to say i'm really um i'm a mega skeptical skeptic about ebooks and

mega skeptical skeptic about ebooks and downloads because there's so much trash downloads because there's so much trash on the internet i come from an on the internet i come from an educational background so i know educational background so i know and as soon as i looked at it and saw and as soon as i looked at it and saw the quality and depth of information i the quality and depth of information i thought this guy thought this guy knows knows he knows what it's like and how he knows what it's like and how life-changing it is life-changing it is he's put everything into this book so he's put everything into this book so um i got your book um i got your book i i found a chess freeze on ebay new and found a chess freeze on ebay new and used and um just went for it used and um just went for it awesome and so and how has that changed awesome and so and how has that changed your daily practice then with our tell your daily practice then with our tell us a little bit about uh the us a little bit about uh the accessibility of that or well first of accessibility of that or well first of all before we jump into that uh so was all before we jump into that uh so was it how did you find the process of it how did you find the process of setting it up uh did you did you have setting it up uh did you did you have concerns about doing that was it uh did concerns about doing that was it uh did you have trepidation about you have trepidation about doing the do it yourself doing the do it yourself yeah it was really daunting because yeah it was really daunting because there i am i've spent a few hundred there i am i've spent a few hundred pounds on a chest freezer pounds on a chest freezer and

and you know before is it you can literally you know before is it you can literally ruin it who's not going to want to buy a ruin it who's not going to want to buy a chest freezer covered in um chest freezer covered in um i don't know what jb waterweld is but i don't know what jb waterweld is but you know it looks like concrete when you know it looks like concrete when it's it's um when it's uh cured um when it's uh cured and and yeah it felt like a lot of me to invest yeah it felt like a lot of me to invest in a bit of a risk to take but again for in a bit of a risk to take but again for me me you know i know what this does for me so you know i know what this does for me so if i had spent a few hundred pounds to if i had spent a few hundred pounds to assure myself that my life will continue assure myself that my life will continue as it had been for those past few months as it had been for those past few months well it was a no-brainer really well it was a no-brainer really i think the only thing i will say is it i think the only thing i will say is it can be quite there's so much information can be quite there's so much information in your book and this isn't the in your book and this isn't the criticism but there's so much it's like criticism but there's so much it's like oh no what do i do oh no what do i do do i use this form of you know do i use this form of you know freezer all that form am i going to buy freezer all that form am i going to buy the right size i want you know but just the right size i want you know but just take it step by step choose your freezer take it step by step choose your freezer think about how you're going to seal it think about how you're going to seal it think about how you're going to line it

think about how you're going to line it then think about how you're going to then think about how you're going to keep the water clean keep the water clean and you can either go all out and you and you can either go all out and you know get the ozone generator and know get the ozone generator and custom liners or you know have it spray custom liners or you know have it spray lined or whatever or you can just start lined or whatever or you can just start at the basics and upgrade later which is at the basics and upgrade later which is the route i chose to do the route i chose to do that's awesome so tell us a little bit that's awesome so tell us a little bit about your setup so you got the the used about your setup so you got the the used uh used chest freezer on ebay is that uh used chest freezer on ebay is that correct well it's new unused new okay correct well it's new unused new okay yeah it turned out to be quite literally yeah it turned out to be quite literally off the back of the lorry but it's not off the back of the lorry but it's not stolen but um yeah it was a bit of a stolen but um yeah it was a bit of a story behind it i won't go into yes it's story behind it i won't go into yes it's a brand new a brand new chest freezer chest freezer i i discovered that in the uk you cannot get discovered that in the uk you cannot get the the enamels white freezes only enamels white freezes only the the foils they look like the foiled foils they look like the foiled aluminium lined ones so aluminium lined ones so i thought i'd got a white line chest i thought i'd got a white line chest freezer and i opened it when i got home freezer and i opened it when i got home and saw all the silver and was mortified

and saw all the silver and was mortified i thought i'd made a big mistake i thought i'd made a big mistake however however i i carried on and carried on and you know it's it's worked out really you know it's it's worked out really well well so so also it had a compressor long canoe also it had a compressor long canoe which i didn't expect either so it was which i didn't expect either so it was kind of a bit of a disaster the whole kind of a bit of a disaster the whole the purchasing of it but i just want to the purchasing of it but i just want to tell people you know if you can't don't tell people you know if you can't don't think you can find the dream freezer think you can find the dream freezer if you get a reason it's maybe not quite if you get a reason it's maybe not quite what you think it is don't necessarily what you think it is don't necessarily worry not all is a disaster because i worry not all is a disaster because i was in that place was in that place but within two days i had a functioning but within two days i had a functioning um ice plunge basically yeah that's um ice plunge basically yeah that's that's a that's awesome and that's a that's a that's awesome and that's a really good point to bring up jen really good point to bring up jen because i think a lot of people get uh because i think a lot of people get uh you know stuck in the process of making you know stuck in the process of making a decision they get overwhelmed with the a decision they get overwhelmed with the information and they say well i have information and they say well i have this ideal vision of what my chest this ideal vision of what my chest freezer needs to look like instead of freezer needs to look like instead of just getting started and the thing is just getting started and the thing is like you can get started simply and like you can get started simply and easily and even inexpensively and get

easily and even inexpensively and get get the benefits of the cold water get get the benefits of the cold water get your practice going and then if you your practice going and then if you continue and the benefits are amazing continue and the benefits are amazing you can always upgrade later but don't you can always upgrade later but don't wait to get started wait to get started that's so so true and and that's really that's so so true and and that's really tight up because you know i've been tight up because you know i've been careful with my money it did feel like a careful with my money it did feel like a lot to spend lot to spend and now i've done it i realized that and now i've done it i realized that that you know the ability to upgrade is that you know the ability to upgrade is really easy you know i was a bit worried really easy you know i was a bit worried i'm like oh no it's an aluminium lined i'm like oh no it's an aluminium lined freezer it's gonna be a disaster it's freezer it's gonna be a disaster it's only gonna last two minutes but actually only gonna last two minutes but actually it's doing great it's doing great so uh what i did was um so uh what i did was um got the jb walls wells got the jb walls wells and you know people and you know people i know people kind of talk at the cost i know people kind of talk at the cost of it of it but for me it's been worth every penny but for me it's been worth every penny because because um it was easy to apply um it was easy to apply so i had a friend help mix it i think so i had a friend help mix it i think that's quite that's quite important whilst i applied it and i'm important whilst i applied it and i'm i'll have a go at diy but i've never i'll have a go at diy but i've never used a product like that before so it's used a product like that before so it's kind of pretty scary i watched your

kind of pretty scary i watched your video about 100 times and we're like video about 100 times and we're like checking the consistency and checking the consistency and you know but it went a bit pink because you know but it went a bit pink because we used water on our gloves so you know we used water on our gloves so you know it had a bit of a panic but um i must it had a bit of a panic but um i must say you know say you know playing the jb water world is kind of a playing the jb water world is kind of a rite of passage almost like yeah it is rite of passage almost like yeah it is you know once we got into the swing of you know once we got into the swing of it it was absolutely fine i think we did it it was absolutely fine i think we did it in about these four hours maybe right it in about these four hours maybe right and it was almost you actually had a bit and it was almost you actually had a bit of fun but obviously and then you've got of fun but obviously and then you've got me wait until the next day to see if me wait until the next day to see if it's all peeled up like that that horror it's all peeled up like that that horror little strip of jb waterworld on one of little strip of jb waterworld on one of your videos where it wasn't applied your videos where it wasn't applied properly properly so all i can say is even though i am you so all i can say is even though i am you know not know not one of these uh people on the forum one of these uh people on the forum who's maybe quite good at diy who's maybe quite good at diy you know i'll change a plug i might have you know i'll change a plug i might have a go if you paint my room whatever a go if you paint my room whatever i managed to do it no issues whatsoever i managed to do it no issues whatsoever every little bit is absolutely solid on every little bit is absolutely solid on that freezer so that freezer so don't worry about it it's not going to don't worry about it it's not going to be a disaster if i can do it anyone can be a disaster if i can do it anyone can do it right

do it right awesome and so uh what else about your awesome and so uh what else about your setup or your system would you like to setup or your system would you like to share with people share with people so i just well i just went with pvc so i just well i just went with pvc reads because i would have had to wait reads because i would have had to wait longer to get these epdm a slightly longer to get these epdm a slightly thicker liner yes i just couldn't wait thicker liner yes i just couldn't wait so i just kind of shot off to the local so i just kind of shot off to the local shop and they had a pvc liner that's the shop and they had a pvc liner that's the cheapest cheapest um pretty much the cheapest way of doing um pretty much the cheapest way of doing it i know the liner won't last forever it i know the liner won't last forever but if it does me a few months and it's but if it does me a few months and it's doing great so far it was all about just doing great so far it was all about just getting going getting going and and you know will this thing switch on will you know will this thing switch on will it cool the water right well it you know it cool the water right well it you know will it just buckle and collapse or will it just buckle and collapse or something like that something like that and none of that's happened so i'm and none of that's happened so i'm really happy that was 49 pounds and i'm really happy that was 49 pounds and i'm really happy for that kind of investment really happy for that kind of investment that you know now for two two and a half that you know now for two two and a half months i've had my cold water i use the months i've had my cold water i use the ratchet strap around the top yes to hold ratchet strap around the top yes to hold the liner down and in place that's the liner down and in place that's really good that was five pounds

really good that was five pounds and i got the ink bird because i was and i got the ink bird because i was absolutely shocked so i put a foot of absolutely shocked so i put a foot of water in the chest freezing i thought water in the chest freezing i thought i'm gonna have to wait like a week for i'm gonna have to wait like a week for this to cool well the next morning it this to cool well the next morning it had ice on it had ice on it right just unbelievable how effective it right just unbelievable how effective it was so then i put another floss of water was so then i put another floss of water and ordered my inkberg because i and ordered my inkberg because i realized that the freezer only needs to realized that the freezer only needs to be on a very short amount of time every be on a very short amount of time every day day which was a surprise right which was a surprise right and um and um i'm at a moment um i've got i'm at a moment um i've got a filter in there i didn't actually buy a filter in there i didn't actually buy that originally i just went with using that originally i just went with using tea tree oil and thinking i would change tea tree oil and thinking i would change my water every week my water every week um the marine land filter um the marine land filter being based in the uk was a concern for being based in the uk was a concern for me in terms of so much more expensive me in terms of so much more expensive right to ship over here right to ship over here so i found an equivalent uk model which so i found an equivalent uk model which seems to be doing fine you know and seems to be doing fine you know and would you mind sharing what that model would you mind sharing what that model and brand is for people that are in the and brand is for people that are in the k that are listening and k that are listening and yeah you don't have to get the marine

yeah you don't have to get the marine land or uh or the use the step-down land or uh or the use the step-down converter converter yeah i got the fluval u4 yeah i got the fluval u4 which seems to have more power than the which seems to have more power than the marineland filter awesome and you can marineland filter awesome and you can buy the little kind of the buy the little kind of the equivalent i believe the polishing equivalent i believe the polishing filter but all i'll say is my water's filter but all i'll say is my water's just really clean it's been absolutely just really clean it's been absolutely fine fine um so i'm using that my tea tree oil and um so i'm using that my tea tree oil and changing my water every three to four changing my water every three to four weeks beautiful and that's been easy as weeks beautiful and that's been easy as well i've got it in my well i've got it in my garden shed the chest freezer and i'm garden shed the chest freezer and i'm just using a pipe at the moment a bit of just using a pipe at the moment a bit of hose pipe to take water out so i've not hose pipe to take water out so i've not had to invest in any kind of pump to had to invest in any kind of pump to replace the water yet replace the water yet um you know no doubt we'll get the ozone um you know no doubt we'll get the ozone thing to to keep water clean but again thing to to keep water clean but again it's just it's quite nice and but it's just it's quite nice and but you know i don't know if you'll say this you know i don't know if you'll say this i think i've done i've invested at the i think i've done i've invested at the lower the lowest level in many ways lower the lowest level in many ways i've done a jb world i've got a basic

i've done a jb world i've got a basic line of which you have to do for line of which you have to do for aluminium aluminium we ratch it round the top i just had we ratch it round the top i just had some existing gym floor matting which some existing gym floor matting which was able to use to support it underneath was able to use to support it underneath tea tree oil was a fiver from holland tea tree oil was a fiver from holland and barrett's and barrett's and and that was it you know the next and and that was it you know the next thing was link birds which i thought was thing was link birds which i thought was just gonna make my life easier just gonna make my life easier right not necessary and that's another right not necessary and that's another great point too you know you can get great point too you know you can get started very simply and then you can started very simply and then you can always add these components later on as always add these components later on as you i would say budget allows and yeah i you i would say budget allows and yeah i didn't have the infers and i didn't have didn't have the infers and i didn't have the um submersible filter because i the um submersible filter because i wanted to be sure considering i got this wanted to be sure considering i got this off ebay off ebay and you know and you know it was a bit it was a bit it was one of those purchases i really it was one of those purchases i really didn't know whether i was going to he didn't know whether i was going to he was going to switch on work was going to switch on work um um you know and i was worried about the you know and i was worried about the aluminium yeah it just it just got me aluminium yeah it just it just got me going and you know i've got it set to going and you know i've got it set to it's around it's around half a degree in temperature half a degree in temperature um it feels really nice and strong and um it feels really nice and strong and supported getting in i put the bird

supported getting in i put the bird music on my phone she's not quite got music on my phone she's not quite got the ambience of the stream right and um the ambience of the stream right and um but it's honestly it's but it's honestly it's i wish i'd done it sooner because i wish i'd done it sooner because the big thing as well i used to have to the big thing as well i used to have to run out down to the stream early morning run out down to the stream early morning before the dog walkers and other people before the dog walkers and other people started wandering past and staring at me started wandering past and staring at me and also before the midges came out and and also before the midges came out and the water got warm whereas this now i the water got warm whereas this now i can just jump in at any time can just jump in at any time if i feel i need it if i feel if i feel i need it if i feel you know a bit tired actually john i'm you know a bit tired actually john i'm going to say something else so going to say something else so i've got scoliosis i don't even know i've got scoliosis i don't even know what that is it's a double curve in the what that is it's a double curve in the spine i get a lot of back pain spine i get a lot of back pain i'm also trying to i'm also trying to develop a wildflower meadow around my develop a wildflower meadow around my house do the eco thing house do the eco thing and every year we have to and every year we have to cut it with a rotivator and a parasite cut it with a rotivator and a parasite and it's like trying to control a wild and it's like trying to control a wild uh uh lawnmower on steroids based it's awful lawnmower on steroids based it's awful it's like a seven hour day job for three

it's like a seven hour day job for three or four days absolutely kills my back or four days absolutely kills my back every year every year i've been in agony every night i've been in agony every night just done it this time after each just done it this time after each session session so it's literally seven hours it's so it's literally seven hours it's taking three or four days to do it i got taking three or four days to do it i got in the ice bath in the ice bath oh my god so getting in stiff and sore oh my god so getting in stiff and sore seriously it it's worked magic magic seriously it it's worked magic magic with my back as well you know it's with my back as well you know it's incredible my partner won't get in it incredible my partner won't get in it and she's been really like you know oh i and she's been really like you know oh i need the ice pack i might just get in my need the ice pack i might just get in my chest please it's fantastic chest please it's fantastic so you know that's just another thing so you know that's just another thing that you can just jump in at any time that you can just jump in at any time for whatever reason so yeah it's for whatever reason so yeah it's i just can i thank you personally john i just can i thank you personally john because because what you are doing seriously what you are doing seriously you're changing lives you're changing lives you you've changed my life you really you you've changed my life you really have have and you've sure you share and you've sure you share your knowledge in such a selfless your knowledge in such a selfless selfless way i knew as soon as i read it

selfless way i knew as soon as i read it john john you know i thought he's you know you you know i thought he's you know you know can't even be emotional you're a know can't even be emotional you're a good man and you're you're good man and you're you're you've you've worked so hard you've you've worked so hard to to learn all this stuff and you you to to learn all this stuff and you you share share things that can change people's lives things that can change people's lives for better so i just want to thank you for better so i just want to thank you for that oh you're very welcome jen and for that oh you're very welcome jen and i appreciate your acknowledgement and uh i appreciate your acknowledgement and uh i yeah thank you yeah i'm getting i yeah thank you yeah i'm getting emotional too emotional too yeah yeah so um yeah definitely thank yeah yeah so um yeah definitely thank you i i feel like i am on a mission and you i i feel like i am on a mission and i i feel like that uh you know i know i i feel like that uh you know i know how the cold water impacted my life and how the cold water impacted my life and that's another story but i that's another story but i you know for me to be able to support you know for me to be able to support people in some way you know it's funny people in some way you know it's funny because in uh in because in uh in 2014 or 2013 when i met wim hof when he 2014 or 2013 when i met wim hof when he was here in austin he did a two-day was here in austin he did a two-day workshop workshop and i was just sharing with him what and i was just sharing with him what mike's a little bit about my before and mike's a little bit about my before and after experience there and he says well after experience there and he says well maybe someday you'll work with us and maybe someday you'll work with us and just the the logistics and the you know just the the logistics and the you know all the thing about becoming a wim hof all the thing about becoming a wim hof instructor never really seemed to instructor never really seemed to exactly call to me but they're you know

exactly call to me but they're you know something in some way being able to something in some way being able to help people have with support people in help people have with support people in getting their own cold plunge you know getting their own cold plunge you know whether it's the do-it-yourself route or whether it's the do-it-yourself route or now being able to help people select a now being able to help people select a professionally built model you know i'm professionally built model you know i'm here to support people here to support people to take the technical part out of it so to take the technical part out of it so that they don't have to struggle with that they don't have to struggle with that piece of it and they can get into that piece of it and they can get into the benefits of getting into the water the benefits of getting into the water as quickly as possible and stories like as quickly as possible and stories like yours and how your life has changes that yours and how your life has changes that that inspires me that inspires me every day to keep doing what i'm doing every day to keep doing what i'm doing so thank you so thank you please don't stop and and can i i just please don't stop and and can i i just want to say one last thing for anyone do want to say one last thing for anyone do this this don't just get some silicone sealant don't just get some silicone sealant something you can see something you can see right you can just steal it right you can just steal it see the chest wheels are fully awesome see the chest wheels are fully awesome get in because she'll be jumping out get in because she'll be jumping out very quickly very quickly right yeah that seems to be the ongoing right yeah that seems to be the ongoing big thing uh that's one of the single big thing uh that's one of the single largest mistakes that people make is largest mistakes that people make is they end up killing their chest freezer they end up killing their chest freezer because uh somebody suggested you know

because uh somebody suggested you know do it do take a shortcut and i think do it do take a shortcut and i think most people just don't know but i'm most people just don't know but i'm trying to get the message out so trying to get the message out so yeah and you're doing it selflessly it yeah and you're doing it selflessly it works works and you know and you know just imagine just imagine if you could change your life and if you could change your life and actually enjoy being alive actually enjoy being alive how much is that worth and you know i i how much is that worth and you know i i can tell you that that's what it does can tell you that that's what it does for me every single day for me every single day you know i've never been happier i've you know i've never been happier i've never never i don't think i've lived i've just been i don't think i've lived i've just been fighting fighting all the time fighting off the emotions all the time fighting off the emotions fighting off the moods fighting off the fighting off the moods fighting off the memories memories distracting myself with work and hobbies distracting myself with work and hobbies and you know i don't have to do that and you know i don't have to do that anymore and it's all because of bats anymore and it's all because of bats and you know a few hundred pounds and you know a few hundred pounds to transform a life to transform a life might feel like a gamble might feel like a gamble but there's other ways of trying cold but there's other ways of trying cold water first to see if maybe you aren't water first to see if maybe you aren't going to get a reaction if you you know going to get a reaction if you you know if you're unsure about it right and

if you're unsure about it right and that's that's also a really good point that's that's also a really good point too if there's anybody watching this who too if there's anybody watching this who feels hesitant about well i'm not sure i feels hesitant about well i'm not sure i can commit that amount of money you can can commit that amount of money you can take 20 pounds which is maybe 30 dollars take 20 pounds which is maybe 30 dollars euro i guess and uh buy 180 100 pounds euro i guess and uh buy 180 100 pounds of ice however many that is in kilograms of ice however many that is in kilograms 40 50 kilograms of ice and put that in 40 50 kilograms of ice and put that in your bathtub yeah and start there and if your bathtub yeah and start there and if you can do that practice for a few times you can do that practice for a few times and just notice how it changes your life and just notice how it changes your life uh and notice what benefits you get from uh and notice what benefits you get from that you know you can always step up that you know you can always step up later yes start start somewhere start later yes start start somewhere start where it's accessible and easy where it's accessible and easy 100 100 and you know that was my journey 100 100 and you know that was my journey the shower the shower the reservoir the stream the reservoir the stream and then the chest freezer so it's all and then the chest freezer so it's all been steps been steps and i'm i'm never looking back and i'm and i'm i'm never looking back and i'm looking forward to continuing to upgrade looking forward to continuing to upgrade my chest freezer you know it works it's my chest freezer you know it works it's great great the next step sanitation maybe some the next step sanitation maybe some flashing lights or something like

flashing lights or something like lights or something that's right lights or something that's right yeah there's always ways to continue to yeah there's always ways to continue to grow on the journey and uh and with grow on the journey and uh and with regards to that see you've you've kind regards to that see you've you've kind of hinted that you are taking a new path of hinted that you are taking a new path also with uh your your story and how also with uh your your story and how this has impacted your life and so tell this has impacted your life and so tell us a little bit more about uh what your us a little bit more about uh what your new inspiration around this is and if new inspiration around this is and if you've got some tools or resources that you've got some tools or resources that you're you're that people can reach out to you i'm not that people can reach out to you i'm not sure exactly what you're doing but maybe sure exactly what you're doing but maybe speak a little bit to that if someone speak a little bit to that if someone wants to get in touch or follow you or wants to get in touch or follow you or you know see what you're doing or what you know see what you're doing or what you're up to or how you're helping you're up to or how you're helping change lives change lives yeah so um i mean at the moment i just yeah so um i mean at the moment i just i've got a little instagram account that i've got a little instagram account that i set up to try and help people because i set up to try and help people because i could see you know facebook's great i could see you know facebook's great and i felt really compelled to share and i felt really compelled to share my journey so i i've i feel like a my journey so i i've i feel like a medical miracle john i really do i'm medical miracle john i really do i'm like this has changed my life this has like this has changed my life this has changed changed my life it's changed my personality and my life it's changed my personality and i'm not the only one saying that it's

i'm not the only one saying that it's the people around me who i interact with the people around me who i interact with who are saying that back to me as well who are saying that back to me as well i'm like you know i don't need to go can i'm like you know i don't need to go can you see a difference they're like you you see a difference they're like you know we're like you're different you've know we're like you're different you've changed you're positive you're changed you're positive you're i'm talking more i'm not you know i'm talking more i'm not you know i'm not in this little shell anymore i'm not in this little shell anymore and so yeah i did um and so yeah i did um you know i've set up just a little you know i've set up just a little instagram account for now and it's um instagram account for now and it's um stronger every day lady stronger every day lady where i just i chart my journey day by where i just i chart my journey day by day you know like little things like day you know like little things like being able to cook a meal and eat it and being able to cook a meal and eat it and not be exhausted right um not be exhausted right um those moments where i'd just be those moments where i'd just be ecstatically happy ecstatically happy and for no reason you know i wanted to and for no reason you know i wanted to share that to try and inspire and help share that to try and inspire and help people understand that they can change people understand that they can change your lives maybe cold water it may not your lives maybe cold water it may not but there's a solution i do passionately but there's a solution i do passionately believe that there's a solution out believe that there's a solution out there you know it's worth searching and there you know it's worth searching and trying never trying never never stop trying your solution but also

never stop trying your solution but also obviously i do share the tip somewhere obviously i do share the tip somewhere you know right now i've been telling you know right now i've been telling people about the chest freezer people about the chest freezer reassuring them that i haven't been reassuring them that i haven't been electrocuted or let the lid up on my electrocuted or let the lid up on my head and been trapped in and frozen to head and been trapped in and frozen to death anything like that death anything like that you know so that's what i'm doing at the you know so that's what i'm doing at the moment moment and but i you know been like yourself and but i you know been like yourself maybe you know i want to maybe you know i want to i spent many years suffering when i spent many years suffering when actually actually i now believe i didn't need to i now believe i didn't need to and you know if i can help anyone and you know if i can help anyone alleviate um alleviate um their pain whether mental fiscal or both their pain whether mental fiscal or both i will do and i'll give one example i will do and i'll give one example actually my um close relative of mine actually my um close relative of mine has fibromyalgia has fibromyalgia now i believe that's probably trauma now i believe that's probably trauma related as well related as well um um and i've mentioned you know the cold and i've mentioned you know the cold showers to them this is before the chest showers to them this is before the chest freezer and so every evening they've freezer and so every evening they've been such a been such a physical pain muscular pain

physical pain muscular pain they would have to take painkillers you they would have to take painkillers you know quite strong painkillers and go to know quite strong painkillers and go to bed just try to bed just try to see the time through until you know we see the time through until you know we could get up again in the morning could get up again in the morning and um i was talking to them about it and um i was talking to them about it half an hour later i get a text message half an hour later i get a text message saying i've just had a cold shower and it's helped my pain oh and so they it's helped my pain oh and so they started having cold showers twice a day started having cold showers twice a day and they are able now and they are able now to be to be alleviated pain in the evening so not alleviated pain in the evening so not having to take the painkillers and having to take the painkillers and actually able to stay up and have an actually able to stay up and have an evening evening you know which before they couldn't so you know which before they couldn't so right and how how long of a period of right and how how long of a period of time how how short of a period of time time how how short of a period of time was that well for them it was immediate was that well for them it was immediate it provided immediate literally it provided immediate literally immediate relief immediate relief so you know this person didn't have any so you know this person didn't have any other symptoms apart from what's other symptoms apart from what's diagnosed as fibromyalgia so you know diagnosed as fibromyalgia so you know excruciating muscle pain or other kind excruciating muscle pain or other kind of things of things um so that that was an immediate relief

um so that that was an immediate relief to them so my next mission is to get to them so my next mission is to get them to get a chest fuse and convert it them to get a chest fuse and convert it so i'm hoping we're going to come up so i'm hoping we're going to come up take a look maybe give it a go take a look maybe give it a go and um i know and um i know i've earmarked their garage as a i've earmarked their garage as a suitable location for the freezer but suitable location for the freezer but you know it's just little things like you know it's just little things like that you know there's a few other people that you know there's a few other people who i've shared a message with them it who i've shared a message with them it really has changed their lives so really has changed their lives so yeah that's all i'm doing right now but yeah that's all i'm doing right now but i'd love to do more because i'd love to do more because this is life-changing yes it is well jen this is life-changing yes it is well jen i i really want to thank you for sharing i i really want to thank you for sharing your story and uh just your journey with your story and uh just your journey with how it's impacted your health and your how it's impacted your health and your your life and your life and i i find i am very deeply inspired uh i i find i am very deeply inspired uh just to have this conversation with you just to have this conversation with you and i'm really deeply honored and i want and i'm really deeply honored and i want to honor you as well for your journey to honor you as well for your journey and for the courage that you've taken to and for the courage that you've taken to keep trying and keep looking for keep trying and keep looking for solutions and solutions and the way that you've changed your life the way that you've changed your life and not only that but also and not only that but also being called being willing to help being called being willing to help inspire other people to have these inspire other people to have these changes and find out how cold water can

changes and find out how cold water can benefit them as well benefit them as well so um kind of been wrapping up is there so um kind of been wrapping up is there anything else that you'd like to share anything else that you'd like to share any insights or encouragements or any insights or encouragements or anything else that you'd like to anything else that you'd like to communicate or communicate or instill to people who might be listening instill to people who might be listening to this i think just look at the to this i think just look at the benefits that i've experienced that benefits that i've experienced that other people have experienced and if the other people have experienced and if the thought of getting under a cold shower thought of getting under a cold shower being cold for a split second being cold for a split second which is what it is you know once you've which is what it is you know once you've got used to it give it a few days got used to it give it a few days if that's what's if that's what's stopping you from potentially changing stopping you from potentially changing your life just have a little thing your life just have a little thing imagine imagine what your life could be like and believe what your life could be like and believe you can change it because it cold water you can change it because it cold water could be the thing that could do it for could be the thing that could do it for you yeah absolutely and if you don't you yeah absolutely and if you don't feel like you can do this on your own uh feel like you can do this on your own uh do reach out and get help there's do reach out and get help there's there's a there's a growing number of there's a there's a growing number of groups whether it's online or even in groups whether it's online or even in person people who are meeting to get person people who are meeting to get into cold water so into cold water so find a community whether it's online or find a community whether it's online or in person locally just do what you can

in person locally just do what you can to get that support that you need to you to get that support that you need to you know just experiment and give this thing know just experiment and give this thing a try for yourself and find out how it a try for yourself and find out how it can change your life because sometimes can change your life because sometimes it can happen instantly sometimes it can it can happen instantly sometimes it can grow over a few times or a little bit of grow over a few times or a little bit of a dedicated practice but whether that a dedicated practice but whether that change happens on the first day or if it change happens on the first day or if it happens after you know a few times or happens after you know a few times or sometime uh it can be like jen is saying sometime uh it can be like jen is saying life-changing life-changing so jen thank you thank you so much jen so jen thank you thank you so much jen thank you john i really appreciate time thank you john i really appreciate time and um yeah keep up with good work thank and um yeah keep up with good work thank you great all right well i'll see you in you great all right well i'll see you in the group thank you bye bye

Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.

The First Shock

The invitation arrived through ordinary proximity. Friends were posting photographs from local rivers, and outdoor swimmers were speaking honestly about how cold water had helped them. One woman, also open about PTSD, told Jyn that the water was making a difference.

Jyn was not a natural cold water devotee. She did not consider herself a strong swimmer, and she had always disliked being cold. This was not adventure seeking; it was a precise act of desperation.

At that point, unemployment had made her cautious about applying for new work. She could not trust her health, could not predict when a crash would come, and did not want to fail another employer or herself. A cold shower became a small door because it was available.

In January, she turned the shower to cold and stepped in. The water measured around six degrees Celsius, sharp enough to take command of the whole body. On the first attempt, she stayed under for just under 30 seconds.

The second day, she returned. The ritual was still uncomfortable, still stark, still far from graceful. But repetition changed the relationship from shock into deliberate practice.

On the third day, something shifted. She reached around 90 seconds to two minutes, and then felt a sudden surge of energy. It was not an idea about wellness; it was a felt change, immediate and unmistakable.

What followed was the part she could not ignore. She described happiness arriving with the energy, a clear joy that seemed to have been locked away for most of her life. For someone who had learned to smile without fully feeling it, the moment carried its own authority.

That first lift became a turning point. The cold did not erase her history, and it did not ask her to explain anything before it offered a response. It gave her access to a living current inside herself.

She continued with cold showers and began adding breathwork. The breathing did not create the same surge, but it brought a mellow calm that softened the edges of the day. Together, cold and breath became a simple protocol: alertness when she needed energy, stillness when she needed regulation.

It got unlocked in that moment.

When the Practice Deepened

The next threshold came within the first couple of weeks. Someone invited her to the reservoir during a severe winter spell, with a wind chill around minus 15 degrees Celsius. The conditions were uncompromising, and the ice had to be broken before anyone entered.

Jyn got into the water without specialist gear and stayed for four minutes. Her feet were freezing, her hands felt like concrete blocks, and the cold stripped the moment down to sensation. There was no performance in it, only exposure and breath.

Afterward, she returned to the car with a hot water bottle and drove home. Then the shaking began. It was intense enough that she worried she had hurt herself, a reminder that cold water requires respect, pacing, and attention.

About two hours later, she went for a canal walk to help her circulation return. There, something happened that she still classed as one of the most remarkable moments of her life. She stopped in her tracks because a darkness she had carried for decades seemed to lift.

The change did not feel empty. It was replaced by a soft, steady joy in her mind, unfamiliar and physical. She had spent so much of life fighting the blackness back; now it was gone without a fight.

This was not a distant transformation measured years later. It came around eight or nine days into the practice, after cold showers and that first reservoir immersion. The timing mattered because it made the experience impossible for her to dismiss.

From there, cold water became close to daily, and at times twice a day. She went into the stream at the bottom of her garden, returned to showers when her energy dipped, and used the practice as a reset. The ritual moved from experiment to anchor.

It was replaced by this feeling of just like fuzzy joy in my mind.

Breathwork stayed with it, especially in the evening. She found it helped her become calm and ready for sleep, creating a deliberate transition out of the day. Cold brought charge; breath brought balance.

Later, she read about the vagus nerve and connected the idea with a sensation she had called her fountain of happiness. She felt it rising from the stomach area through the body and arms, and whether science names every part of that experience or not, the outcome was plain: more calm, more presence, more joy.

A New Equilibrium

Nine months later, the practice had become part of her life. She continued cold water almost every day, and the black moods had not returned. The change held because she kept showing up to the ritual.

Her partner noticed enough difference to call her a new Jyn. That kind of change reaches beyond mood and into identity, because the people closest to us often see what our own adaptation makes familiar. Recovery becomes visible in how we move through ordinary days.

Energy became steadier. At first, when her levels dropped, she would go to the shower or the stream to reset. Over time, the crashes softened, and she no longer needed daytime rests in the way she once had.

This matters because stable energy changes the architecture of a life. You stop organizing every decision around collapse. You begin to trust that the day can hold you.

The night terrors also changed. For years, her dreams had been violent, filled with pursuit, fear, and the same trauma playing out again and again. As the cold water practice continued, the dreams became less severe.

Then, two to three weeks in, she had a lucid dream. She saw the terrifying house that had returned in nightmares for years and chose, inside the dream, to change it into a nice house. From that night, she said she never had that nightmare again.

I look forward to going to sleep now.

Sleep became deeper and more reliable. She credited both cold water and breathwork, especially the breathing before bed, for helping her settle at night. The body that had once braced for threat began to recognize rest.

Headaches changed as well. Before the practice, she carried strong medication with her and used headache tablets regularly, with episodes that edged toward migraine. Within the first week or two, that pattern largely stopped.

Over nine months, she reported only a couple of minor headaches, often around stormy weather. She was no longer organizing life around pain relief or the fear of the next episode. The absence itself became part of the recovery.

Her story does not turn cold water into a universal promise. It shows what can happen when a simple, deliberate protocol gives the body a new signal, repeated with care. In that repetition, Jyn found steadier energy, quieter nights, and a joy that no longer felt out of reach.

Wim's Wise Words

A second take, from someone who's lived it.

If you take one thing from this, take the pacing. Cold water is powerful because it asks the body for a clear response. That does not mean the strongest dose is the wisest dose. The art is finding the edge where you feel alert, challenged, and in command of your breath, then stopping before the practice becomes a test of pride.

I like cold because it gives you honest feedback. You know quickly whether you are present. The first breath tells you. The shoulders tell you. The urge to escape tells you. Your work is not to defeat that sensation. Your work is to soften around it, breathe through it, and teach your system that intensity can pass without taking over.

Where I Would Start

Start smaller than your ambition. A cold finish to a warm shower is enough. Thirty seconds is enough. Keep the breath slow, keep the face relaxed, and leave the water while you still feel capable. That builds trust. Trust is the foundation of any serious protocol.

Do not copy someone else's winter river, ice bath, or four-minute immersion. Their nervous system is not yours. Their recovery capacity is not yours. Cold exposure works through hormesis: a precise stress that encourages adaptation. Too little and you barely feel it. Too much and you add strain to a body that may already be carrying plenty.

The useful signal is clean: sharper focus, steadier mood, a calmer return to warmth, better rhythm through the day. If you come out frantic, numb for too long, or chasing the next bigger exposure, adjust down. Mastery is not measured in minutes. It is measured in how well you listen.

I would also separate morning cold from evening calm. Cold can prime the day because it wakes the system and can support dopamine release, which is one reason focus often feels cleaner afterward. At night, many bodies prefer warmth, breath, stillness, and a slower descent. If sleep is the goal, do not assume more cold is the answer. Build a rhythm that respects recovery.

For the evidence-minded reader, I would pair this story with Recovery, by the Evidence and Cold's Molecular Reset. Not because lived experience needs permission from a paper, but because mechanism helps you stay precise. Cold is not magic. It influences circulation, stress chemistry, inflammation, perception, and attention. Those changes matter most when the practice is repeated with care.

And be clear about what this is not. Cold water does not replace sleep, food, connection, therapy, or medical support when you need it. It is a tool. A strong one. Used well, it can become a daily signal of resilience: brief discomfort, deliberate breath, a return to equilibrium.

That is the part I trust. Not the drama of the cold, but the quiet repetition after it. You enter, you breathe, you come back. Over time, the body learns the pattern. Challenge. Adaptation. Recovery. Stillness. That is where the ritual begins to earn its place.