To want to shout this tip for anxiety/mental health from the rooftops?

Thank you for sharing this.

Please could you explain this more?

I have AuDHD and a long history of Depression and GAD. I was suicidal and put on medication twice...spent 1000s on therapy and also received NHS therapy.

No real impact.

In Lockdown, unmedicated and nearly suicidal again, I took one cold shower with breathing exercises after hearing Wim Hoff podcast episode and I am not exaggerating when I say the impact blew my mind. It massively positively changed my mental state.

It did more for me than any tablet and I am evangelical about it now. No one wants to hear me talk about it though!

really depends, “are effective”. No evidence certainly for prescribing ad infinitum to pretty much anyone.

This. It resets the body. Can also be done by dunking head in bowl of water or using an ice pack on your face.

How long do you need to have the cold running over you? Would 30 seconds help? I’m such a wimp in cold water 😖!

eta thanks for the tip!

I agree. It really works for me. I do it year round, as well as cold water swimming.

There's enough evidence that antidepressants are effective for them to be prescribed to patients, not true for cold water.

Tipp is part of DBT which was developed for a specific purpose. A GP isn't going to suggest techniques like that to patients with mild to moderate general anxiety.

I find that if I'm not already up for it, if I have a hot/warm shower I can handle an icy blast for 2 mins at the end. Entry level!

Neither do antidepressants, on both counts

Cold showers, dunking your face in ice water etc, is already recommended as a way to reduce distress.

Have a Google for the TIPP skills.

You are right in that it does not work for everyone (it does not for me), but OP is simply saying to give it a try if you have not done so before.

I'm really happy for you that you've found something that works for you but YABU about doctors recommending it to patients. Hydrotherapy was a popular treatment for psychiatric disorders from the early twentieth century til about the 1950s. They don't do it anymore for good reasons, mainly there's no actual evidence for how/ why it's effective on some people and also, it doesn't have the same effect on everyone.

I read recently about putting iced peas on the side of your neck to quell anxiety.

I tried it (though with a block of ice thing in plastic, wrapped in a damp tea towel) and was amazed that it worked. I was verging on a panic attack before I did it. Works by affecting your vagus nerve.

Can't say I would ever fancy a whole cold shower, though I guess needs must!

Yes, cold showers and ice baths sometimes pull me down from high anxiety states.

Yes, most SSRIs and other antidepressant drugs are either useless or harmful for most people in the long term.

But we are all different physiologically and psychologically.

It's great you want to share what has worked so well for you.

That feeling of revelation is amazing.

But do remember that you, your abilities and capabilities, psychological make up, physiology and personal circumstances are different from every other individual around you, and what works well for you won't necessarily work for other people.

And it can put people off if you are too preachy/excited even if it's well meant.

I am so happy for you that you have found natural strategies that work so well.

At no point did OP say it was a cure. They said to try it and see if it helps. Some will find it beneficial, some won’t. But coming on to berate someone with a MH who is actively trying to pass on a tip that has worked for them isn’t helpful. Or kind.

It really does work.

I read that the cold water increases dopamine availability by up to 200%.

I think it's often referred to as the Wimhoff technique.

Can you report back on results? I tried cold showering only once, I really hate it but sort of think I could get to like it and certainly would benefit from it. So I need encouragement!
Thank you.

What a spiteful, nasty response.
Way to piss on someone's chips.

Quite agree, the OP is just suggesting people could try it if they haven’t before. there is a scientific basis to using cold water to stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic nervous system to give a calming effect. The breathing techniques mentioned also do the same thing

at no point has OP referred to it as a cure, though? Nor did they guarantee it would help everyone.
They said it was a "tip" and suggested people try it.
You've read into something that was not there and taken offense for no reason.
OP suggested something that might help others, why jump on that?

I really hate cold water & is a trigger for me. What works for one person might not work for another.

Someone might find warm baths help some cold water. Some people a cup of tea but some hate tea.

Glad it works for you but don't think shouting out you've found a cure is helpful. It's more arrogant & patronizing.

Ive found things that work for me but understand they won't work for everyone.

My health anxiety would convince me that I would die of hypothermia or go into cardiac arrest if I tried this 🤣

A few years ago I had multiple eye surgeries; one occasion I was awake and the anaesthetic didn’t quite work, so I felt everything and was too afraid to move so I started spiralling into anxiety, and managed to get through half an hour or more with concentrating on my breathing.

I did 3, 4, 5; breathe in for 3 seconds, hold for 4 and out for 5.

i would have previously fallen into the cynical group that cold water, breathing, food & nutrition etc are all a bit woo, but I think techniques like this can make a huge difference

I'm about to have a shower and am really anxious, so I will try this!
I've found a high dose of vitamin D helps too.

This helps me too. Although splashing cold water on my face is what I have as a substitute when at work. I find a cool shower- where the water is not cold but just shy of lukewarm works best for me. I think part of the reason a shower works is that no one is going to interrupt me and so I feel I have complete privacy which helps me calm down.