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

[BornToBeStyled]

Cold showers. Within a lifetime of problematic anxiety, I can't believe it's taken me this long (to my mid 40s) to discover them. Actual game changer.

If you have trouble with anxiety and panic, and haven't already tried cold showers, try them. A cold shower can bring me back from crisis point to feeling quite fine in about 2 minutes, sometimes. The effects can last for hours. And when they wear off... you can have another.

AIBU to think GPs should give this as an intervention before drugs?!

Thank you for sharing OP I’m going to try this!

Who's "arrogant and patronising" now?

Cold water swims work great too.

This is really interesting thank you. I'll give anything a go

Oh gosh, be careful, people. Cold shock response is a genuine and unpredictable thing. My fit and well friend went wild swimming thinking it would be good for her and ended up having a hypertensive emergency and being airlifted to hospital. Start with the frozen peas and work your way up if you must.

You can build up a tolerance to cold water quite quickly. I have a warm shower but will then turn the heat down to stimulate my lymphatics and wake me up. I've been a cold pool twice in two days and feel awesome, but I put that down to lymphatic stimulation. Maybe it's vagus nerve too, don't know. If anyone is thinking of trying it just start with a rinse of cooler water. You can turn it down next time or when you acclimatise. I used to take five minutes to get into the lake.

Is this whilst you're having an anxiety attack / feeling anxious - or just to prevent it?

I do this in the middle of the night if I don't feel well, but just run my wrists under the cold tap. Often helps!

It is not in place of anti-depressants at all, and no one here is claiming it is.

It is something that is fast acting to get someone out of distress/intense anxiety in that moment.

DBT is a therapy for a specific condition, but all of it is useful to everyone else too.

I have seen TIPP recommended outside of DBT, and used for general anxiety, panic attacks etc. I was introduced to it via DBT, but other people may have found out about it elsewhere.

Id hope they would suggest counselling or CBT before or alongside antidepressants but the waiting lists are often so long that and people usually only ask for help when they really need it and can’t really wait any longer.

There is enough stigma and shame put on people for needing medication to help with mental health problems already so while it might be a helpful tip to try alongside a range of other techniques to help maintain good mental health once someone has received treatment and are in a better place, I don’t feel it’s helpful to suggest someone in mental health crisis (anxiety is often fobbed off as non serious) should be ‘prescribed’ a cold shower a head of medication unless some clinical evidence is going to be presented as to its efficacy for a wide group of patients.

It it was a physical condition I doubt people would say have you tried a cold shower instead of taking paracetamol.

Christ alive, arrogant and patronising?
Bit much!

Thank you for this! Will try tomorrow. I get very anxious and I’m trying to find more natural cures.

Thank you for posting this OP. I'm off to try this as I've just had a panic attack and cannot find anything to help calm me down.

I’ve heard lots of positives about cold water baths, shower etc but I hate being cold, it causes physical pain so I can’t bring myself to do it!

Wait. Didn't they do this in Bedlam in the 19th century? Cold showers & floggings wasn't it.
If it works though, good shout

Thank you for sharing this OP. I stopped open water swimming which I started during COVID and have stopped for about a year and feel meh most days. I totally forgot how invigorating cold water is. I'm on a natural high all day when I do swim outdoors. Thanks to peri menopause brain fog, I forget what helps me and this has promoted me. Great to share tips like these and why I'm grateful for Mumsnet in general.

Most of the hydro research was relation to hot water not cold. Cold water is a totally different (cold) kettle of fish.

Cold showers really do help. Those who haven’t tried to, just start by turning the shower to cold at the end for 5 seconds and build up. The longer you are in it the easier it becomes I find and controlling the breath is key. It’s feels addictive and like a challenge to keep doing it. If I don’t do mine or miss a few days, I can really tell as I’m more irritated by stuff. As well as the mental health aspect, it improves your immunity and energy too.

I'm glad it helps you OP. It has never done anything for me but I like waking up to a cold shower. I would say the quite opposite works for me: heat. Sauna is the best but at home a hot shower to calm down the ache in the shoulders (from being to tense) or hot cushion. To each their own.

I know someone who has had months off work due to anxiety issues, and she has taken up open water swimming too and has found it so helpful. She has said about a high too.
She also does ice baths (so sitting in a barrel of ice and water), and has built up to quite a time in there.

@Serencwtch

oooh your illness is real & others aren't. How rude. When you've qualified medically do let us know.

Do what you want with your illness & let others support each other with things that help them.

"drowning" has a similar effect - plunge your face into a sink of cold water. You basically want to stop you brain thinking and force it into survival mode, so anything safe that will do that will work.

@Ghosttofu99

all different things ARE suggested for physical pain, stretches, targeted exercises, phyio, swimming, different types of eating, meditation, yoga..

Cold water therapy works like a dream for me. I love it! I done it a lot with morning sickness - i hate being sick and it sort of staved off the nausea (even for a few seconds!).