I first took a cold plunge about three years ago. I had seen the hype on Instagram; I’d heard the countless podcast soundbites talking about the benefits of cold water; I had seen countless videos of people filling wheelie bins with water and ice and going for a prolonged dunk. And honestly when I saw the cold-water propaganda I thought “What a load of bollocks”. Yet, here I am, three years later with a Lumi ice bath in my garage, unable to resist the call of the cold water whether it be a lake, the sea or a river. I’m addicted (though I still haven’t been in a wheelie bin).
The first time I “dipped”, as the cool kids call it, I was guided in by an ice water and breathwork aficionado called David Jackson, otherwise known as Jacko. I explained to him that I’d always suffered with bouts of depression and other mental health issues, but more recently I’d been experiencing a fresh level of hypervigilance in my everyday life. While walking down the street, I’d start to panic and feel like there was danger everywhere. My heart rate would increase, my breathing would become rapid. I needed to find a way to calm myself down.
