by Steve Wells
“Really? You’re going out dressed like that?” my wife Louise said recently as we were getting ready to head out on our morning walk. “Yep” I replied with a smile.
It wasn’t my fashion sense she was worried about; it was the fact I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt when, in her words it was “freezing” outside.
Let me be clear here. When someone in Perth says it’s freezing outside it is NOT actually freezing. In fact, the closest it gets to freezing here is not much colder than it was that day, around 3 degrees Celsius (About 37 degrees Fahrenheit for those of you in the US).
So, yes, it was cold, but not life threateningly cold or even freezing. It’s just that most people don’t go out in that type of weather in shorts and a T-shirt, they put on long pants and a big coat (and in Louise’s case also a beanie on her head and gloves on her hands).
A few days later we were out walking in similar weather and as we passed a couple going the other way both rugged up in big jackets, the man remarked, “I feel overdressed!”
I laughed and said back, “You gotta feel the world!”
I used to do the same as him, dressing up in a jacket and long pants to go out in the cold, but for the past 7-8 years I have deliberately gone out into the cold dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.
Why?
Because now I want to feel the world rather than rugging myself up in order to not feel it.
I didn’t always feel this way. In fact, in the past I would have told you hate winter, and I used to complain about the cold as much as the next person!
Now however, I have become convinced that we are here to experience life by allowing ourselves to feel it, and I know from personal experience that many mental, emotional and physical benefits come from doing so.
I first became convinced of this after reading a great book called “What doesn’t kill us” by Scott Carney. He quotes many scientists who argue that we evolved to adapt to extremes of cold and heat and we are now seeking comfort, and that comfort comes at a cost to our health and wellbeing.
We have increasingly separated ourselves from the natural world, especially by using technology. When it’s hot we stay inside with the air conditioning on, when it’s cold we stay inside with the heaters on, and if we do go out we rug ourselves up so we don’t have to feel the cold.
We have immunized ourselves from having to experience life and we are the poorer for it.
But what if life is about feeling things? What if our life is enhanced when we allow ourselves to feel life, to feel nature, to experience the weather, whether hot or cold? What if feeling these things – and feeling our feelings generally – is better for us, and our normal approach of cutting ourselves off from those same feelings is bad for us?
So now I go out in the cold with the very intention to feel it. And what I discovered very early on is that once you accept the cold and stop trying to fight it, it doesn’t feel as cold, you adapt into it and you can even start to enjoy feeling it.
BAck then, I also started a daily practice of cold-water immersion. That means I start each day by experiencing cold water, usually via a cold shower,. Or if we are close to the beach, I take a dip in the water at the start of the day, even in the middle of winter.
Now I NEVER would have done this in the past, in fact I actually scoffed at those who did. However, I became convinced to try it, first by the science showiing that cold water immersion is terrific for your physical and mental health, and I’ve continued it due to the benefits I’ve personally experienced.
This included a boost to my mental and emotional wellbeing, an improvement in my overall mood, a reduction in stress and anxiety, an increase in my resilience, positive impacts on my self-esteem… And these are just some of the things I attribute to the daily cold water shock.
Now I think it’s important to say that even though I have experienced these many benefits from cold water immersion, that does NOT mean I always feel like doing it! Nor does it mean I enjoy the initial shock of the cold water hitting my body! In fact, even after doing this for over 7 years, I can say that it’s STILL uncomfortable at the start.
However, I always feel better for having done it.
Now it’s just something that I do, and after that initial shock I find it quite invigorating. And the many benefits I’ve experienced in my life have convinced me to continue.
I’m saying this because I know that you, like I did, may think something like this is too challenging for you. Your mind will tell you that it should be easier and if you find it difficult or uncomfortable you should give up.
This is where the tapping comes in.
Release your emotional attachments to it having to be easy. Release your emotional attachments to having to want to do it. Once you accept that it is hard, and that you don’t have to feel like it, then it becomes easier.
Before I started on this path, I “hated” the cold, and I also “hated” winter. So I did some tapping to release my emotional attachments to that belief.
Now, I accept winter sooo much more and I’ve even found parts of it that I really enjoy. I especially enjoy going on a holiday in winter and going in the ocean even when it’s cold and raining, something I never would have done in the past.
When you start out you have to accept that this is something where you will feel good afterwards, and the benefits will subtly accumulate in your life. At some point you suddenly realize that you are not feeling as anxious or stressed as you used to, and you have a sense of wellbeing that wasn’t there before, and it’s all due to the repeated cold water immersion.
And it’s not necessary to stay in the cold water for long to experience the benefits. In one study they found that even 30 seconds of cold-water immersion each day was enough to experience the benefits, and the results were not significantly better than 60 or 90 seconds of immersion.
If you want to give it a try, the easiest way is to start with warm water first, then turn off the warm to experience the cold at the end. I did that for a while in the beginning, but I have personally experienced much more benefit from starting with the shock of the cold water first, then turning on the warm after a minute or so.
Now lest you think I am a stoic who loves suffering, I also have to confide that I let myself really enjoy feeling the warmth when the warm water comes on, and sometimes I stay in the shower for a few minutes longer at the end, just enjoying the feelings of warmth!
Now you don’t have to do it the way I do, but I do want to encourage you to do one thing: Let yourself feel the world. That’s what you came here for.
Warmly,
Steve Wells
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