I’m a therapist — swimming in the wild helped me manage my anxiety and could work for you too
Go jump in the lake.
A bracing swim in the great outdoors could be just the thing to help you cope with your anxiety, says one expert with a pondload of first-hand experience.
Therapist Jenny Favell, 42, discovered the healing power of water back in 2020, during a time in her life where she felt overwhelmed by her own mental health issues, her mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis and with increased demands on her time at work.
“I did the usual thing that most humans do,” Favell said. “I kept going and tried to support and look after everybody.”
“But after about six months, I was on my knees. I couldn’t cope. My brain just wouldn’t work, and I was crippled with anxiety,” she told SWNS.
Favell, from Linlithgow in the United Kingdom, was at her wits’ end when her brother, an enthusiastic swimmer, dragged the nature-shy nurturer along for a dip in one of Scotland’s legendary lochs.
Taking the natural cure, she says, changed her life.
“I was never an outdoorsy person — I always wanted heat and holidays abroad,” Favell confessed.
“I wasn’t really expecting anything from it, but it just gave me a couple of minutes of rest in my mind. It taught me that I can control my brain and that I will be alright – and that was it,” she said.
Back at home under a warm blanket, Favell began researching therapeutic swimming, or cold water therapy, learning about world-famous endurance swimmer Wim Hof, and digging into a variety of studies that deal with the positive impact of cold water on the body.
Favell quickly developed a habit, joining friends each week for outdoor swimming — soon, she noticed that her mental health was improving and that her anxiety and chronic pain were starting to ebb.
“I live opposite a lovely little freshwater lagoon which a lot of wild swimmers go to, and I managed to arrange to meet an older lady and her friend to go for a swim,” she said.
“That’s where I met my closest outdoor swimming friends – we call ourselves the swim sisters.
“At that point, we’d only been living in Scotland for a few years and I hadn’t really settled in that well.
“I was suffering with anxiety and that was quite an obstacle for me. I didn’t feel confident enough to go along and join a big, established swim group.
“We’d go once a fortnight or once a week — and I haven’t stopped since. If anything, it’s increased.
Four years later, after seeing herself transformed, Favell now teaches others how to give themselves that same gift.
“For me, if I’m feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed, it just gives me a little bit of peace and quiet.
“It’s like a mental reset – it forces me into a bit of mindfulness.
“It’s good for insomnia, people with depression are finding it helpful, and there’s reports and studies now that it eases menopause symptoms.
“I thought there must be a lot of people who could benefit from this — how do we reach them?”
After training to be a cold water therapist, as well as taking courses in mindfulness for stress reduction and emergency aid, Favell now organizes retreats and swimming sessions for anyone interested.
“On a first session, there’s always lots of nerves — which I encourage them to reclassify as excitement,” said Jenny.
“I’d say the majority of people do it for their mental health, to give themselves a mindful break or just to get outdoors.
“From the customers I’ve had over the past twelve months, I’ve never had anyone say that it was horrendous, and they’d never do it again.
“They’ve all told me that they thought it was amazing — and many of them now continue to swim together.
“They’re saying the same things I did when I first started it!
“I feel massively privileged to be able to take people for their first experience or to help people explore the therapeutic benefits,” she said.
