Cold Shower Therapy

[Psychonaut]

4 minutes ago, DizIzMikey said:

If I ever have the balls to try this again I'll let you know how it goes 

Try it! Do it fa***** .

I was sceptical at first. First day I had to really really fight the resistance. The shower was cold. I didn't want to step into the cold stream of water. I hardly showered that day. But I didn't turn up the heat. I said to myself. My water boiler is broken. There is nothing I can do about it. I either shower cold or I don't shower and stink. 

The second day was easier, a lot easier. On the third day I even started enjoying it a bit. It is very refreshing. I never shower long.

Remember, suffering = pain * resistance? Showering cold is a very good example of it. Once you don't resist the cold your suffering becomes less and less. In the end there is only the sensations of the fresh, clean, cold and refreshing water running down your body. The smell of your shower gel. No pain, no suffering and you can enjoy showering cold.

Same goes for showering hot. Now that I am more used to showering cold I feel some resistance to shower hot. It feels like my skin is burning. It's weird. I know that my skin doesn't burn. I have to let go and then I can also enjoy showering hot.

[DizIzMikey]

@A Lone Wanderer No, warm is better ... I'll bring my torture  in other forms in life tyvm 

 

I have done it, it wakes you up

But the process sucks, unless somehow you get use to it I guess

Why are you calling yourself a fa*****?  

[Psychonaut]

2 minutes ago, DizIzMikey said:

@A Lone Wanderer

Why are you calling yourself a fa*****?  

A friend of mine used to say that to me and it motivated me. Sometimes insulting people motivates them more, sometimes it does the opposite. I don't know. I like using that sentence .

[Roman]

If you put a lot of consciousness to the process of a cold shower without resisting the unpleasing temperature, you will discover that it isn't as bad as you might think. I focus on my breath and relax my body as well as my mind - makes the whole thing bareable. Big advantage is that when you leave the bathroom the rest of your flat seems much warmer as though you would have showered with warm water. 

[TomKay]

Hello there, my awakened (hopefully) friends,

I'm new here and this is my first post, funny how I've just stumbled upon this particular topic which has been my daily routine for a few weeks now. So let me share my 50 cents on this 

I started taking cold showers on 5th January 2016. It's actually been my tool/mechanism for staying on-track with NoFap challenge, which I actually accomplished pretty comfortably in the end. I know deeply that cold showers have helped me tremendously with this quest, but I could not have ever imagined how significantly it would change my (perception of my) own life.

To be brutally honest (as Leo often says), I didn't think I would hold on to this habit for too long. I just wanted to accomplish NoFap and cold showers seemed to me like a beneficial tool. I started off during winter season with as-cold-as-technically-possible water, the first time I've actually tried I literally couldn't catch my breath, I felt tremendous pain everywhere, my brain was frozen and my shower time was less than a minute long. But I've never taken a warm/hot shower since then yet. Today it's exactly 52 days of strictly cold showers for me. The benefits for me are (in no specific order):

• Super strong immunity, no illness whatsoever.
• Willpower level 9000.
• Confidence level 5000 and still going higher every single day.
• Great skin, great hair.
• Refreshing thing in the morning and sleep-inducing in the evening.
• Sort of meditation technique for me. After a rough day it seems to put me in a balanced state of mind.
• Before a rough day it makes me feel like a superman. I can do anything & everything.
• It turns my body into a lean and fit shape, no workout required. For real.

And these are just the ones I can think of right now. I also noticed that I turn myself into an action-taker, I am (almost strangely) calmly confident, happy, positive and level-headed. More loving & caring as well. It goes hand in hand with bunch of other stuff that I also do (namely being a vegan for a few months now), but still, cold showers are for me The Catalyst which hugely helps me GROW myself every single day. And it's free!

I write this post for you right after a cold shower, I can now take freezing cold water for up to 15 minutes straight with a smile on my face. I can really enjoy my time in a cold shower now, it's just amazing what it does to you when you surrender and let go of being slightly uncomfortable. My balls are ice cold even now (30 minutes later) and I start to become really tired now, but that's allright, I've done a lot today. I'll just do some self-improving reading and then go straight to bed (around 10PM). I should also note that cold showers helped to get me on my feet at 5AM every single day, something I wasn't capable of doing in the past.

Lastly, I can give you a few tips on how to start. First, go with ice-cold water right off the bat. Do not be a pussy. Better go with 30-60 seconds of ice-cold shower and enjoy your time doing something better instead. Second, start with feet, then add your genitalia and then go straight for the head and the rest of your body. Breath out as hard and long as you can, it seems to help with the pain. Third, keep in mind that it's just a water. Water can not hurt you in any way (unless you try to drown yourself, of course). After all, you are mostly made of water, so what's the big deal? The ego holds you back, your body holds you back and your habit of being stuck in your comfort-zone holds you back too. So just go and beat it, it's definitelly worth it. I am proof that it can literally change your life for the better. You'll never go back to warm showers again.

Good luck, stay healthy, enjoy your days. Don't forget to smile! 

- TK

Edited February 25, 2016 by TomKay

[RandomPaul]

@TomKay love the energy in your post, i'm so trying this! if i have some insight about it gonna post it. Thanks for the idea, long live the forum :))

 

[Evilwave Heddy]

I've done this twice now and have come to a realization.  Cold showers put me right in the present moment compared to hot showers where I spend my time making life plans and shit.

 I'll miss my positive thinking and coming out feeling great.  Yes I eventually felt good after putting my clothes on after a cold shower, but it wasn't quiet as pleasurable and saw little benefits. I also slept in an hour this morning because I couldn't bear the thought of a cold shower at that moment. I'm only 2 days in though so that could be it. 

I'll do the full week regardless..and might punish myself to a second week.  Depends how I'm feeling after the first week.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Evilwave Heddy

[A way to Actualize]

I have done it for some months every day. You have so much focus and in one way it helps with doing actions aligned with your life purpose.

I discovered a downside to it while watching Leos video on real growth, because that is working yourself in a frenzy.

[Epiphany_Inspired]

@David, @TomKay so, I am loving this too, thanks for your rad comments. Yes, so refreshing and good for the scalp/hair etc. I am alternating with my typical hot bath therapy. David, is our well water colder than city-folks water? (my water is coming from 200 ft down inside a rock). TomKay, Has your circulation improved?  I have not recovered from the cold in 5 min like the guy in that tedx vid. I have to stand under a hair dryer (lol), or i'm still numb and shaking after 5...but this is normal for me, after surfing I have a fire or a car heater. To both of you...How cold should the water be? Is between the cold that is just below luke warm, and maximum cold on the faucet cold enough? I still squeal, but not quite the full little girl squeal...lol... I have worked my way up to the 5 minutes with that temp, with the maximum well water cold I am only at 2 min....

[David]

@Epiphany_Inspired I am on a well also but shower at the gym as well. In my experience the well is colder. The nice thing is ground temperature fluctuates very little. The temperature should be just below what your willing to stand and you can work up...err down the temp over time. At first just hit yourself with 2 min of it at the end. And if you need help recovering keep a warmed up folded towel ready. But after two years of this personally I can promise your body will adapt. When I am finished now even in winter the moment the water goes off I am warm again and steam is visibly coming off me everywhere.

One final recommendation; when you hit yourself with the cold start from your hair down and when done, if you use the warm towl, just wrap up your head and body and try giving your core a chance to heat you back up. Glad you are benefiting from this. Good health to you ☺

[Psychonaut]

@Epiphany_Inspired I have actually measured my shower's water temperature once. It was 15°C which for me is perfect. Refreshing but not too cold that I have a feeling that my limbs will fall off. 

Now that I'm in Bangkok I miss my cold showers. This is so funny. I only started this a few weeks ago and now I miss something that others would never want to do.

[Stef]

Oh, man. Cold showers are amazing.

At first you're like "what the hell am I doing" and can barely last a few seconds. Your muscles are contracting, you're breathing heavily, you're shaking, teeth grinding...your entire body is in shock. But after a while you realize it's not so bad. You can do it, you can last a few more seconds. The water may be super cold but you adjust to it. And right after you get out you feel buzzed, refreshed, energetic, batteries charged.

I reccomend it to everyone. It's great, especially in the summer after a heavy workout. Start out with your normal showering temperature. Then slightly decrease every 30 seconds or so. Once it gets really cold for you - hang in there and last as long as you can. And just as you're about to get out - decrease the temperature once more. 

This is what worked for me. Try it.
 

 

 

[Stef]

I took one today on the coldest possible setting - no warmup and didn't even flich. Shit felt amazing!

[WHOAMI]

It has many benefits you can see here http://www.medicaldaily.com/benefits-cold-showers-7-reasons-why-taking-cool-showers-good-your-health-289524

[Nic]

Why did I click on this thread ? Oh nooooooooo!!!! 

I can hear my ego from here... This is bad! Really, really bad!

And I thought I was having mindful showers... 

I'm gonna save so much water from now on!

[JevinR]

"James Bond Showers".Also start off really hot, then immediately switch to cold

[zakur0]

A long time ago someone told me cold showers are bad for your kidneys or something like that. Are there any health related downsides at all?

[Evilwave Heddy]

I gave up taking cold showers after a month of doing it.  It was doing very little for me I noticed.  

Yes the half an hour after doing it felt good and that feeling of accomplishment was good but It really wasn't worth the torture of it.  I never got used to it either...Once in it was okay, but the whole lead up to it was horrible.

I know it's was only a month, but I got no benefits from it than a hot shower.  

[LadySan]

Hmm this sound like a really interesting idea. What a challenge. Perhaps you could start at a moderate temperature and then each day decrease it little by little. I so want to try this now lol 

[Henri]