How ‘wild swimming’ helped this woman cope with anxiety

By Elizabeth Hunter via SWNS

A woman who began wild swimming to help her battle anxiety and burnout has launched a retreat for cold water therapy.

Jenny Favell, 42, from Linlithgow, began struggling with her mental health in 2020, after accepting a new role at work and learning that her mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

After six months of trying to cope with the stress, Jenny reached her breaking point, and was dealing with severe anxiety.

Her brother, a wild swimming enthusiast, convinced nature-shy Jenny to take a dip in Loch Lundie - and it changed her life.

"I had a burnout a few years back – I had several months of quite intense stress with a new role at work, and my mum was diagnosed terminally ill with cancer," said Jenny.

"I did the usual thing that most humans do – 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.

"My brother took me out to Loch Lundie – and he had to talk me into it.

"I was never an outdoorsy person – I always wanted heat and holidays abroad.

"I borrowed his wife’s wetsuit and we went into the water.

"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."

Jenny began researching cold water therapy, reading books by world-famous "Ice Man" Wim Hof, and finding studies describing the therapeutic effects of cold water on the body.

She began wild swimming weekly with friends, and noticed that her mental health was steadily improving - her anxiety and her chronic pain from excess stress began to ease.

Now, four years on and after seeing the impact that her new habit had made on her life, Jenny decided to start teaching others how to get involved.

"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," Jenny 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.

"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?"

Jenny has been sharing her story online as the Cold Water Therapist, as well as launching a retreat and exploratory wild swimming sessions for anyone interested in getting involved.

She underwent training courses in cold water therapy, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and emergency aid, and aims to continue sharing the benefits of cold water therapy - and says that her clients so far have all continued the practice.

"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."