Self Confidence- The Hidden Benefit of Cold Water Swimming

As another cold water swimming season draws to a close, I find myself looking back fondly at my first Winter of open water swimming in 2020. It’s gave me so much, but one thing I wasn’t expecting was an increase in self confidence.

The mental and physical health benefits of cold water swimming have been well documented. However the hidden benefit for me was that I had a massive increase in my self confidence. It’s something I wasn’t expecting, but a change that was very welcome.

So How Does Cold Water Swimming Increase Your Self Confidence?

Any exercise will make you feel better about yourself. Exercise gives you a sense of achievement, and causes the release of endorphins, your happy hormone, which will make you feel great. BUT cold water swimming does this on a different level. The feeling you get post swim is almost indescribable, it’s a natural high I like to call swimphoria.

Maybe it’s because the extreme temperatures test your body to it’s limits, or maybe it’s because you are pushing through physical and mental barriers, accomplishing something you never thought you could.

I read somewhere a theory that overcoming the fear and anxiety of something that everything in your body is telling you not to do, can make you more confident in other life situations. The combined increase in mental strength, sense of accomplishment and forcing yourself out of your comfort zones builds self confidence and courage.

Self Confidence- My Story

At the beginning of 2020 I was a completely different person and was at an all time low. My self esteem and confidence were shattered and I had no self-worth. Move on only a year, and I felt positive, confident, happy and most importantly proud to be me and I largely attribute that to open water swimming, or more specifically cold water swimming.

After taking up open water swimming in June 2020, I started cold water swimming purely because I wasn’t ready to give up my new found hobby as the temperatures dropped. I soon discovered that actually the colder it was the more exhilarated I felt. As I challenged myself both mentally and physically getting into lower temperatures, I found that my self confidence increased, I actually felt really proud of myself.

I never thought I would take pleasure in swimming in all conditions and get excited when my ‘cold tub’ was covered in a thick layer of ice. The more I did it, the better I felt.

My new past time also bought with it a lot of interest from friends and strangers a like. Every time a passer by would ask me “Isn’t it cold?”, or a friend would tell me they thought I was bonkers, my self confidence would go up another notch.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about me suddenly becoming one of those “Oh I love myself, aren’t I great!” kind of a person, it’s more about feeling empowered and having a new found respect for my body, that I was doing something that others thought was beyond their limits.

Cold water swimming has been for me more than just a hobby. Not only has it given me an excuse to take time out for myself, but I finally feel comfortable and confident in my own skin. This increase in my self confidence has had a knock on benefit to the rest of my life. Rather than loathing my body and spending too much time concentrating on all the flaws, I have a new found respect for it and feel emotionally stronger in all situations.

I am enough, I am strong and I can do whatever I set my mind to, and it took cold water swimming to make me realise that. Now, if only I could bottle that inner self confidence and hand it around, the world would be a happier place.

Kerry x

If you can relate to this post through experiences with cold water swimming or other activities, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. I will continue to challenge myself, and if you would like to follow the journey then don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.

*first published April 2021