Can Cold Therapy Change Your Mindset?

Can Cold Therapy Change Your Mindset?

You may have read about numerous biological benefits of cold therapy but not many people are aware of the psychological benefits. Cold therapy has many positive effects on our psyche, as shown by many studies.

Boosts Confidence

Some common negative traits amongst all of us are a sense of self-doubt and insecurities, of course, these are a natural part of life but if not dealt with at the right time, they may lead to many detrimental longer term mental health consequences.
A great way to boost self-esteem is to ritually engage in cold therapy. How? Simply summoning up the inner- strength and resilience to do such a task trains us to see that we are capable of completing something that is seemingly impossible.

Embracing cold therapy becomes a stepping stone towards accomplishing other challenges in life. Through cold therapy one can experience the ability of our body and mind to adapt and overcome fears, additionally it can make us realize we have the strength and courage to do difficult tasks all along.

Enhances Emotional Regulation

Even after years of cold therapy people still find it difficult to step into the cold. This response never really goes away but it builds one’s ability to adapt to harsh environments.
By constantly practicing cold therapy, we teach our body and mind to manage and overcome built-in defense mechanisms, restoring full power to ourselves which allows us to influence other psychological aspects of our lives like emotions and habits.
This happens because we can relate the intense emotion from the initial exposure and how our emotions present themselves at first. But then as we experience them the intensity begins to fade and we can control our response even through the emotions.
As a result, with constant and frequent exposure to cold therapy, we train ourselves to become the person we aspire towards being without letting emotions cloud our judgment. This may seem small but it’s a monumental step towards building a more disciplined self.

Helps Us Step into a Growth Mindset

Nowadays the human race in the developed world is much more used to its comfort zone. This has resulted in many destructive patterns like losing healthy habits, avoiding difficult conversations, ignoring difficult tasks, seeking distractions and so much more.
All of the above lead us into a vicious cycle that does not leave any room for self-growth. Cold exposure is a great way to jolt yourself out of this comfort zone and into the mindset of self-growth.
This practice allows us to reprogram our mindset and seek comfort in our discomfort resulting in us embracing the challenges in life that allow space for growth and opportunity.

Boost Your Mood

A study conducted in 2007 found that regular exposure to cold showers can truly treat symptoms of depression enough to be taken off their prescription medications. The reason behind this is that stimulation from the cold exposure gives release to dopaminergic neurotransmitters which are responsible for lifting mood.