'Wild swimming helped my anxiety and burnout - now I'm a cold water therapist'

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

Jenny Favell, 42, 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, from Linlithgow, Scotland, 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.

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"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