Cold Water

Cold Water is a skill that helps you calm down fast or reduce stress using cold water, ice, or cold temperatures.

Stories

You know, I don’t want to die. I just wanna stop feeling what I’m feeling. Doing those cold water and paced breathing as grounding was super helpful.

Lily Youth Ambassador

My stress level was at a 10 out of 10. I felt the need to jump out of my body. If that was an option, I would have done that...because my body was so uncomfortable.

Julianna Advisor, Meet Manager

Cold water is one of my favorite skills. I use it when I'm feeling so anxious I can't function ‑ like when I'm having a panic attack or about to have a panic attack.

Eric Director of Product

You can change your emotions by changing your temperature.

Natalie Co‑Lead Youth Ambassador

I'm super stressed and I'm going to get into a cold bath. Are you? Do this with me.

Ursula Founder and CEO

One time I was really anxious and having a hard time focusing, concentrating ‑ you know functioning. And I had this friend and they gave me an ice‑pack and said 'put that on your forehead.'

Abi Youth Ambassador

Community Tips

I work in a restaurant, and when I’m freaking out I go into the walk‑in freezer.

What I've learned from years of teaching this is that people try to make the water too cold. If you put a bunch of ice‑cubes in cold water and then let it sit, it's probably going to be too cold. Just cold tap water is good enough for most people.

Cold Water

A bag of frozen peas is my favorite for this skill. It forms to your face better than big ice cubes, and I just reuse it over and over.

I measure my heart rate first, counting how many beats in 10 seconds. Then, each time I come out of the cold I measure it again. I keep repeating the cold until my heart rate comes down.

I’m so glad I practiced this ahead of time. The first time I didn’t know how to hold my breath right, so it took a few times of practicing.

I’ve heard so many creative stories about how people use it. Some people swear that if they drink a big cold glass of ice‑water, it starts to work over the next few minutes. My dad swears by ice‑cream. Just don’t get a brain freeze.

I mean, it’s really a weird sensation. Especially when I do my whole body with a shower or bath. This Zen state comes over you. Better than anxiety drugs.

When I’m in the red zone, it’s usually when I’m angry. Often for good reason. But, by carrying around those breakable cold packs from the drugstore, I feel like I’m more in control when the anger hits.

My brain just won’t stop sometimes. This is the only thing that consistently works for me. It’s like restarting my computer when it’s on the fritz ‑ cold water is like that.

During those moments when I'm so stressed that I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin or feeling super agitated or maybe having self‑destructive urges—it’s then that I need this skill. There's nothing else like it for me.

After I do it, I feel more awake, kind of more back inside my body instead of kind of floating around outside of it.

As soon as I start feeling intensely I just take that deep breath. Take a few of them. Calm myself down a little bit. And then yeah, I always love sticking my head in a pile of snow. That's my favorite thing to do.

Why Use this Skill

When you’re really upset or stressed, you probably feel physical discomfort—like tense muscles or shortness of breath. This agitation happens because the body’s stress response is activated. The Cold Water skill works with your body’s nervous system. It’s designed to deactivate your “stress response” and activate your “relaxation response.”

Cold Water is a great skill for Choice 1 (Survive), as well as Choice 2 (Self-Care).

*Ask your doctor about using this skill if you have a history of cardiovascular issues, have other serious medical health problems, or take beta blockers.*

When to Use This Skill

Use Cold Water when:

You feel super stressed out, really angry, or emotionally “on fire” and in the red zone.
You just want to de-stress, even if you’re not feeling overwhelmed.
Your thoughts are racing and they won’t stop, or you can’t think clearly.
You feel dissociated and want to get back into your body.
You need to practice Stop Drop and Roll for suicidal urges.

How to Use This Skill

When people get really upset, they often feel physically hot. Using cold temperatures can help you “cool down” emotionally.

If you practice the skill in specific ways (described below), you can activate your body’s “mammalian dive reflex” which naturally slows your heart rate and deactivates your stress response.

Ways to use Cold Water to calm down fast:

: Make sure your eyes and nose are totally covered. Hold your breath for at least 30 seconds, or as long as you can. Take a few, slow, deep breaths, and then submerge your face again. Repeat as many times as you’d like, until your stress reduces or you feel more grounded.
: Cover it in a wet (paper) towel. Hold it over your eyes and nostrils, and hold your breath.
: Drink a cold glass of water. Hold an ice cube. Take a cool shower. Put your face in the door of a freezer. Go outside when it’s really cold.