Cold shower questions

You don't want to suffer hypothermia. But you want every nerve in your body to get shocked by the temperature changing drasticly. There are several ways to harden your body. How cold the water can be, what is the initial temperature that you are about to take down, and how long you can manage to stay there. It's good to be warmed up not to do harm to yourself. A short all in jump into icy cold water stream is a good kick in the butt for you and once you get used to doing it without hestitation it you are good to go.

 

I find it's not meant to be pleasant. I don't look forward to it, I hesitate going in at first and I spend the whole time wanting it to be over. Then I step out, shiver a bit and start to warm up and wonder what was so hard about it. I feel invigorated and like I can take on the world.

For me, it builds self discipline. You are doing something that most people will never do. You make the choice to turn the water cold, equally you can make the choice to turn the water to hot if you want. You then make the choice to go in. You brace yourself for an unpleasant experience, get through it and reap the reward afterwards.

When it comes down to it, life isn't all about chasing pleasure. Life can suck sometimes and taking a cold shower is my way of reminding myself that some things in life aren't pleasant but we can get through it. It's cliché but a short cold shower won't kill you. It does make you a stronger person though.

 

I haven't taken a warm shower since I started my current streak 25 days ago. I live in a warmer part of the US, so I doubt I'm feeling the pain others would who live in colder areas. What I do is step in the shower first without the water on, mentally prepare myself for what's about to happen, and then turn the cold on. Usually the water "warms" up after about 30 seconds, but those first seconds take my breath away and force me to calm my breathing and relax, which helps with my self-discipline. I seriously doubt there's a danger in getting hypothermia from a cold shower, but then again I'm not showering in the arctic either. I'm looking forward to the cooler days ahead so my cold showers will become an even bigger reminder of what I'm doing and why I'm here. That's been the biggest change - before I would grow complacent and not really think about NoFap or triggers. This would allow fantasy and other things to infect my mind, and resets would inevitably follow. Every day a cold shower is a harsh reminder of my goals, but at the same time I'll 2nd how invigorating and awesome I feel afterwards. It's the perfect, living metaphor of what we're doing. The pain of self-discipline and resisting urges of a comfort, followed by a sense of accomplishment.

 

I must say that it is getting harder as the weather gets colder but as long as your bathroom is well heated it isn't really a problem.

 

Wow @Paleblood, then your self-discipline is going to rock out of this world!

I'm quite sure my shower water temp isn't 32.1 degrees like yours must be! I'm in Texas, so my experience isn't going to come close to yours, but I do envy you! Either way, I encourage you to keep it up - it's worked amazingly well for me, and I'm close to beating my longest streak ever. I attribute a portion of that to my cold showers. My skin does get used to the cold after a bit, but I've also kept my showers nice and short - it'll get your blood pumping!