Cold-water swim ‘like therapy’
Even when the swell is so bone-chillingly cold that her toes feel like they are burning as they hit the surf, Angela Abel drives to the beach and wades into the ocean.
The Christchurch woman has swum in the open water wearing only her togs every day since April 30, two days after the country moved into Alert Level 3.
Today, as the city shivers under whipping southwesterly winds, drizzle and temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius, Abel will be in a bikini at New Brighton beach for her 52nd swim.
‘‘The first few times the pain was searing on my hands and feet, it was like a numbness right through me. It was so painful I thought I might cry [but] now, I prance out into the water. Once I’m in, it’s fine.’’
Abel usually swims alone. For her, the ritual is akin to therapy, with the adrenalin and endorphins her fuel.
The routine helps her cope with stress, clear her mind and ground herself. She compared the primal response of shock and pain to the sting in the rubber band-technique, in which a rubber band worn on the wrist is flicked to ward off unwanted thoughts.
While the immersion was temporary, the benefits were long-lasting.
‘‘My son has a severe disability and the grief and anxiety that comes with that is immense.
‘‘Some days I can feel quite depressed and anxious ... I’m just angry at the world. It’s nice to be able to have a reset. I can come along, jump in the ocean and feel like the slate is wiped clean.’’
For her milestone 50th swim, Abel convinced friends, swim coach Chloe Harris and Antarctic explorer and scientist Victoria Metcalf, to join her on Thursday.
Abel’s teenage son Hunter AbelKirkpatrick’s assistance dog, Cooper, 8, was the most reluctant of the group.
The tide was in their favour, with the trio spotting dolphins swimming nearby, one of many memorable dips Abel’s had in recent weeks. Others included a glacial bathe in the icy waters of Lake Pukaki, and an afternoon plunge into the Hooker Lake, at the foot of Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Metcalf, a marine biologist and geneticist who has made seven trips to the Antarctic, was more interested in the scientific benefits.
She had swum on the Antarctic Peninsula, which dropped below -2C, but ‘‘cold is cold’’.
‘‘I think the adrenaline jumping in the water there really keeps you going, it’s probably a little bit the same here ... you feel really lovely and happy and mellow for the rest of the day.’’
In 2016, University of Canterbury researchers in Wellington found being able to see ‘‘blue space’’, such as lakes, rivers or the ocean, was associated with promoting well-being and lower psychological distress.
Abel, who lives on Colombo St, usually swims at midday, but she’s flexible. She works at BodyFix gym in the morning, helping rehabilitate patients to get back on their feet, swims during her lunch break, then heads home for the afternoon.
Abel said she researched cold water immersion, and thought her daily dip was ‘‘very similar to therapy’’ in the clarity it provided her.