Group’ s health buoyed by taking freezing dips

Agroup of men are braving the freezing waters off Fife to reap the physical and mental health benefits of cold water dipping.

Cuddy Cudworth, who created the Fife Dippers men’s mental health dipping society, began dipping a year ago and found the experience transformational.

Cuddy, 44, said: “I’d been reading up on cold water therapy. At first there was no way I was doing it.

“I thought, ‘why would you want to do that to yourself?’ But my muscles were aching so I decided to give it a go.

“I only went in for about a minute and a half and I squealed like a little girl. But when I got out, it felt like the most amazing thing I’d ever done.”

Motivating yourself to take a dip in the sea at this time of year can seem impossible.

But the benefits of doing so are what keeps Cuddy and the rest of the group coming back for more.

Cuddy, who is a cognitive behavioural therapist, said: “You get this buzz when you come out of the water.

“It’s the most amazing feeling and you think, ‘if I can get in cold water, what else can I do?’

“I call myself the Leven Lobster because your body gets this red glow when you come out of the water.

“That’s when you start getting this wellness feeling. Your entire body and mind kicks up a gear.

“My motivation for going in is, I know the feeling I get when I come out – that’s when the endorphins kick in.”

The group has been running for the past three weeks. They mainly dip at Leven, but are also testing the waters at Largo and Pittenweem.

Cuddy, from Leven, added: “There are so many lady dipping groups and very often I’d be the only guy.

“I created the group to give men a chance to talk, get things off your chest, get in the water.

“Your thoughts and problems get washed away with the water and then you can get back to living your best life.

“We meet up before getting in the water to check in with each other, seeing how we’re all doing and talking about any challenges we’ve had throughout the week.

“We answer any questions the guys have about dipping. We’ll then dip for 15-20 minutes, depending on the weather, and we just chat like men do about men’s stuff.”

The benefits of cold water dipping are said to be numerous, ranging from improving physical health, to helping with stress, depression and anxiety.

Cuddy said: “It’s absolutely fantastic for pain management, muscle inflammation and arthritis.

“Once you’re in the water, your body’s survival mechanism kicks in. It kicks up your metabolism, your fat burning, your core body temperature.

“Everyone is stressed at the moment. The beautiful part about going into the cold water is, you’re putting yourself into a stressful situation but managing it.

“Then you can duplicate that into your life, because stress is a part of life – managing it is what gets you through.”

Your thoughts and problems get washed away with the water and then you can get back to living your best life

PLUNGING IN: Members of Fife Dippers have been taking to the sea which, they say, has physical and mental wellbeing benefits.