A woman who was "prescribed" cold water swimming to treat her depression says the activity has 'saved her life'.
Helen Downham, 37, went through a string of traumatic events between 2019 and 2022 - including leaving a relationship, losing her job, and breaking her leg.
The single mum-of-one already suffered with mental health issues but said the events, exacerbated by the pandemic, left her contemplating taking her own life.
Helen, from Warmley, Bristol, was prescribed medication for depression and anxiety, which she said didn't help.
Then, in January, her doctor suggested signing her up for a NHS initiative called 'social prescribing' - which connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community.
Helen Downham, 37, went through a string of traumatic events between 2019 and 2022 - including leaving a relationship, losing her job, and breaking her leg.
The single mum-of-one already suffered with mental health issues but said the events, exacerbated by the pandemic, left her contemplating taking her own life.
Helen, from Warmley, Bristol, was prescribed medication for depression and anxiety, which she said didn't help.
Then, in January, her doctor suggested signing her up for a NHS initiative called 'social prescribing' - which connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community.
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FunTranscript
00:00I'm Helen and I love wild swimming because it's helped my mental health and physical health
00:06and I'm completely pain free when I'm in the water.
00:10At the moment I can't do front crawl because I have an arm injury but the water really helps
00:15with the pain so I'm trying to get better so that I can eventually do it so at the moment I just do
00:21a good old lady swim.