Cold water therapy helping brother and sister who met just 7 years ago make up for lost time
It's a crispy but bright winter day in St. John's. Some people in Anne Sheldon's residential neighbourhood take advantage of the sunny weather by going for a walk, bundled up in winter jackets and tuques.
But when Sheldon and her half-brother Danny Huxter step out into the cold, they're dressed in water shoes, tank tops and shorts. For them, it's the perfect day to go for a dip in the neighbourhood pond.
Regardless of the weather, Sheldon and Huxter say they love practising what they refer to as cold water therapy, which consists of immersing themselves in ice-cold water for around 10 minutes.
The activity is therapeutic, they say, and the warmth of their familial bond makes the hobby all the more worthwhile.
"Don't fight it, invite it," the siblings say in unison. It's Huxter's catchphrase, and they say it helps them manage the shock of the cold water on their bodies.
"Typically what people try to do is when you get in the cold water, you try to beat the cold water, you try to be stronger than the cold water," said Huxter, who says he's been practising cold water therapy for around seven years.
"So if you invite it, basically from a mindset point of view, that basically means you're welcoming it in and you're taking whatever comes with it.… It's the fear aspect that you learn to overcome."
Making up for lost time
Sheldon and Huxter say cold water therapy helps improve their anxiety and depression and significantly heightens their energy levels.
"That's where the mental health aspect for me came in, was learning how to control that panic response by breathing," said Sheldon. "And I've been able to translate that to everyday life."
Sheldon has more than 21,000 followers on TikTok, where she documents the duo's cold water excursions. They say they've done cold water therapy in several locations, including at Topsail Beach during a snowstorm.
But Sheldon says it took a lot of encouragement from her brother before she braved the frigid ocean water for the first time last autumn.
"I resisted in the beginning and said, 'There's no way I'm getting in that cold water,'" she said.
"So I said, 'OK, let's do it as a joke for TikTok,' and that's kind of how it started. It was a joke and it was funny, and then it turned into this whole journey of how to deal with anxiety and depression. It's amazing."
Huxter says he began doing cold water therapy after seeing a friend's online post about its health benefits. Huxter, who has various autoimmune diseases, says it's helped him cope with illness and mental health issues.
But while the hobby is therapeutic, they say, it's also a fun activity that helps the sibling duo make up for lost time.
Sheldon met Huxter around seven years ago, after years of searching for her biological family.
Huxter, who's originally from Virgin Arm, N.L., says she was put up for adoption when she was three months old. She grew up knowing she was adopted, she said, and in 2007 she started a Facebook group called Newfoundland Labrador Adoptees in hopes of finding some of her biological family members.
After applying to receive her original birth certificate, she was able to obtain information about her mother, including her last name and where she lived. Sheldon posted some of the information on the Facebook group and waited. Her cousin Tracey Huxter Freake found the Facebook post, connected the dots, and eventually put Sheldon in touch with her mother and half-brother.
"It's been an amazing journey of getting to know each other, and I'm ever so grateful for having met Danny because he's taken me out of my comfort zone and helped me to learn who I am as a person," said Sheldon.
"First when we met, it was like right away we knew each other," added Huxter, who has the same biological mother as Sheldon. "Right away, five minutes it was like, 'Oh my goodness, I've known her all my life' kind of thing."
Strengthening bonds
The sound of ice cracking and water splashing echoes around Sunshine Rotary Pond in St. John's as Huxter and Sheldon make their way into the water.
After walking four to five metres, the two lower their bodies into the water and begin practising their breathing techniques in unison. They've done this together many times, so they say they're used to the frigid temperatures.
"That's the beauty part of it, is that when you get in, all the focus is on the cold that's surrounding you, and so all those voices that are normally in your head with anxiety just kind of go away," said Sheldon, in the water beside her younger brother.
"It's beautiful," said Huxter.
