3 ms·

The Risks of the Wim Hof Method: Breathwork, Anxiety and the Nervous System

Rzor 4y ago
I suspect this method gave me tinnitus. Be careful.
- _yb2s 4y ago
  I don’t have proof of this, but I think you can still do the method without the tinnitus risk if you skip the pressurizing part of the recovery breath. I started to get tinnitus, and it went away when I stopped that. I’ve also read similar accounts from other people.
_yb2s 4y ago
I’ve been doing WHM for years, and it has been life changing, but I agree with everything he wrote here. WHM basically teaches you to stop the stress and anxiety process by creating a controlled amount of additional stress, either by cold or low oxygen for a short period of time, and then learning the skill of calming your body down on purpose. Long term this helps eliminate stress and anxiety, but I agree it is dangerous if you are, e.g. already on the verge of a panic attack. The calming part is also in his courses, and he also teaches calming breath techniques. It’s important to take his actual course and not just do the breathing exercise by itself.
- nhchris 4y ago
  > It’s important to take his actual course and not just do the breathing exercise by itself. Is there published information on what the course entails, beyond just the breathing? E.g. a manual.
  - _yb2s 4y ago
    No. It’s important to realize that this is basically a type of spiritual practice. The most important parts can’t easily be described in words, but I was able to pick them up from watching videos and following the emotional energy, not just the explicit instructions. Wim will often start singing randomly, and this singing is actually part of the lesson. I get annoyed when he tries to explain the science behind it, and clearly doesn’t understand what he is talking about. I think that does an injustice to what the method actually is.
    - drekipus 4y ago
      There's a lot of things like that out there where science fails to actually capture what is going on. You can miss out on a good portion of life and wisdom by only ever looking at "the science" (atheistic or otherwise)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- kerpotgh 4y ago
  [dead]
treadmill 4y ago
What if the "countermeasures" described here (1-2 breathing, voo-hum, yoga nidra, meditation) have their own risks? I think the takeaway here should be that all the woo-woo aside, the ability of the body and mind to manipulate itself into a state of stress and anxiety is surprisingly powerful. Anyone getting into these techniques for the doubtful and unproven supposed benefits should proceed with extreme caution.

Rzor 4y ago

I suspect this method gave me tinnitus. Be careful.

_yb2s 4y ago
I don’t have proof of this, but I think you can still do the method without the tinnitus risk if you skip the pressurizing part of the recovery breath. I started to get tinnitus, and it went away when I stopped that. I’ve also read similar accounts from other people.

I’ve been doing WHM for years, and it has been life changing, but I agree with everything he wrote here. WHM basically teaches you to stop the stress and anxiety process by creating a controlled amount of additional stress, either by cold or low oxygen for a short period of time, and then learning the skill of calming your body down on purpose. Long term this helps eliminate stress and anxiety, but I agree it is dangerous if you are, e.g. already on the verge of a panic attack. The calming part is also in his courses, and he also teaches calming breath techniques. It’s important to take his actual course and not just do the breathing exercise by itself.

nhchris 4y ago
> It’s important to take his actual course and not just do the breathing exercise by itself. Is there published information on what the course entails, beyond just the breathing? E.g. a manual.
- _yb2s 4y ago
  No. It’s important to realize that this is basically a type of spiritual practice. The most important parts can’t easily be described in words, but I was able to pick them up from watching videos and following the emotional energy, not just the explicit instructions. Wim will often start singing randomly, and this singing is actually part of the lesson. I get annoyed when he tries to explain the science behind it, and clearly doesn’t understand what he is talking about. I think that does an injustice to what the method actually is.
  - drekipus 4y ago
    There's a lot of things like that out there where science fails to actually capture what is going on. You can miss out on a good portion of life and wisdom by only ever looking at "the science" (atheistic or otherwise)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
kerpotgh 4y ago
[dead]

treadmill 4y ago

What if the "countermeasures" described here (1-2 breathing, voo-hum, yoga nidra, meditation) have their own risks? I think the takeaway here should be that all the woo-woo aside, the ability of the body and mind to manipulate itself into a state of stress and anxiety is surprisingly powerful. Anyone getting into these techniques for the doubtful and unproven supposed benefits should proceed with extreme caution.