Cold water swims helped Bristol woman beat eating disorder

Miss Hamill is training six days a week to compete in an Ironman competition

A woman who said she overcome an eating disorder thanks in part to cold water swimming is now aiming for a place at the Ironman World Championships.

Megan Hamill, 23, spent seven years restricting her food but found cold water swimming "shifted her mindset".

The University of Bristol student wants to get on the podium at Ironman Austria, to eventually get a spot at the world championships.

Miss Hamill said cold water swimming stopped her "negative thoughts".

Growing up in Portadown in Northern Ireland, Miss Hamill said her life changed when, aged 11, her father had an accident which left him with lifelong injuries and her mum was later diagnosed with cancer.

She said: "At that age you're really influenced by what's happening around you but you don't really have control over your thoughts.

"My way of dealing with the trauma was by shrinking myself and putting that negative focus on my body.

"I had a victim mindset and didn't share what was happening with anyone."

Megan Hamill found cold water swimming helped lift negative thoughts

The 23-year-old said she often focused on her appearance and struggled to relax, even with friends.

"I was basically starving myself, because of the energy imbalance I would get brain fog and I didn't have a healthy menstrual cycle until I was 20.

"It was lonely at times."

Megan Hamill completed an half Ironman in Turkey

But in 2017, she began to recover after cold water swimming, discovering self-help books and doing Wim Hof breathing.

Some reports suggest cold water swimming can relieve depression, others claim it can help overcome grief.

There is even early research investigating whether it can help slow down dementia as well as a documented case of cold water swimming helping with chronic pain.

"I didn't have a healthy relationship with myself before," Ms Hamill said.

'Feel stronger'

"I'm definitely a completely different person now, full of ideas and innovation."

"Food is just fuel now," she added. "I used to feel like the photos before nights out were a prettiness competition but now I think the least interesting thing about you is how you look.

"When I fuelled myself correctly I was able to think clearly, communicate better, articulate ideas better and perform optimally.

Megan Hamill completed a half marathon in Bristol

"I felt stronger and didn't want to sacrifice all of this to fit a certain size of clothing."

Now in her final year, she is determined to get a podium place at Ironman Austria on 18 June, which will require her to swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and run 26.2miles.

Miss Hamill is now training six days a week, sometimes twice a day, while studying geography with innovation at Bristol University.

Alongside studying, she now helps others develop healthy habits through her social channels, organises cold water swims, hosts a podcast and is about to launch her own wellbeing product.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns Miss Hamill started a wellbeing podcast and now has 30,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, where she teaches people how to "detach their self-worth from their dress size".

"I was so lucky to find friends at university who really influenced me in a positive way. We've been on a self-development journey together," she said.

After university Miss Hamill plans to become a female coach holding wellbeing retreats and workshops.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by anything in this article, you can find support at BBC Action Line.