The word "soldier," Darren Adam observes, contains something telling in its etymology: sol dier — "soul killer." Whether or not the linguistics hold up to scrutiny, the sentiment resonates with anyone who has served. Military training excels at building physical capability. It is less equipped to address what happens to the inner landscape during and after service.
Darren spent years as a Royal Marines Commando in Scotland — one of the most physically and mentally demanding roles in the British military. When he left, he carried the fitness and the discipline. What he lacked were tools for the quieter battles: the anxiety, the disconnection, the absence of mission and brotherhood that define civilian life for many veterans.
He found those tools in an unexpected place: standing in ice water, breathing deliberately, and learning to be still.
Military service provides three things that are remarkably difficult to replace in civilian life: structure, community, and purpose. Every day has a mission. Every mission has a team. Every team has your back.
When that structure disappears, many veterans discover that the physical conditioning they built does not transfer to the psychological demands of ordinary life. The discipline to run ten miles is not the same discipline required to sit with anxiety, to process the accumulated stress of service, or to find meaning in the absence of mission.
Darren's journey to the Wim Hof Method was not immediate. Like many veterans, he tried conventional approaches first. What he found in cold exposure and breathwork was something that mapped onto the patterns his nervous system already understood: controlled intensity, voluntary discomfort, and the reward of pushing through.
The Wim Hof Method rests on three interconnected pillars: cold exposure, breathwork, and mindset. Each reinforces the others.
The breathwork — cycles of deep hyperventilation followed by extended breath holds — directly influences the autonomic nervous system. For veterans accustomed to operating under extreme stress, the controlled intensity of the breathing exercises feels familiar. It is disciplined, structured, and produces measurable results.
Cold immersion follows the breathwork. The combination is deliberate: the breathwork primes the nervous system to handle the cold with less anxiety and more control. The mindset component — the commitment to showing up and stepping in — is the thread that holds the practice together across days, weeks, and months.
Darren eventually became a certified Wim Hof Method instructor, which restored something he had been missing since leaving the military: a mission. Teaching ice bath (read the full breakdown) workshops created a new community and a new sense of purpose.
The shared experience of cold exposure — the vulnerability, the breathing, the triumph of staying in — creates bonds that echo the camaraderie of service. For veterans, this is not trivial. Isolation is one of the most significant risk factors for post-service mental health challenges.
Darren has since expanded his practice to include sound healing with gong baths, which complement the nervous system reset from cold and breathwork. The combination addresses the full spectrum: physical resilience through cold, emotional regulation through breath, and deep relaxation through sound.