From Addiction to Community: Finding Recovery Through Sauna
A lived experience by Harry Beardsley
In this lived experience, Harry reflects on addiction, recovery, and the role sauna and cold water have played in rebuilding his life.
What was life like during your addiction?
I spent ten years in active addiction with drugs and alcohol. Mainly alcohol and cocaine, alongside other substances. For a decade, that was my life. All I cared about was drinking and using. I ruined relationships, lost jobs, and pushed away the people closest to me.
It was dark and lonely. I originally used to feel like I could fit in, but in reality, my addiction pushed people further away. My family had to distance themselves from me, they never stopped loving me or caring but they just couldn’t bear to see me self destruct anymore. Friends drifted. By the end, it was physical dependency. Wherever I was, I had to be drinking or taking drugs. That was it.
In May 2023, I finally admitted I needed help and went to rehab in Portsmouth. I knew I couldn’t carry on or I was going to die. I just didn’t know what life would look like without substances.
How did sauna first enter your life?
In rehab, we watched something about cold water therapy. Someone said getting into cold water was like doing a line of cocaine. I thought, “Great, I’ll try that.” It didn’t feel like cocaine at all. Anyone who says that is lying. But what it did give me was something I hadn’t felt before: achievement.
A few of us started what became the Recovery Swimming Club. Every morning we went to the sea. Ten minutes in the water, together. It shifted something in my mindset. I’d done something difficult to start the day, alongside people in the same position as me.
About eight months in, the club had grown to around 90 members. When we were sorting T-shirts, I met my now business partner, who had a portable sauna in his garden. We took it to the beach. Our ten-minute swim turned into a three-hour Sunday experience.
For me, sauna replaced the pub.
Harry standing outside a portable sauna.
What did sauna offer that other forms of support didn’t?
In recovery, you’re told you can’t drink or use drugs again. That’s clear. But then what? For ten years, that was all I did. I had to find something completely new.
Sauna became that.
Cold water was powerful, but you dip and then you want to go home and warm up. Sauna extended the time. Instead of late nights in the pub, I was spending early mornings on the beach. It gave me space to socialise in a completely different environment.
It’s one of the only places I genuinely feel calm. I’ve got an ADHD brain. Calm isn’t something I experience easily. The only thing that ever did that before was drugs. Now it’s sauna or cold water.
The biggest shift, though, has been community. For ten years, I was deeply alone. Through sauna, I’ve met people with incredible stories. I’ve built friendships. It’s even where I met my partner.
That sense of belonging has been everything.
How does sauna fit into your life now?
It’s my career and my hobby. That still blows my mind. Going from active addiction to working in the wellness space is surreal.
But beyond that, it’s purpose.
When you’re in recovery, people talk about finding meaning. Sauna and cold water became that for me. If taking sauna into rehabs, recovery groups or mental health spaces can help even one person shift direction, that matters.
The addiction statistics are horrific. When I reached one year sober, I was told I’d entered the 3% club. Three percent of people who attempt recovery make it to a year. Five people I was in rehab with aren’t here anymore.
Addiction doesn’t have to be a death sentence.
Our recovery swimming group now has a recovery rate significantly above the national average. It’s not perfect, and I wish it were higher, but finding purpose and community changes people’s chances.
Sauna has been a huge part of that for me.
If you were speaking to someone in health or social care, what would you want them to understand?
Environment matters.
If we don’t change people’s environments or show them healthier communities, it’s hard to sustain change.
When people find something positive to replace destructive habits, whether that’s sunrise swims, sauna sessions, or community gatherings, they have a better chance.
Recovery needs to feel attractive. Drinking and drug use are glamorised everywhere. We need to show people another way to live that feels meaningful.
Looking back, would finding sauna earlier have changed anything?
Honestly, no.
You have to want to change. If someone had taken me to a sauna five years earlier, I would have been kicked out for drinking.
Recovery only works when you’re ready. When I reached the point where I knew I couldn’t carry on, that’s when things started to land. That’s when cold water made sense. That’s when sauna mattered.
If I hadn’t been in that place, none of it would have stuck.
When I was ready, that’s when it made a difference.
Is there anything you would say to someone going through something similar?
Speak out. Find your community. Vulnerability is a superpower.
Harry’s experience highlights the importance of readiness, environment and access. When the moment to change arrives, having community-based options such as sauna available and clearly signposted may provide additional support alongside established recovery services.
