Li Karlsén
Li Karlsén knows what it means to keep calm when it counts. A world-record freediver under the Greenland pack ice and a former Air Force servicemember of nearly two decades, she’s tested the edge of fear, cold, and uncertainty and learned that the mind quits long before the body must. In this conversation, Li breaks down the foundations of mental strength she actually uses: breath as an anchor (including the physiological sigh), visualization that prepares rather than fantasizes, and simple resets you can do in sixty seconds.
She’s tested the edge of fear, cold, and uncertainty and learned that the mind quits long before the body must.
She walks through the Greenland dive that almost didn’t happen, how she handles pressure when everything goes sideways, and why “We got this” and “Let them” are the two cues she returns to. No hype, no mystique - just tools, stories, and a clear way to train resilience for the water and for life.
Foundations of Mental Strength
When did you first realize that mental resilience was just as crucial - if not more - than physical skill?
In the Military, I started as a volunteer in the Air Force when I was 14 years and then continued serving for almost 20 years. As a soldier you are tested beyond what you thought was your physical capacity and realise that your body is just fine but it’s your mind that’s telling your body to stop. You can talk about being strong minded and in theory never giving up. But it’s first when your way past your comfort zone and homeostasis that you realise that your mind is telling your body to give up way before you’re even close to your full capacity. Science state that we’re less than 40% into our full physical capacity when our mind is telling us to slow down and give up.
Our mind is not programmed for us to test our limits and thrive, it’s programmed to survive and to remain in homeostasis.
When we go beyond that comfortable zone, we increase our risks of getting uncomfortable and even harmed. It’s natural and a part of our culture to take care of physical wounds, the ones we can see externally and internally with the help of doctors. But, there are wounds deeper than what doctors and anyone else can see, that only the injured one can feel. Those wounds we don’t have hospitals or comprehensive support for to heal, not even culturally or societally. Whatever harms you also shapes you, where that scar tissue will be different from your other skin, not worse or better but a part of you reminding you of your journey. Some scars are external and visible, but most are internal and invisible. A body full of scars shows that you have lived, if you have cared for and learned from those scars it also reflects a life lived to your fullest. The purpose is never to get scarred, it’s to not be scared of life.
We forge our mental resilience by testing our limits even if it’s temporarily scary or can cause harm, and when we’re there we tell our mind that it’s ok, we got his. It’s in that space that we expand and construct our mental resilience, it’s not something that just grows as we age and by being alive – it’s created, learned and strengthened by living to your fullest.
What’s the toughest mental challenge you’ve faced and how did you push through it?
Doing the longest freedive ever done by a man or woman under the pack ice and icebergs in Greenland was not only challenging but it also meant facing my deepest fear. It took me a year of focused training, adaptation, and dedication to become the person who could complete that physical, mental and emotional challenge to do the dive. I visualized myself in the dark, cold ice hole. Who am I there? What do I feel? What is my mindset? How does my body feel? What thoughts are spinning in my head? I saw myself as a puzzle with various pieces of skills I needed to develop and challenges I had to overcome to fulfil the vision. Along the journey, the pieces became increasingly detailed – I could zoom in on each part to improve it and then zoom out again to see the wholeness. I trained to create an overcapacity – a physical, mental, and emotional buffer to handle the unexpected. I knew I could dive to over 70 meters deep, swim more than 200 meters horizontally, hold my breath for over 6 minutes, and stay in freezing water without a wetsuit for more than 10 minutes. I knew I was physically stronger and more prepared than ever, but I didn’t know what awaited me in that darkness. I could never fully prepare for the external environment – only for my internal one, where breathing was my anchor that regulated my mind and nervous system.
Word Record
Ice Storms and -25°C
Freediver Li Karlsen. Photographer: Alexander Dawson
Can you share a specific moment where your mindset made the difference between success and failure, especially in extreme environments?
Greenland, again! I had a film crew with me that wanted to document the long freedive, which meant that I was indeed alone during the dive but not in solitude with cameras everywhere. And what we encountered in Greenland was beyond anything we could have imagined. Ice storms delayed our flight to Greenland, reducing 10 days of training and acclimatization to just 1 day. Dive and camera equipment froze at -25°C, and my only wetsuit tore on the sharp edges of the ice around the entry hole. Currents under the pack ice shifted, freezing over my exit hole and making it invisible before the dive.
The underwater camera man who scuba dived got caught in the currents and drifted far away under the pack ice in just seconds, if that would have been me it would have been game over.
The stress of Greenland’s environment was overwhelming. Everything that could go wrong did. It felt as though Murphy’s Law accompanied us every second and situation. The person I had visualized a year earlier had to be physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger than I ever thought possible. The director of the film crew told me the conditions where too dangerous and that it was impossible – that we had failed. His words made me sad and furious, so I replied, “Good, then we’re going to do the impossible,” choosing to trust my capacity instead of the external, uncontrollable factors. When I began the dive, everything disappeared – not just my fears. I don’t remember my last breath. I don’t remember the cold. I don’t remember the fatigue or the air hunger. All I remember is the flow state – a state of total focus without feeling focused. Every cell in my body became a puzzle piece in perfect harmony, despite the extreme stress.
60-Second Resilience Hacks
What’s one mental reset trick you use when stress or fear hits suddenly - whether underwater or in everyday life?
“We got this”, relax my body, closing my eyes and then opening them fully before I charge or dive towards the perceived obstacle.
Quick de-stress: Inhale for 3-4 seconds and exhale for 6-8 seconds.
Can you describe a breathing technique or small physical action that helps you regain control in seconds?
Inhale fully with your nose by using your diaphragm and relaxing your shoulders, inhale again without exhaling like you’re topping up with air, and then exhale fully with your mouth while relaxing your shoulders even more, do this 3-5 times.
This is called the physiological sigh and inflates your alveoli in your lungs in order for them to be more efficient in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and also makes you exhale extra carbon dioxide that you have accumulated. This means that you instantly feel more focused and at the same time relaxed.
Handling High Pressure & Unpredictability
How to deal with "failure"
The strong emotions created when you fail or do a mistake will, according to science, last around 90 seconds. Raging around and making decisions within those 90 seconds will likely hurt you more than the situation itself. Instead, what works better is to just sit with those strong emotions, breathe slowly and most importantly label them – anger is a broad emotional response caused by different triggers and must be dealt with differently: is it frustration from not achieving you goal? Is it resentment due to unfair treatment? Is it betrayal due to broken trust? Is it humiliation due to embarrassment? If you do this you will not only reduce 90% of the stress that unidentified and confusing anger could have brought you, but you will also make much more rational and healthy decisions from that point and have an opportunity to get to know yourself even better.
What internal dialogue or thought process do you rely on to stay grounded when things don't go as planned?
“We got this”. I say “we” because I see myself and humans in general as a system more than just one component. I see our body as our vehicle, our mind as our computer and our heart as our compass. And that system needs to be in balance and functioning for us to move forward in life.
If I feel that my body, or vehicle, isn’t prepared for the coming adventure or journey I seek to understand what is required – what do I need to train, strengthen or recover from to handle this?
If my mind, or computer, doesn’t have the required knowledge I seek out to learn more, and to understand in order to make the unknown that causes doubt and fear to known knowledge and more safety – what programming do I need to master this?
And most importantly and where I always go first is to my heart, or compass, to seek if this truly is what I want, if I have the right purpose and if this effort is something I prioritize – would I still want to do this if no one knows about it and if I’m faced with obstacles, frictions and even injuries?
If there’s not balance in that trinity I will step away from that journey and choose a different path. If there’s balance, I will commit fully, without hesitation even if it means when facing the highest of mountains or deepest of depths.
Have you experienced self-doubt or fear in critical situations? How do you reframe those feelings and regain control?
I often feel like I live with chronic imposter syndrome no matter what I do or where I am! I do believe that this feeling is somewhat healthy since it reminds you to be grateful for yourself and how hard you have worked hard to get there. But, it can also be a massive setback and destructive loop if you get stuck in that mindset of not “deserving” your place and space.
In the Military I felt that a lot, it wasn’t the warzones and evil enemies or incoming missiles that made me quit- it was the toxic internal working environment and colleges that made me quit after almost 20 years of service. I knew rationally that I had the required skills, fitness, and knowledge to have the positions that I were in, but the people around me not only showed but stated and even screamed at me that I didn’t. This made my internal “safe” environment more threatening and dangerous than the external warzones we were in. It didn’t matter how hard I worked or how many medals or achievements I earned, I was never enough in that space.
I now know that I was more than enough, that the unsafety derived solely from a few abusive teammates and not me. Emotionally I gave up, but physically I just continued until I was so exhausted that I was too afraid to even tell my own family what was going on and how miserable and burnt out I was. I knew that if I told my family they would take me away from that environment instantly – and in my head that meant that the ones abusing me had won. In the end it was that perspective that made me move on, realising that I would never let anyone I love to stay in that mentally and emotionally high risk environment surrounded by toxic and abusive people.
I realised that I didn’t take care of myself in the same compassionate way I did for others. I realised that I had to remove myself from those situations and environments and try another path since it was more likely to kill me than the raging war on the outside.
Now I have learnt that I will never be able to control anything or anyone on the outside or externally, and that’s ok. I choose what’s affecting me on the inside and internally and can listen to the emotions coming before I react or respond to them, I’ve become a master labeller of my emotions and take pride in getting to know myself better every day. I’m fully dedicated to being my own best and most compassionate friend from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep every night.
“We got this” is how I internally reframe and reset any perceived fearful, stressful or overwhelming situation. “Let them” is my external one. These reminders are both about accountability, where I’m always accountable for myself and my actions just as everyone else is accountable for themselves and their actions. “We got this” makes me feel empowered no matter my situation, and “Let them” reminds me that I’m not accountable for others, I can only help them to share their responsibility if they ask me for help.
Tools & Techniques for Mental Resilience
Freediving seems to blend mental strength with physical control. What specific techniques - like breathing exercises or visualization - help you stay mentally sharp and focused?
Visualisation is always part of my planning when I’m facing something difficult and challenging. It’s almost meditative to sit down, closing your eyes, breathing calmy, and going through what’s ahead. It’s a powerful tool that I use every time I have a tough situation ahead, whether it’s physical, emotional or mental. I visualise myself in detail, what am I wearing, my movements, actions, feelings, words, even scents and colours of that space. It’s not about “winning” the situation. It’s about preparing your body and mind to the extent that it feels like you’ve already done it, and you succeeded in terms of going through it and being fully devoted to that situation or challenge – even if it doesn’t make you the winner or gives you a medal.
Visualisation is like treating your mind like a computer where your goal is to program it not only to have the latest updates, but also in a way that there’s no bugs or errors in the flow of your systems. If there are bugs and frictions in your flow, you go there and explore it, so it doesn’t make you crash the day when you have to push your systems to the max. Your vision won’t survive or be the exact in reality, but that doesn’t matter since no plan or vision survives when life happens. The whole idea is that you actually connect your body and mind so that they’re in balance and prepared together in the same vision and plan.
Visualising climbing a mountain won’t make you a good climber, you need physical training for that as well as heartful devotion to make it to the top. Visualising helps you to better cope with the possible frictions ahead and train the skills needed to handle any situation in the best possible way. It takes away stress that might feel overwhelming before even starting, and also helps you cope with the stress during your effort since you’re more prepared for it.
Breathing is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools for managing stress – both underwater and in life. Whether you’re preparing for a physical performance, a mentally challenging salary negotiation with your boss, or an emotional confrontation about your partner’s bad habits, releasing stress enables better management of what’s to come, fostering more rational and constructive decisions. What helps me in everyday life on top of visualisation, is to use the breathing techniques I’ve learnt in freediving in my every day life, it’s super easy and you can even stand at a bus stop doing this: take two minutes in solitude and breathe through your nose and diaphragm – inhale for 3-4 seconds and exhale for 6-8 seconds. Fill your lungs and yourself with air, face the friction, and recover for a few minutes afterward to reflect and learn.
If someone feels stuck in fear or doubt, what’s a simple visualization or mental shift they can try Immediately?
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Do: Close your eyes and exhale slightly longer than you inhale a few rounds
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Feel: We got this - My body, mind and heart are stronger and more prepared than ever.
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Visualise: At least I’m alone with a broken wetsuit under the pack ice in Greenland with 500 metres of darkness to the bottom. So, We Got This.
After an intense freediving experience or a mentally challenging situation, what’s your process for recovering and resetting?
As a soldier, I learned to exhale passively and hold my breath to stabilize my body before firing my weapon. During my missions in Afghanistan, American special forces taught me to use box-breathing to reduce internal stress since the external stress was so intense. In freediving, breathing has a similar role: to help us find balance and inner peace in extremely stressful environments and situations.
Humans can handle extreme stress, but we tend to get stuck in the stressful sympathetic state in our daily lives. This is partly because we’ve never learned to balance or stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system for recovery and healing and partly because modern society promotes the stressful and performance-driven state.
Instead of emptying our stress cup before adding more stress that the challenge will bring, we often walk around with overflowing stress cups, having forgotten – or never learned – how to self-regulate and heal internally. Being a skilled freediver isn’t just about holding your breath for a long time; it’s about being able to regulate that stress – whether it’s caused by diving physically downward or mentally inward.
Managing the stress caused by freediving, and even the stress carried in everyday life, is made possible through training and experience but, above all, through breathing techniques. Breathing correctly ensures a relaxing freedive, even though it is extremely stressful for the body, while incorrect breathing can result in a blackout or even drowning. Before a dive, it’s important to wind down and breathe calmly to avoid unnecessary stress. The focus is on de-focusing or de-stressing as much as possible. You empty your stress cup before exposing yourself to the high-dose stress that freediving and breath-holding involve, balancing mental and emotional stress as much as the physical.
Are there any unconventional techniques you’ve discovered that help you build mental resilience?
When we’re stressed, we often breathe shallowly through our mouths and in the upper parts of our lungs, activating the sympathetic nervous system. This increases breathing frequency, stimulates hyperventilation, and drives stress responses to handle perceived threats and heightened oxygen consumption. Tummo breathing, known to many as Wim Hof breathing, is an example of this.
However, the breathing techniques of soldiers and freedivers are the opposite, aiming to stimulate the parasympathetic state, associated with relaxation and balance, which enhances endurance and decision-making. The longer we stay in the parasympathetic state internally, the more external stress we can handle.
This means that the current way of managing stress and grounding oneself that Wim Hof has made famous – are completely wrong and even dangerous.
We can’t oxygenate ourselves with bigger breathes, just as we shouldn’t take on more things and stress before doing something stressful – we need to exhale and empty ourselves off stress to handle the stress that’s coming. We oxygenate and recover by breathing calmy with slightly longer exhales than inhales to stay in an oxygen conserving parasympathetic state as long through the stress as possible. We do not hyperventilate and constrict our vessels and impair our release of carbon dioxide and oxygen which puts us in a sympathetic state before even handling the stress that’s coming!
Imagine yourself standing on the edge of a high cliff where you need to find the best way to the top. Do you start hyperventilating then – stimulating your amygdala and sympathetic nervous system causing adrenalin, shaking hands, restricted blood and reduced oxygen flow, and try to make a rational and safe decision on your way ahead? Or does it feel and seem more rational to breathe slowly and calmy, emptying your stress, stimulate your prefrontal cortex and parasympathetic nervous system that reduces the fight and flight responses in your amygdala, and then take a decision about your way ahead?
The climber Alex Honnold that is best known for his free solo ascents, such as El Capitan, has an abnormally underfiring amygdala. Not overfiring, underfiring. Alex managed to do one of the most dangerous climbs in the world for the same reason that I managed to do one of the most dangerous freedives in the world – by not only hard physical training, emotional devotion and facing mental frictions way outside homoestasis, but by not letting fear take over. By not letting our amygdala overfire and make our decisions and movements. We did this in different vehicles and with different compasses – but with the same neurological programming and stimulation of our minds.
Physiologically and physically the calm and recovering breathing is the conventional way, but since the “quick fixing” and adrenaline driven way has become the norm, the rational and “right” way has unfortunately become unconventional today. And that needs to be changed, no matter what altitude you’re at.
