What do you mean by “iterating animal names”?

I read an article years ago on this. It was interesting. There'a a big psychological component to holding your breath. If I remember correctly, you go through the alphabet and think of an animal that corresponds to each letter. You can also try to think of a person you know for each letter. It's to help you stay calm and focused. The fear and accompanying response will have you out of the water fast. I suspect it's also dangerous. If you start freaking out underwater you're in trouble. I tried applying it while doing Wim Hoff exercises and it helped a lot.

Again I read this in an article. I'm just some guy on the internet. Please don't try without investigating how it's actually done and about any associated dangers.

I assume a mental strategy to distract yourself from the pain