MASTER YOUR CLIMBING MIND

Climb Better, And Have More Fun While You’re At It

The Fear, And How Hypnotherapy Can Enhance Climbing Performance

Climbing is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. Whether you’re ascending a multi-pitch route, tackling a bouldering problem, or working to improve your lead climbing confidence, the mind often determines performance as much as strength or technique. Hypnotherapy offers a powerful way to unlock potential, reduce fear, and enhance focus, making it a valuable tool for climbers of all levels, from the beginner who thinks they’d love to climb but are scared to get off the ground, to the highly skilled climber who wants to refine a particular technique, move or sequence.

At most climbing levels, one of the most common challenges we as climbers face is the fear of falling, which Scottish climbing legend Dave Macleod says “puts a lid on the effect of any other effort we make to improve our climbing”. This fear can be deeply ingrained; it’s an ancient survival response that often triggers a surge of adrenaline, a racing heart, shallow breathing, and tense muscles. Even when the logical mind knows the mats are just a couple of metres below us, or that gear is solid and the fall is safe, the emotional brain can send out overwhelming signals of danger. These reactions all too often lead to a vicious circle: we start gripping holds too tightly, clenching muscles, and holding our breath. Overgripping quickly burns through forearm strength and energy reserves, making moves feel harder and less controlled. We start climbing too cautiously, losing flow and momentum. As fatigue quickly sets in, we feel less secure, which amplifies the sense of danger and fear. This heightened fear then increases overgripping even more, creating a self-perpetuating cycle, usually resulting in us shouting for our belayer to take, or bailing from a bouldering problem.

I saw this in my own climbing; after several years of almost exclusively indoor bouldering, fear was no longer really part of my experience of climbing. I was comfortable dynoing to top holds or committing to one-foot balances on the sketchy footholds of technical slabs, knowing in my gut that if I fell I’d almost definitely be fine. Then COVID arrived and everything changed. With Alien Bloc shuttered I switched to rope climbing, and fear of falling showed up in a way I’d never known before. On top rope I was fine, but leading was another story. As soon as I found myself above the third or fourth clip the classic feedback loop would kick in, and I’d be gripping holds like I was trying to pull them off the wall, followed not long after by the inevitable shout of TAKE!

That period was pretty frustrating. It wasn’t just that fear of falling limited my endurance, which was annoying enough, but that it meant that I often couldn’t bring myself to even attempt some moves on lead that I knew I could do easily. Since these were often the exact moves that in bouldering I would find the most fun-going up over roofs, big rock overs etc-it felt like my enjoyment of climbing was cut in half; I could often only do the really fun stuff if someone else led it first, and even then, doing it on top rope didn’t feel like the real thing. I could clearly see how fear limited not just how well I climbed, but how much fun I got out of it, which for me was much more important. After all, although it’s fantastic exercise and sometimes gives a great sense of achievement, I’m sure that most of us are mostly into climbing simply to have a good time.

Aside from the vicious cycle I discussed above, other signs that excessive fear could be limiting your climbing skills and enjoyment include:

*Not being able to fully commit to moves on a boulder or route

*Avoiding rope climbing completely, especially leading

*Avoiding certain types of climbs. I.e overhangs, slabs, exposed routes

*Never attempting a particluar type of move that you’d love to be able to do

*Not wanting to climb when others are watching, unless it’s a climb that you can do easily

*regularly turning down climbing invitations from friends because you’re scared of falling or looking bad

* Feeling emotionally exhausted after a climbing session

The way that hypnotherapy addresses the hindrance of excessive fear is to help climbers reframe their relationship with fear. One of the most effective tools in hypnotherapy for performance enhancement is immersive visualisation. While in a deeply relaxed trance state, climbers are led through a mental rehearsal of climbing scenarios that normally trigger fear-such as taking a controlled fall, committing to a tricky bouldering move, or climbing above protection. Because the subconscious mind responds strongly to this vivid imagery, these rehearsals help reduce the emotional intensity of fear triggers. By combining mental rehersal with guided relaxation and focused suggestion, hypnotherapists can help the brain conceive of falling as a manageable and even expected part of climbing, rather than a catastrophic event. This powerful shift greatly reduces the grip of anxiety, enabling climbers to stay calm and present when the climb needs your full commitment.