How Climbers Can Control Fear

[@ihateandreykrasnokutsky]

I've been climbing electricity pylons for some time now, and one of the best methods to reduce fear is to avoid your eyes from being unfocused. It's when you watch nowhere, as if your're thinking about something. In reality it's a frightened look. Focuse your eyes, as if you're watching at something close to you. Or you can actualy watch and concentrate on something nearby: your hands or better something you need to grab. Don't look or think of something behind you (about that vast space), it can be very uncomfortable during the first climbs. Generally, don't think about anything except what you have in front of you. Imagine that you're in a small room, limited by your body, hands and the structure you climb. Practice and experience is a second very powerful tool to reduce fear. Don't use the words "fear" or "scared", even if you're scared. They have the effect of self-affirmations, and hence they not only describe reality, but they create it in some kind of psychological loop. I think that removing the fear is relatively easy, you just need to be consistent in your tries to climb higher.

[@markuswrede8960]

Just watching a video about the fear of falling gives me sweaty palms.... 😅

[@JosephGiehos]

Same here, even though I recently finished my first f6a route, which had quite an overhang 😅

[@juanalejandrorosero2320]

I thought I was the only one 😅

[@JosephGiehos]

@@juanalejandrorosero2320 Nope, and the more I articles I read and the more videos I watch about it, I realise that many people react this way, are a bit scared, and they work on it to overcome it. And it's sooo rewarding 🙂

[@Schockokekschen]

For me, finding people to climb with who do not make me feel uncomfortable but who are understanding when my fear kicks in, was a big game changer. Now I don’t mind pushing myself a bit more (and ending up with a mental breakdown, crying my eyes out). They are cool with it and know it’s just me trying to push my limits. I also talked with them about things not to do, when I’m at my worst, and they 100% respect that, which helps a lot. What didn’t work for me at all was fall training ^^ After I did my lead course (and cried through it 90% of the time) I was told to do fall training on a regular basis - which I did 1-2 times a week. However, it really screwed up my mental game after a few weeks. At one point I even got mental breakdowns the evening BEFORE going to the gym and it felt like a huge pressure. And yes, I normally only did little falls and always top rope. And I'm quite a rational person, so I know my belayer is great and the equipment is safe and also that most of the time I'm more than 100% capable to do the route - and I'm having this talk with myself every time I go climbing/bouldering on every route I do. When it got so bad, that I even started panicking and crying just by looking up on my warming up route (on top rope I’m fine climbing up to 7a on a good day), and one time just by entering the climbing gym, I decided to stop fall training and give myself a break. Now I’m just trying to listen to my body and mind during the warm up. If it’s a bad day, I do not push myself too much on that day. I might just try harder routes, where I will have to work on a crux like 5-6 meter above ground. Or I will d o a few easier routes and celebrate if I'm be able to take a little fall above 7m even once purposely, or getting myself to let go of the holds and swing out or even being able to sit in my belt 10m above ground for a bit. If I have a really good day, I might push myself hard (which is basically a “normal” session for everyone I climb with^^). So what I’m trying to say: everyone is different and it’s worth trying different things and see what works best for you - which might be different from everybody else. There are also good days and bad days, and it's good to know which one today is and take it easy or having a good understanding of how much you can push yourself before it becomes counterproductive 😊 Btw, just watching this video gave me anxiety, so for me today is probably not the best day to push my limits^^

[@iain_nakada]

Cool comment. I climb with quite a few people who are scared of falling and generally assume that regular fall practice is the magic pill that will help them all. But really useful to hear this isn't always the case. Good luck with the training!

[@Schockokekschen]

@@iain_nakada thanks a lot and yes, I think it's different for everyone. I do agree that you should get out of your comfort zone to progress but it always depends on where you start. For lots of my frieds, takinf controlled falls while lead climbing on easier routes became really fun, once they did it a few times. For me, even baby falls on top rope can mean a huge mental load. Which doesn't mean that I should stop pushing myself but I had to create the "right environment" to feels safe pushing beyond my limits to actually push beyond my limits (if this makes any sense :) ). Hope that your friends will be able to progress regardless of their fear! Whish you happy climbing!

[@iain_nakada]

@@Schockokekschen Thanks Schoko! You too!

[@yvaafk]

​@@SchockokekschenI'm at the exact point where you were a year ago. It's comforting to know there are people out there who react the same 😭😊 tell me, did it get easier for you after some time?

[@bryanbryan6108]

Why do you climb if it causes you so much distress? The sport isn’t for everyone. You seem more suited to wearing sweaters and sipping hot cocoa with both hands on the mug, then exhaling loudly through your mouth after you take a sip to denote the pleasure you derived from the sip. Yep. That seems more your speed.

[@iggimoore]

Brilliant strategies. I fell and broke my back 22 years ago and it still holds me back. My last climbing partner used to make me lead routes but not clip the chains; resulting in a fall but so high up it was safe. Even this, initially, was hard but I did get used to it. However, leave it for a few months and I am back where I started! 🙃😂

[@BrunoAxhausen]

Good one! Definitely something you don‘t „get“ once and for all! More like staying in shape, have to keep working on it to make progress but also to maintain… Going for harder routes definitely helped me though. Often harder routes are better protected as well as steeper and therefore nicer to fall on… falling on 5b’s usually sucks outdoors no matter how good your head is…

[@Booreak]

Completely agree with your statement that falling on 5b's sucks. I'm not afraid of falling on overhangs, but I'm afraid of falling on vertical walls. Couple of times I've hurt my ankles (nothing serious, minor sprain) and bruised legs and knees on verticals, and I got into thinking "this was minor injury, what if i've hit that big hold during the fall", and this is seriously stressing me out. Also I don't know if other people get this - I'm less afraid of falling when my hand opens on a hold or if i miss some big move, but my fear of falling while clipping increases alot. I tend to tense up and waste ALOT of energy while clipping. Guess I'll try to incorporate some techniques mentioned in this video.

[@Alex.i]

One of the most proficient videos on fear of falling and perhaps one of the best videos from Lattice. Congrats to the people documenting and creating this, nicely done! Looking forward for a video on fear of falling while bouldering, indoor and outdoor :) Especially now that commercial bouldering gyms are becoming taller and taller in a try to mimic the worldcups

[@bryanbryan6108]

😂

[@hellsangel2005]

Jesus crist he is speaking my language. I took a bad fall and now im scared of falling. Thank you for this video

[@jonlyons3601]

I do fall training as part of my warm up routine and made a game out of it. This distracts me from the fear and makes it a positive thing instead of training your mind falling is scary. Start out high clipping and letting go as quickly as possible, try to beat your previous clip and fall time. When it's seamless move on hold up and repeat. Once you get above the clip I pick a hold and smack it like a buzzer or a speed climber finishing their run. Now I'm at the point of moving to the side 6 inches above the clip and it's like starting all over. 😭😂👍 Just gotta keep taking small incremental falls, I do 3 each climbing day.

[@crispycrimps865]

Hey Jon, has this helped a lot?

[@dimitargeorgiev188]

Nice, that's very bright actually. I'll try that

[@timandrews9966]

This was really helpful, but I did notice that most of the climbing shots were on indoor overhangs (falling on those can even be fun). Interested to hear some tips on how you cope with steep but not overhanging walls where a fall results in sliding down the wall and especially in trad leading where you know your last couple of gear placements are a bit sketchy.

[@Charliened1]

In fairness if you’re leading trad and your last few bits of gear are sketchy then you should be scared to fall. Just not so scared that you can’t climb well.

[@logiconabstractions6596]

To me, that means spacing out gear sometimes on climbs/sections that are very easy for me. It's a situation where I shouldn't fall, but then I likely wouldn't anyways, because I'm in control and well within my abilities. Objectively, I am not in trouble (even if runout) at that point. My fear levels should reflect that - so carefully testing holds before comitting on a move, but not frankly patting the rock for holds. I'm basically trying to learn that it is OK to be in a situation where I shouldn't fall, as long as I'm in full control of the climbing.

[@mitchellbaker4806]

Long pants, and if your last gear placements are "sketchy" maybe you rushed them?

[@nickfoulds8673]

What a great video. Love the breakdown. The most comprehensive video I've seen on understanding and starting the journey of combating fear in climbing. Thank you for this! 👍🏼

[@BeliefInLeif]

As Don Miguel Ruiz says in his book the mastery of self, you have to change whether your story is coming from the ally narrator or the parasite narrator. I tried lead for the first time yesterday and was not expecting to be scared because I don’t mind heights, but I took a couple big wippers and got nervous. I’m scared of actually falling, but being in that fear state is uncomfortable for sure. My story about that first time could be that it was terrifying and I’m bad at it because I fell a lot and barely passed the gyms test because I couldn’t clip the final bolt. It was uncomfortable and I shouldn’t do it again. OR my story could be that I did great for my first time and handled falling really well. Even tho I was scared I pushed through and didn’t give up. Lead is fun and a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and improve my mindset. Our minds are our most powerful tool, they create our reality. Thank you for this! 🙏❤️

[@greyemrednus]

Falling into a bouncy rope is more fun than scary, but after a badly sprained ankle I find myself severely limiting my effort when a (bouldering) problem reaches higher than around 2.5 meters. Especially if it relies on sketchy holds/slabs and the fall scenario seems particularly dangerous, examples: - Holds positionied between you and the mat, specifically when relying on small holds/slabs. - Overhang footlocks threatening to get jammed, causing you to involuntarily swing around on one leg should your hands fail (this might be the most irrational one) - generally: Putting weight on limit-pushing holds that, in (not so unlikely) case of ones failure, would send you on a trajectory that leaves your body arriving at the mat in a particularly unfortunate orientation (looking at you - full scorpion), at an unfortunately high speed.

[@GlitchMan1011]

I really needed this video. A few months ago my belayer fumbled with the device and let me free fall on top rope for a couple of seconds and it was the scariest thing ever. Since then, I’ve stuck to bouldering or auto-belay routes. Every now and then I let someone else belay me but I always ask them to let me down slowly but I also cant break away from the wall and simply hang there anymore. Now my friends want to start leading but I have opted out of taking lessons due to this and its been bothering me for weeks. Edit: The belayer is my friend who now wants to lead climb, but I have expressed multiple times how I still may allow her to belay me on top rope now, I can’t put my safety in her hands on lead.

[@DeadAnubis]

An honest conversation go long ways, and we all do mistakes and learn from it.

[@connorjames5488]

There is a device you can use whilst lead climbing that you attach as the first quickdraw, and if you fall the resistance will pretty much stop you so you don't fall to far. I've posted a video of the OHM. Will defo help you. It works similar to a Grigri and is around £100. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fojceGSOecahb80

[@iain_nakada]

@@connorjames5488 Kinda old comment but people should be aware the Ohm is absolutely not a brake-assist device such as a gri-gri. It is mainly used for addressing differences in weight between climbers and does not provide backup for belaying and won't lock. It can certainly result in a softer/smoother catch but needs a solid belayer behind it.

[@sherriff123]

Is your belayer using an assisted belay device or Grigri? Would say that these are essential for single pitch climbs, and they'll help you have confidence to sit on the rope/fall knowing that you have the backup if human error occurs.

[@matteobmaontube]

Thank you very much for these valuable teachings. This is certainly one of the biggest limiting factors in climbing. 🙂

[@Leo-ry6zh]

Can you do a video on how to do soft catches?

[@uploadsnstuff8902]

Yeah that fall at 2:18 was definitely ending upside-down. I'd love to see a video on how to practice those.

[@SirSereni]

This is just the video I needed thank you! One tip I was given was to not clip the final clip on a route and do a practice fall on each route you do. But this might be going into overdose territory!

[@lianaroemer6349]

Really helpful, the steps you mentioned for fall training, I did fall training and realised how big of a game changer this was back then and also that it literally is like a muscle. What you don’t use you lose. About time to practice again 😊💪

[@meganh7526]

I just came out of a bad slump of fear and anxiety in climbing. I’m quite predisposed to worry as it is and I found that the fearful part of my brain was in the front seat. Challenging sequences just totally short circuited my brain and I couldn’t push through the fear. People kept telling me to just not think so much, advice that I frankly found incredibly unhelpful. I can’t say for sure what it was that got me out of the slump, but rather than trying to… stop thinking, I’ve been trying to focus on meditative qualities like breathing and flow. And when I find that I am starting to get psyched out, practicing calming breaths and compassionate self-talk. Trying to deactivate yourself when you’ve spiralled into a full blown panic is a lot harder than continuously practicing mind-body awareness.

[@iain_nakada]

Focusing on breathing while climbing is a great thing to do. Has an immediate effect on your physiology, and can totally change your mindset while climbing.

[@bryanbryan6108]

Lmfao imagine thinking “I am a beautiful and strong human” while screaming through a 5.13 crux sequence. 😂

[@rowenaanderson3739]

You have described my situation. Im also thinking I need to focus on breathing more. Thank you for your advice.

[@celgaha]

I was recently dropped while my belayer was lowering me. It was during a belaying course, where you practiced by belaying each other. I'm waiting for the pain in my back to go away and then I'll try climbing again. I know for sure that I will never trust someone I don't know to belay me, but I hope that I won't be scared when my friend who has experience belays me...

[@dantaylor8240]

A really useful video, thank you. Do you think you could do one on bouldering? (the methods to work to overcome fear like at the end of the video) I find I climb really hard and well most of the time but on higher climbs I sometimes struggle with high difficult moves at the end of the route out of fear. Ive never actually injured myself like this but the prospect itself can impact my climbing.

[@Tofubraut]

I feel the same! I think I can probably do more and finish more routes but sometimes the last steps just scare me because I'm scared of slipping and hitting my head on lower grips for example

[@User-fau11.g]

Great video and very helpful, its good to know there are climbers that make this videos to help others. Thanks 🤘🏼

[@robertomarreiros6239]

Really nice video on a such important subject. I'm really felling that i'm "stuck" because of the fear, but for me i would call Fear of Falling trying to clip Any tips? Cheers

[@elijahbuchanan2368]

For me, it helps to practice the clipping motion a bunch of times when on easier and more secure positions, perhaps even ones close to the ground. That way clipping becomes more natural, which can help with the fear aspect of it

[@Aaron-xq6hv]

One thing that's helped me with a fear of falling while clipping is to try and clip around my waist as often as possible. If I'm clipping there than I'm barely pulling out any slack so it's not much worry.

[@n8sfolly]

I'm irrationally afraid of heights, and keeping that fear separate from rational fears like falling can be hard to do. I find climbing routes with low exposure, or climbing at night can help me see how much of my fear simply stems from the irrational fear of heights. Being able to quantify my irrational fear helps me predict and prepare for it with good ground level risk assessments. If you are like me you will be shocked how calm you can be when your subconscious mind cannot perceive how high you are.

[@bryanbryan6108]

Do a different sport

[@grahamemacmullen7731]

This looks very interesting! I’ll be watching this evening. Thanks Lattice!

[@Iam0pti]

That first fall is so big tho. Getting nervous just watching it...

[@astridsaxby3537]

Over the last few weeks my daughter and I have been using this approach to overcome our fear of falling at the wall. We are both primarily trad climbers and it would be great to have some input about how to keep safe falling at a crag.

[@ninabohm1535]

Thank you for your words

[@Jagknorr]

For me it was when i do top roping, sitting back in the harness and NOT deathgripping the rope as i get let down. Just sit back, feet the wall, don’t touch the rope and sloooooowly get lowered. I found that i didn’t actually die and that helped me mentally a lot hahah 😆

[@dubukimmie]

I started to boulder 2 months ago and I loved it, but I was afraid of the height of roughly 4 meters. 4 weeks ago a mate of mine took me to the climbing gym, he was the belayer and I also used the auto-belayer. The walls were around 18 meters. What I noticed for me is this video. First I climbed 6 meters or so and he rappelled me down, each climb I went higher and higher. My brain felt more comfortable with the situation, the fear became less because I gain trust in the equipment and my friend as a belayer (he checked my knot after I checked it, I checked his grigri,... and he didn't push me and took it serious). The same goes to the auto-belay, first I didn't trust a "machine", but after a while it was fine. When I now go to the boulder gym 4 meters won't feel that high anymore and I feel more comfortable, while keeping the respect (don't jump down guys, there are more accidents like a broken ankle, then you falling while climbing belayed)

[@aritzoyaga]

Could you make a video of how to fall?

[@logiconabstractions6596]

I think all climbers have some level of fear of falling. It could simply mean thinking about the fall instead of your move sequence. That's what my fear of falling is. Often I fell 100% focus on a climb and have no thoughts of the fall. But sometimes I get distracted by the possibility of a fall and instead of 100% attention on my moves maybe I have 90% or 80% (or 5%....). I find that it is mostly the feeling of falling itself that I apprehend (not the possibility of a bad fall, gear falling etc.). Therefore in the gym, for many/most of my climbs, I don't clip the anchors & just fall on the last clip (assuming the fall is clean, which is most of the time where I climb). I realized that I used to "zone out" while falling and literally closing my eyes sometimes. Now I actually pay attention to the fall itself, and mostly enjoy the acceleration and felling of elasticity in the rope when it catches.

[@iain_nakada]

I agree, I don't think it takes a bad experience or anything to be scared. What I found worked really well was endurance practice. When you're climbing 4 routes in a row, and have to be back on the wall within 10s of falling off, you quickly start focusing on the pump or the next move and forget about the possibility of falling! Another thing I used was instead of letting go or asking for a take when I got tired, I tried to climb with the goal of falling 'upwards' (I mean, falling as you're going for the next hold). I found I generally ended up doing at least 5 'last' moves before I fell, or even just finished the climb completely. Really takes the pressure off as you're expecting to fall off, and helps you get over that hump.

[@jirikral1733]

There is also rational fear because there is a real potencial for accident. I saw a number of accidents indoor and few outdoor as well. Mainly because of belaying went wrong.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yes very true. Fear of injury is the rational part, this is where we are making associations/connections with falling. However with a competent belayer we should be able to minimize risk of injury and make progress with controlling our fear of falling. If we are not comfortable or confident with our belayer this is the first thing that needs addressing in the process.

[@jirikral1733]

@@LatticeTraining I developed an analytical method that helps people solve their fear when climbing, I am by no means professional, however it is proven that it works in practice

[@iain_nakada]

I now always practice falling with a new belayer, not to work on my own fear of falling, but rather to build up trust with them so I know they won't drop me! With someone I'm still not that comfortable with, I'll ask for regular 'fall' (read catch) practice.

[@threedog27]

I just had my lead course this month and I feel that my fear of height and falling limits me. In toprope this wasnt that big of a deal. But in Lead it puts me a whole grade back just because of the fear. I took some training falls. Even some big ones like above the next quickdraw and then falling into the last quickdraw I clipped. But escpcially overhangs gives me fears. Last route I tried was a roof with good jugs but you climb horizontal at the ceiling. In bouldering this would be an easy climb, but in lead I just came to the first hold and had to stop. I couldnt move on. Physically no problem, but mentaly. Didnt work. Maybe I have to make further experiences and practice. But this is definately something new to train.

[@rasenmaher9629]

Make a video on fear in situations were you are not allowed to fall.

[@markvr80]

One thing they didn't mention was doing gear and partner checks on the ground. When I get fear on a route, I always start worrying my harness isn't tight enough, is my knot done correctly, is the rope in the grigri correctly etc. These are all good checks to do on each other before every route, but especially before a route you are nervous about. Even do them double so you have a little routine and are confident you won't need to worry about them when going for that clip with your hands starting to uncurl 😅

[@jimcooper1053]

great video thanks for the tips

[@lewproffitt]

I find myself in a weird position where i feel fine and even enjoy lead falls sport climbing outside but get really scared in a climbing wall. I have been dropped once, and pulled up too much slack once and hit the floor in climbing walls so I guess its down to this!

[@TheColinShowGaming]

I really like the tips in this video. I find that my fear of falling on everything but steep overhangs has gotten better, after following similar tips in one of Eric Hörst, books. I just wish someone would make a video on this topic, for bouldering. I had a bouldering accident a couple years ago in a competition, where I was left with a broken arm. After surgery and a few months of recovery, I was able to start climbing again and am now an even better climber then I was before, but it still leaves me rattled. Everytime I get to that 7 to 10 foot height range, where the fall happened, I just lock up and can't go higher, and just get flashbacks of that moment and have to bail. I feel like I know what the answer will be, but any pointers?

[@kevedwards]

I had almost zero fear of falling for my first few years of climbing, then I was dropped and it’s been constant battle ever since, sometimes it’s buried quite deep in the back of my mind other times it’s at the forefront before I’ve even left the ground. After returning from 3 years off I am hoping the experience has been forgotten along with my ability to actually climb 🤣

[@stefanopalermo9591]

What prevents me from enjoying taking a fall is not the fear of Falling, but rather the fear of gear failure. How do i overcome this?

[@Qadow]

For anyone wondering youtube channel "Hard is Easy" has a whole series of overcoming fear of falling. Highly recommend !

[@TheMegaMrMe]

I'm afraid trying harder routes mostly because I don't want to fall before the 3rd/4th quick draw

[@ianhouseworth7552]

Instead of saying “watch me here” try saying “look what I can do!”

[@Novau.u]

I actually think my fear of falling helps me climb harder because I push myself to keep a grip and finish the route instead of falling off

[@phillewis3108]

I’m not at all afraid of falling… but I’m terrified of landing!

[@peabrane8067]

I guess my fear is I don't trust my belayer enough after getting almost dropped by one..

[@mooCwo]

Being a psychology postgrad absolutely loved this vid, definitely inspires me to do some climbing research.

[@RossPotts]

As a rappelling instructor for the Army years ago, I pretty much overcame my fear by dangling under a hovering UH-1. Since then, I’ve slid 40 feet down slabs Taken falls from the tops of a few gym routes, and bashed my shoulder n a top-rope route, and almost decked like 5 times. As long as you inspect and trust your equipment, the only factor left is your belay partner.

[@acktiwackti9554]

Is climbing 6a good for 1 month also I only do toprope so I’m scared to do lead

[@jP-nr5wo]

over come fear of falling method: just climb to the top and don’t fall

[@patrickwhite8144]

The "scientific" account of fear that you provide in this video is not good. The claim about not being born with a fear of heights is not accurate. A fear of heights is almost definitely partially innate, and that makes perfect sense evolutionarily. I have read a book about child cognitive development that showed that even babies are frightened of heights, as they were frightened to crawl over a transparent panel that appeared to them as a ledge. There is even evidence that our perceptual systems exaggerates our perception of height when we are at the top of something looking down, rather that at the bottom of something looking up, because walking down hill is more difficult and more dangerous than walking up hill, and this perceptual distortion will make us take more care when walking down hill. That's how specific and innate our fear response is. The fight or flight response is triggered in response to intentional systems (i.e. predatory animals or other humans) and is unlikely to be involved in our fear of heights. The brain is actually a very specialized organ and what we call "fear" is not a generalized system; it is much more likely to be a set of complex behavioral routines. Fight or flight is one of them but that doesn't mean that every time we feel fear our fight or flight system is activated. I mean has anyone felt the urge to fight when climbing? That doesn't make sense on a basic level. This is a great channel but don't pretend you're experts on things you are demonstrably not. I'm not an expert on this subject but I know enough to know that your claims are wrong.

[@LatticeTraining]

Thanks Patrick, I don't believe we are saying fear of heights is not innate. We are saying the specific situation of falling on a rope, in a gym or outside, is not a fear humans are born with. This is where the 'association' bit comes in. We are either fearful of heights, or hitting the floor, essentially we are fearful of injury or death. That is all perfectly rational. The fear of falling, in a climbing context, is in many cases irrational and not innate because the situation is so specific and can be very low risk. We agree fear of heights can be innate. We also agree that fear is more a psychological concept and does not need to trigger fight or flight to be felt. But for the sake of context, these feelings and responses are often linked to a greater degree in climbers that are held back by a fear of falling, in our experience at least. We know we are not professional psychiatrists or psychologists and we don't mean to offend. We do however think its worth talking about subjects even if some findings are up for debate or further research. That's the scientific method after all. We have teamed up a professional working in the field of psychology to expand on this video in our blog. If you are interested in diving a little deeper please check it out - latticetraining.com/2022/04/07/fear-of-falling/

[@voidedname]

I know it's a small nitpick, but... i really can't stand the "encuraging words" that are just said mindlessly by your partner. "Come . doing great", "nice" etc... to me, (keyword here is >me

[@masterpropper2485]

First time I'm first. Thinking about commenting "First", but I won't do it, it's too stupid.

[@sophiakukurovska8083]

Seriously, pavlov? The video was made this year and that’s the best expert on fear you can get?

[@LatticeTraining]

We are using analogy and a simple examples to get a point across. We are not saying people respond like dogs, though I am sure you didn't take it that literally.