Rock climbing, like many other sports, is excellent for your physical health, as you will notice increased muscle definition and overall strength as you practise — not to mention the endorphins.
At least three studies have shown that rock climbing has a positive impact on an individual’s mental health; these studies show that climbing improves symptoms of depression, regulates emotional disorders such as bipolar, and helps combat anxiety while increasing self-confidence. Outdoor climbing can be very peaceful, and it has the added benefit of being close to nature, which has been shown to reduce depression, improve memory, and reduce ADHD symptoms.
Climbing has the added benefit of exposing someone to their phobia and assisting them in overcoming it if they are afraid of heights. Climbing also teaches people not to be afraid of failure. It’s a fun all-body workout that can be done in groups or alone, indoors or outdoors. Climbing in groups adds a social component to your climbing, which has been shown to improve overall mental health.
Climbing Teaches You Patience
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Following the same, you’re likely to master this sport in the right way only if you practice it a lot and consistently. You put on a harness and use your bare hands and feet to scale a wall. This type of physical activity does, in fact, necessitate “a lot of time and patience to build the musculature and knowledge of form to be successful in your climbs.” In other words, when it comes to rock climbing, practise makes perfect.
It Also Enables You To Think More Mindfully
One of the best aspects of rock climbing is that it forces you to look at and consider every step and move. This is more important than ever in life; people are busy, and having those moments of elevated heart rate to truly focus on yourself and the challenge ahead of you is what truly makes climbing a perfect escape. The sport keeps your mind “extraordinarily engaged and active” because you are constantly forced to assess every situation and environment and adjust as needed.
Climbing Is A Great Stress Reliever
The more you subject your nervous system and mind to these stressors, the less small stressors will bother you.” In other words, rock climbing is a bizarre form of reverse psychology. And, while you may feel a little freaked out in the moment, once you’ve reached the top of the wall (or mountain, boulder, or whatever), the daily stresses of life may seem a lot smaller.
It regulates and stimulates emotions
It can also elicit the following emotions:
- When you complete a climb, you feel a sense of accomplishment.
- Happiness as a result of climbing being a fun activity
- Frustration when you can’t complete a climb because you’re high off the ground
- When you’ve completed a large number of climbs of a specific grade, you’ll feel more confident.
Acrophobia can be Cured by Rock Climbing
The fear of heights, also known as acrophobia, is a very common phobia among humans in its milder form. This is because it is an instinctive reaction to be afraid of falling from a great height because you could injure yourself or worse, die. Some people have a severe fear of heights, which is referred to as acrophobia.
Climbing is ideal for those who want to overcome their fear of heights, and many climbers began the sport in order to overcome their acrophobia. Climbing is not only safe due to the mats on the ground, but by introducing yourself to heights you are uncomfortable with, you will gradually become accustomed to them.
It Strengthens Your Mind-Body Connection
When dealing with a mental health issue, it is also critical to have a strong mind-body connection. As previously stated, your physical and mental health are intertwined, and if you’re under a lot of stress or anxiety, your body will eventually respond to your hyperactive, nervous state of mind. Rock climbing teaches you to listen to your intuition as well as your body, and how to adjust accordingly so that you not only make the right decisions, but also feel safe doing so.
Climbing Helps you Overcome the Fear of Failure
Climbing failure is very common, unless you are unwilling to push yourself. If you don’t want to advance grades, you can happily complete climbs that don’t put your true climbing ability to the test and will not help you improve. We cannot progress unless we fail, but learning from our failures will lead to success, accomplishment, and advancement.
Climbing enables you to explore yourself on the most extreme level.
