Why Climbing could be great for all your relationships

Better health and mood for you!

When we move we feel better, According to the NHS (2022) things called neurotransmitters, including endorphins, endocannabinoids and dopamine are released. All those feel good hormones! If you are feeling better you are more likely to be in a better mood overall. The Term Movement Medicine has been thrown around a lot recently but the facts don't lie, movement really is medicinal for your mind, body and soul.

Belay partners do buddy checks

Trust

Trust in partners, friends and colleges can be tricky. Sometimes the only way to build up trust is putting it to the test. Being an outdoor instructor I have seen many corporate groups be put through their paces. Getting to witness the office receptionist grimacing as the office bodies are carefully lifting her through the spider's web. The office manager prematurely anticipates victory after a painstaking restart 3 times prior, as the feet of the receptionist touch the floor (typically) the men in the group elate like it's the 1966 world cup win.

In climbing there is no escaping trust…if you are on a rope your life rests on the 9.8mm thread attaching you to the wall and you to your partner. If you are bouldering your spotter is there to protect you from serious injury and keep you safe. The inescapable confrontation with trust is what makes climbing intrinsic to instilling it.

I find climbing to be an incredible visual of what trust means, it’s unlike anything else in that sense. Most of the time trust is hidden, something felt or invisible. In climbing it is there, you can see it.

I am climbing a boulder and my friend Gus is spotting me

Solution finding

I get it, there are problems in any relationship. And sometimes the problems are easier to find than the solutions. Solution over problem finding comes from within. Climbers get to experience a visual for solution finding. The constant falling builds resilience towards the solution focussed attitude. You’re mind is able to build more neural pathways in the direction of solution finding instead of problem finding. This could ripple from finding your way up walls into other areas of your life, bettering your relationships and resilience to inconvenience.

climbers top rope in awesome walls Sheffield

Bibliography & Useful links

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/physical-activity-and-your-mental-health/about-physical-activity/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/movement-is-medicine/#:~:text=*%20Neurotransmitters%20are%20released%20when%20you,create%20the%20feel%20good%20factor.