‘My head was completely free’: the rise of climbing as therapy

Forrest Sheldon likes to defy the laws of gravity. He ditches his equations and goes into a vertical world. He credits climbing with getting him out of his head.

Each week, he climbs for three hours. The practice is essential to his well-being. No matter what happens today, I will go climbing and have fun. I will feel better after.

He calls climbing his therapy. Lor Sabourin, a professional climber based in Flagstaff, Arizona, wrote an op-ed in Climbing Magazine titled Can Climbing be a Form of Therapy?

The documentary They/Them tells the story of a trans athlete's journey as well as their ascent of the Cousin of Death route in Arizona. They are studying for anMS in counseling and are a mental trainer.

Climbing has a unique way of teaching you the skills that you need to deal with stress.

The goal is always at the limits of the climber's skill level. It's impossible to change the rock face, so we have to change ourselves to be able to deal with that stress.

To quote a t-shirt worn by climbers, it doesn't care. It's the deal if you scale it or leave it. Climbing forces us to confront our negative emotions and negative thoughts.

When you're in a climbing situation, you learn quickly that your thoughts limit your performance. This realization can have a positive impact on our life.

Climbing gives us emotional resilience and allows us to not be swayed. Some therapists are replacing the couch with a climbing wall.

Julia Hufnagl is a pioneer of climbing therapy in Vienna, Austria, where she leads her clients in bouldering sessions.

Hufnagl says that therapy can become a game even for those who suffer from depression.

They are exteriorizing their problems and coming to grips with them by climbing. The experience of climbing becomes a simulation of life.

The sport and the art of living are related.

The appeal of climbing therapy is summed up by Hufnagl.

She says that climbing therapy reduces depression and anxiety.

Recent studies in Germany show climbing therapy is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy in treating depression. One of the most popular forms of talk therapy is called CBT. Health experts testify that climbing therapy has adecisive effect in the social domain.

You have to communicate with your partner and let go of the control that you can handle. Hufnagl has clients who are in foster care. They can learn how to bond with other people, especially adults.

A survey of patients who underwent climbing therapy is being conducted by Frühauf. A 69-year-old woman found it to be a better therapy option than just talking.

You don't have to be sick to benefit from climbing. The biggest lesson from the sport is how to be aware of one's surroundings. No one knows this better than Robert, who is one of the greatest climbers of all time.

Robert has been scaling rock faces and skyscrapers for more than four decades. He climbs without a rope. Robert doesn't have a back-up plan in case he makes a mistake.

Robert's strength isn't his climbing prowess, but his laser focus. As soon as he touched the first hold, fear vanished.

Robert says it's really the best. He can recall the ascents he did 30 years ago as though they happened yesterday. Others are in the same state.

When describing their best climbs, Sabourin said, "It's magical." Sometimes I will be giggling. You're focused when you're climbing the hardest sections. You're not thinking about whether you're going to do it or not, you're just rock climbing.

I will notice that my attention will expand out. I will start to notice the sounds around me and then I will feel what the rock feels like. You feel connected to something bigger than yourself.

Hufnagl says that the first reaction of her clients after a climb is usually pleasant.

Our minds wander. Almost half of our thoughts have no connection to what we are doing. We spend most of our waking hours in a whirl of our own making, never quite finding fulfillment in the here and now. It is possible for a climber to break the whirlwind.

The Buddha told his disciples that there was only one moment for them to be alive. Live this moment in the present and go back in time.

The Buddha promised if it was true, you would be free.