Passion, Obsession & Addiction in Climbing - Ollie Stamper

When does a passion for climbing become something less healthy?

In Episode 17 of A Climber’s Mind, Mat is joined by Ollie “Stamper” Stamper, a former addiction counsellor with a fascinating perspective on the relationship between addiction, recovery and climbing.

Climbing can provide purpose, structure, community, identity and an incredibly powerful source of reward. For many people, those things can have an enormously positive effect on their lives.

But what happens when that relationship becomes more complicated?

Mat and Stamper explore the difference between passion, obsession and addiction, and how some of the same traits that can drive high performance can also begin working against us.

They discuss addictive traits, reward cycles, perfectionism, emotional regulation, grades and performance, as well as what can happen when climbing becomes someone's primary way of coping with difficult emotions.

They also explore climbing's potential role in recovery, what happens when injury or circumstances suddenly remove climbing from someone's life, and how we can pursue something incredibly seriously without allowing it to define our entire identity.

This isn't an attempt to diagnose climbers or label extreme commitment as addiction. Instead, it's an open conversation about understanding our relationship with climbing and recognising when something that normally adds to our lives may begin taking something away.

Topics include: addiction and recovery, passion vs obsession, climbing performance, reward cycles, perfectionism, identity, self-worth, mental health, injury and developing a healthier relationship with performance.

This episode discusses addiction, recovery and mental health. The conversation is for general discussion and should not be considered medical or mental-health advice.