EP 132: Rebecca Williams — A Deep Dive Into Fear of Falling, the Self-Soothing System, and Climbing Smarter

Dr. Rebecca Williams is a clinical psychologist, performance coach, and the author of Climb Smarter. We talked about the deeper fears that often underlie fear of falling, the underdeveloped self-soothing system, breathing exercises to reduce anxiety, pre-climb routines, meditation and mindfulness, and the benefits of shifting our focus from achievement to mastery.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/rebecca-williams

Nuggets:

0:07:32 – Kids

0:09:29 – Rebecca’s background in clinical psychology

0:13:04 – Why Rebecca quit gymnastics as a teenager

0:17:55 – How the mental blocks from gymnastics came back to haunt her as a climber

0:20:17 – The deeper fears at the roots of fear of falling, and trust and control

0:24:30 – Why it’s important to know where your fear of falling comes from, and the woman with the worm phobia

0:28:32 – Diving deeper into different fears

0:30:54 – Fear of fear, and learning to tolerate difficult feelings

0:33:14 – Learning to tolerate difficult emotions

0:37:09 – My (Steven’s) own experience with fear of falling when I started sport climbing, and tools for letting go of control

0:44:16 – The overdeveloped drive and threat systems, and the underdeveloped self-soothing system

0:46:32 – “We’re always conquering”, common narratives, and why fear of falling is rational

0:53:16 – Rebecca’s mental warmup, and bringing arousal levels down

0:58:30 – Not wanting to stray from “normal”

1:03:04 – Introducing doubts to our assumptions

1:08:38 – Breathing exercises to bring down arousal and anxiety

1:14:31 – Pre-climb routines, focusing before a send attempt, and mindfulness as an attitude

1:19:16 – Meditation and why it’s useful

1:24:31 – What practicing mindfulness has done for me (Steven) and how it has impacted my life

1:28:14 – “Falling practice is the last thing you do, and not the first thing you do.”

1:30:01 – Does practicing non-attachment take away our drive? And shifting our focus from achievement to mastery

1:33:00 – Why Rebecca decided to write her book Smart Climbing

1:37:05 – The nutrition chapter of the book, and the link between perfectionism and eating disorders

1:43:45 – What Rebecca is currently working on in her own climbing (related to mental game)

1:48:07 – Who the book is for, and where to buy it

1:49:25 – What’s next for Rebecca

1:50:34 – Rediscovering your early excitement for climbing