Buddy Check

Mental Game

Episode Summary

This episode explores the relationship between mental health and climbing. In trying to navigate the relationship between anxiety and climbing in my own life, I was looking around at other women in climbing who I perceived to have a handle on it. You’ll hear from two of them in this episode. You’ll also hear from Becca Wallingford about the research she conducted for her Master’s in Social Work. She interviewed nine women to understand if and how climbing could be used as a type of therapy for people navigating mental illness.

Episode Notes

This episode explores the relationship between mental health and climbing. In trying to navigate the relationship between anxiety and climbing in my own  life, I was looking around at other women in climbing who I perceived to have a handle on it. You’ll hear from two of them in this episode. You’ll also hear from Becca Wallingford about the research she conducted for her Master’s in Social Work. She interviewed nine women to understand if and how climbing could be used as a type of therapy for people navigating mental illness.

Resources:

• Wallingford, Becca, “Reclaiming Control in the Vertical Realm: A Qualitative Study on Female Rock Climbers with Mental Illness” (2020). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342277704_Reclaiming_Control_in_the_Vertical_Realm_A_Qualitative_Study_on_Female_Rock_Climbers_with_Mental_Illness.