The Beguiled Child

Fun fact. I love rock climbing. I got into the hobby a few years ago and fell instantly in love. As someone that has never really enjoyed meditation and mindfulness activities, rock climbing became my moment of absolute peace. Everything that professionals preached about mindfulness became true through this unexpected avenue. As I continued my psychological studies, I found myself identifying therapeutic aspects within the rock climbing community. I discussed these aspects with a friend of mine, Agatha Crispy (requested name), who also fell in love with the rock climbing community. Agatha was also studying psychology, though she has an interest in working with veterans and rehab more so than children. We decided to promote the positive aspects of rock climbing, a small community that is continuing to grow in modern society.

What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is letting go of taking things for granted, it means returning to the present moment, and is the self-regulation of attention, with an attitude of curiosity and openness. Psychologists will always tell you to “remain in the present,” instead of focusing on the past (causes depression, guilt, sadness) or the future (causes fear, anxiety, nervousness). Remaining present in the moment positively impacts, and enhances, neural pathways related to emotional control, focus, attention, and stress regulation.

What’s the hype?
For kids… it has unlimited benefits. First of all, kids are stressed. Research done by Stress in America on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA) showed that teens ages 13 to 17, feel a similar amount of stress as compared to adults. On a scale of 1 to 10, teens reported their stress levels as 5.8 during the school year (healthy is considered 3.9), and even in the summertime, their levels were 4.6. In the last few years, mindfulness has emerged as a way of treating children and adolescents with conditions ranging from ADHD to anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, depression and stress.

Part of the reason why mindfulness is so effective for children can be explained by the way the brain develops. While our brains are constantly developing and changing throughout our lifetime, connections in the prefrontal circuits are created at their fastest rate during childhood. According to the research on mindfulness with children, mindfulness improves immune function (fewer illnesses), increases concentration, improves self-acceptance and self-esteem, strengthens resilience, helps to control anger, hyperactivity, and decrease stress.

An example of mindfulness use, Patterson High School in Baltimore, MD. has a very diverse student population—which includes students from a variety of ethnic groups and backgrounds—with over 30 countries represented (and over 20 languages) in their English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program. Many of the new students are from high-conflict areas and are in the U.S. under refugee status. In the first year of implementing the Mindful Moment Room at Patterson High School, suspensions and verbal and physical altercations all decreased by more than half. At the same time, attendance rates increased by three percent, grade promotions increased by 19 percent, and average student GPA increased by a half percent.

What is rock climbing?
Now, let’s get to the rock climbing aspect. If you are like me, you understand the benefits of mindfulness and may want to achieve them for you or your family; however, perhaps you just have the current inability to sit still or focus your attention clearly in the present moment. Mindfulness is a skill learned over time and can be difficult for children with high energy or any individual that has been conditioned to be “on the go”.

A brief description of rock climbing, for those of you who have never been. Rock climbing, in simplest terms, is an activity in which participants climb up, down, or across artificial rock walls or natural rock structures to reach a formation’s summit, or the predefined endpoint of an artificial route. There are many forms of rock climbing: bouldering, sport climbing, soloing, traditional climbing, and ice climbing. All climbs vary in difficulty and are graded with a standardized system, which I will not go into this moment.

Rock climbing is mindfulness
for the person that cannot sit still.

In general, rock climbing is a great activity to build strength in various muscle groups, increase cardio work, improve flexibility, reduce stress, and increase mental strength and cognitive flexibility. Though it may seem simple at times, rock climbing is a serious exercise when pushing yourself to climb more difficult routes and relying on your strength to pull yourself up to a higher level or your balance to keep you from falling. Not to mention, you must use your problem-solving skills to find the best route.

Rock climbing also is a great way of overcoming fear, most obviously a fear of heights, but also just general anxiety. The activity can be difficult, getting to the top can be scary, having another person responsible for your safety may be terrifying, and being stuck in the same spot is frustrating. Through all these challenges, an individual has a chance to gain a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy while boosting their mood increasing the connectedness to others. Social aspects of climbing mitigate emotional dysregulation. This social interaction encourages increased peer communication and team-work capabilities. Working with others, also, provides evidence against negative cognitive schemas while also creating group goal-achievement positive reward systems.

The point of this whole post is to convince you that you need to try rock climbing and bring your kids, friends, co-workers, or anyone you know. It really is a fun activity that is healthy for you in so many ways. No more need to go running or bully yourself into other practices. With rock climbing, I am almost certain, you will want to go back again and again to get that sense of accomplishment, the release of negative energy, and overall joy.

Thanks Agatha Crispy!!

Resources:
Rock Climbing for Kids – Article
Rock Climbing Health Benefits
Rock Climbing Benefits
Free Solo – Movie
The Dawn Wall – Movie
Alone on the wall by Alex Honnold – Book

References:
Rasmussen, M.K., & Pidgeon, A.M. (2011). The direct and indirect benefits of dispositional mindfulness on self-esteem and social anxiety. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal, 24(2): 227-233. 
Schmertz, S.K., Anderson, P.L., & Robins, D.L. (2009). The relation between self-report mindfulness and performance on tasks of sustained attention. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31(1): 60-66. 
Boyd, J & Munroe, K.J. (2003) The use of imagery in climbing. Athletic Insight: The Online Journal of Sport Psychology, 5(2)