TBP 306: A Kinder Way to Work through Fear of Falling with Therapist Emma McAdam
Emma McAdam is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Utah who has a youtube channel (@TherapyInANutshell) and online courses on her website www.therapyinanutshell.com where you can learn therapeutic tools on your own time. This past year I became a member of Emma’s subscription program for a while because I needed help managing the anxiety I was experiencing due to perimenopause. I really appreciate Emma’s warm, down-to-Earth approach and her relatable way of speaking and teaching, and I think her youtube videos are really well produced.
So recently when I was searching for people to have on the show to talk about managing our fear of falling in climbing, I was pleasantly surprised to randomly find a video by Emma about just this topic because SHE IS A CLIMBER!! I was so excited! I reached out to her to invite her on the show to talk about her gentle approach to overcoming and managing fear of falling and she kindly accepted my invitation. We talked about all things exposure therapy, but with Emma’s compassionate approach injected into it.
Here’s what we covered:
- Where to start with fear of falling
- How to practice teaching your brain it’s safe to fall
- 2 things that fuel anxiety
- What is the emotion of fear asking you?
- Building an exposure hierarchy
- How to practice falling in a productive way
- Difference between risk “tolerance” and risk “choice”
When I do interviews I have a little spot in my notebook where I write down time stamps of quotable parts of the interview so I know where to take snippets out for social media. I usually note 1-3 spots in each interview. This interview has NINE quotable timestamps in my notes! She is such an eloquent speaker and I just get this very warm, fuzzy feeling when I’m talking to her, even though we were talking about a pretty emotionally charged topic. She is GREAT and I think you’re going to love this interview.
Who This Episode Is For
If you are struggling with fear of falling, whether that is on toprope, on lead, or on boulders, this will help you make a plan to work on it so you can feel less anxious and terrified when you’re climbing. Whether you are a beginner climber or you’ve been climbing for 40 years, if fear is holding you back in your climbing, you will probably take something useful from this conversation. However, if you do not struggle with fear but your partner or friends do and you want to a) have more empathy for them and/or b) help them, please listen to this and send it to your people who need it.
I know I have done other episodes on the fear of falling, but I don’t think I could ever do too many because it is such an issue in our sport. Here is a comprehensive list of all of the resources on TrainingBeta related to fear of falling.
–> TrainingBeta Podcast Episodes and Other Resources for Fear of Falling
Work with Me on Your Fear in Climbing
If you want to work with me one-on-one on your own fear in climbing, I’m accepting new mindset coaching clients. We can work on your fears in climbing, performance anxiety, and anything that is holding you back from enjoying climbing. But we can also branch out into other areas of your life that need work, including:
- Career satisfaction
- Relationship issues
- Body image
- Life design
- All things climbing
I’ve been climbing for 28 years, and I feel uniquely qualified to act as both your coach (asking you questions only you know the answers to) AND your mentor (giving you advice) in climbing. I am a Certified Professional Coach and will hold a safe space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings about any topic you want to discuss. We will make goals for each session, and I’ll hold you accountable to carrying out the homework I give you during each session. Let’s get to work on what’s really holding you back in reaching your goals.
Work with Me
