Managing Mental Health in the Mountains
With World Mental Health Day just around the corner, we thought it a good opportunity to talk about mental health and the mountains. Though younger generations are much better at openly discussing mental health issues, our society still has a lot of work to do when it comes to tackling the stigma attached to mental health conditions and ensuring people receive the support they require.
With this in mind, we wanted to use this moment to explore the mental challenges many individuals have to overcome when heading out into the mountains. As Mountain Leaders with a great deal of experience, we recognise that a considerable number of people find the idea of climbing Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) both exciting and daunting. In this piece, we examine why that is and what we do to try and reassure walkers who are worried, anxious or lacking in confidence.
The mental health benefits of the mountains
Before we take a look at the concerns and challenges walkers regularly face before climbing Yr Wyddfa, it’s worth taking a moment to talk about the mental health benefits of the mountains. Studies show that one in four people in Britain experiences mental health problems each year. However, spending time outdoors can reduce the risk of depression by 30% (Mind).
Recent research also highlights how nature-connectedness is associated with lower levels of anxiety, as well as an increase in positive emotions such as calmness, joy and creativity (Mental Health Foundation). We’re big believers in the mental health benefits of walking in the mountains and have first-hand experience of how it changes lives for the better.
The mountains as a mental construct
At Climb Snowdon, we walk the mountains with a lot of different people. Despite several common qualities (a sense of adventure or an appreciation of nature, for example), every individual is unique and each approaches the challenge of scaling Yr Wyddfa differently.
As well as being very real and very physical natural features, mountains exist as abstracted concepts in our minds. We imagine them in a certain way, attach ideas and feelings to them, tell stories about the creatures that inhabit them and lionise the people that climb them. We make great art about mountains, mythologise them, and build cultures around them. They are as much a mental construct as geological fact. Consequently, we impose many of our fears, concerns and anxieties on mountain environments. This often affects the way we feel about walking in them.
If you are interested in how humans’ relationship with mountains has evolved and what our perception of this environment tells us about our minds and place in nature, we highly recommend you check out Mountains of the Mind by Robert Macfarlane. It’s a truly fantastic read from one of the English language’s greatest living nature writers.
Common mental health challenges
The way we load many of our own emotions and anxieties onto the mountain environment means everyone comes to Yr Wyddfa in a slightly different head space. For many, Eryri and Yr Wyddfa are an escape from the pressures of everyday life. It’s a place where they can let go of their fears and worries and relax. Others approach the mountains with a degree of trepidation. This is not only natural but healthy. It is an environment that demands respect.
We all take something different from the experience of being in nature. Some find it meditative. Others, energising, relaxing or humbling. Our goal is to guide you through the mountains in a way that helps your worries slide away and enables you to reach that positive mental state – whatever that means to you.
To achieve this, it helps to recognise those feelings, emotions and challenges that stand in your way or make you have second thoughts about climbing Yr Wyddfa.
Anxiety
Anxiety manifests itself in an almost endless array of ways. Many of us experience it on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes it is just a creeping sense of dread in the back of your mind. Sometimes, it is a full-frontal confrontation with panic. How, when and why it strikes is difficult to predict, but anyone who has experienced the dreaded “beer fear” after a big night out knows that lifestyle plays a role.
When heading out into the mountains, people get anxious for all kinds of reasons. Because hiking is a new experience, they find social situations challenging, or they’re unsure what to expect. Often, excitement and anxiety go hand-in-hand. We will touch on what we do to help ease anxieties later in the article. However, it is important to know that a little pre-hike anxiety is perfectly normal.
Fear
This is a big one. Both first-time and experienced hikers struggle with fear. Particularly fear of heights. In fact, we walk with a lot of people who want to climb Yr Wyddfa as a way of facing that fear and overcoming it. The sense of personal accomplishment when those people reach the summit is clear.
We all get scared sometimes. More often than not, we can control that fear and calm ourselves down. It’s an ongoing battle. But one that many people emerge from victorious. Fear regularly feeds on the unknown. We create theoretical threats and problems in our heads that don’t necessarily match up with reality. You hear the word mountain and your imagination quickly runs wild with potential dangers.
The great thing about Yr Wyddfa is that there are so many ways to reach the top. You can choose a path that respects your limits and takes you as close to the boundaries of your comfort zone as you like. Summiting Yr Wyddfa on the Llanberis Path is a whole other experience compared to scaling Crib Goch. In that sense, there’s a different Yr Wyddfa for every type of walker.
Vulnerability
A large number of people do not spend any significant amount of time in nature. One in four people in the UK won’t have spent any time in green or natural spaces over the last 14 days (GOV). Many individuals perceive natural environments as alien or unusual – somewhere they are not accustomed to, or comfortable in. As a result, they feel vulnerable.
That said, this affects even the most seasoned of mountaineers. Nature – particularly the mountain environment’s imposing rock faces and sheer scale – has a habit of exaggerating this sense of vulnerability. Some people actively seek it out. For them, the humbling sensation of standing before something of such magnitude is part of the mountains’ appeal.
Self-confidence
Climbing Yr Wyddfa is a challenge. It is tough and physically arduous. It is certainly not a walk in the park. This can lead to doubts. Can I do this? Am I in good enough shape to make it to the top? What if I get left behind or hold people up? This is normal. Partly, it is just the human brain running through all the possibilities and potential outcomes.
However, this feeling can also be attributed to the way we envision the act of walking in the mountains. A lot of the time, we talk about mountains in terms of conquering them. We love the exploits of trail runners who scale peaks in unfathomably quick times and mountaineers who battle the elements and environment to reach summits that scrape the skies.
In other words, we talk about mountains in an adversarial way – us versus them. Something to be beaten, an obstacle to overcome. While this is a perfectly valid viewpoint (we’re avid trail runners ourselves), it’s just one perspective. For the vast majority of people, experiencing the mountains isn’t about being fast, being the first or being pushed to your limits. It’s just about… being.
A lot of self-doubt is a product of this adversarial approach. If you’re willing to go out and enjoy the experience – whatever happens, however you do – there is no fear of failure. How can you fail if all you want is to be in the mountains, soak up the breathtaking beauty and enjoy a good walk? Who cares how quick or slow you go? Who cares if you even reach the top?
The hardest part is getting out there
With Yr Wyddfa, the biggest challenge is getting out on the mountainside and starting your walk. It is the build-up that kills you. Once you set off and settle into a rhythm, your concerns tend to melt away as the brain switches off, your body takes over and your mind enjoys the freedom of flight. Often, walkers reach a state that many describe as meditative. It’s one of the main reasons people return time and time again to the mountains.
Having examined a few mental challenges people face when preparing for their walk up Yr Wyddfa, it is important to note that most walkers will experience some (or all) of these feelings to various degrees. A little trepidation is not unusual.
However, a lot of anxiety, fear or self-doubt can make the build-up to your walk unpleasant and unenjoyable. In these cases, we do our utmost to help reassure participants and help them overcome these challenges. We do so in several ways:
Qualified and experienced Mountain Leaders
When walking with Climb Snowdon, you are always accompanied by experienced and qualified Mountain Leaders. We’ve gone up and down Yr Wyddfa more times than we can remember, been responsible for numerous excursions and honed our skills in mountain ranges around the world.
We know how to keep you safe and secure, how to traverse the landscape and what to do (in the extremely unlikely) event things don’t go to plan. But we’re also there to support and encourage. We don’t leave anyone behind and we go at your pace and keep to your comfort zone. We listen and we understand.
Knowing that you’re undertaking this walk with an expert Mountain Leader is reassuring. You know you can rely on them. If you feel it would help you prepare for Yr Wyddfa, feel free to get in touch and talk to us about our training and qualifications. We’re more than happy to share.
A full kit preparation list
Feeling that you’re fully prepared and ready for any eventuality is the perfect antidote to anxiety, fear and doubt. Knowing that you have everything you need to stay safe and comfortable takes some of the pressure off and reassures overactive brains that are working themselves into a frenzy. That’s why we send out a full kit list and preparation document before every walk.
Our kit lists tell you exactly what you need to bring for your walk. There is no confusion and no unclear advice. Just a complete list of equipment that will ensure you’re safe, comfortable and warm at all times. When you pack up your bag before heading off to Eryri, you know you have everything you need.
Group encouragement
Most of our walks are group events. That means you will usually climb Yr Wyddfa with people you know or join a group that we match closely to your ability level. While some people don’t like the thought of walking with strangers, almost everyone enjoys the experience. There is a sense of camaraderie and shared joy that puts a beautiful shine on the day.
We often find people who had not met before the walk, end the day as good friends and form lasting relationships. Climb Snowdon is a product of two strangers meeting in the mountains – Ross and Kate met on their Mountain Leader course! Most importantly, the group environment is supportive. It’s one in which we all help each other out and encourage people onwards, relieving pressures and fears in the process.
Give us a call
Finally, if you have any anxieties, worries or concerns before your walk, just give us a call. We can talk you through the rough plan for the day, answer any questions you may have and give you a little reassurance. We know what it’s like to weigh yourself down with worry, so we will do our best to help you reach a place where you feel comfortable that everything is going to go ok!
Other valuable resources
We hope this article on mental health in the mountains has been of some use to you and you feel comfortable approaching the Climb Snowdon team should you want any additional reassurance about your Yr Wyddfa experience. Mental health is a complex and confusing issue that is resistant to quick fixes and easy solutions. Spending more time in nature has been shown to improve people’s mental state and we encourage anyone who believes it could help them to seek out opportunities to visit the mountains wherever possible. Below, we compiled a quick list of other mental health resources for those who may need them.
Mental Health Foundation – https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk
Samaritans – https://www.samaritans.org or 116 123
Mountains for the Mind – https://www.mountainsforthemind.co.uk
Young Minds – https://www.youngminds.org.uk