A growing body of evidence is pointing to climbers and any participants who engage in high risk sports to be statistically likely to have a greater level of depression or anxiety than those who don’t engage in risk based sports. So its official climbers are more miserable than your average joe bloggs.
One of the theory’s is that people who engage in risk taking sports do so to divert there own attention away from their anxiety and depression. In what has been describe a emotional self-regulation. So when you haven’t been climbing or risking life and limb in some other way for a while, you might find yourself getting more and more miserable.
For an overview of why people engage in risk taking activities try this article.
What about not very good climbers who hardly take any risks at all? As an HVS punter who likes cracklines where you can pop another runner in above your head when you start getting the slightest bit nervous – I have a vested interest in this question.