Age: 39, Location: Bytom, Poland
"My name is Przemek, I'm 39 this year and my problems aroused back in 2017 in December just right before Christmas. I lost my job of that time, having a huge bank loan for a house that I bought for me and my ex partner. In January 2018 our son was born and I was out of work with bills and credit to pay... my son was born and I didn't want to stress my ex telling her about my situation so I tried my best teaching languages to private students and companies around just trying as hard as possible to provide for everything, which wasn't easy. I was taking one loan after the other just to be able to pay for stuff for us to live, until the spiral got me. I barely could function back then and at the end we ended up living with my parents at their house: but that was a real nightmare as they never accepted my ex and there was an ongoing fight between them all. That caused me to loose consciousness one day and I ended up at the local mental hospital, after which I was sent to another one for therapy. All together I spent almost a year in both of them.
When I finished my hospitalisations I went abroad to work as a carer of an elderly person for 3 months to earn money to be able to live. After I got back it was the pandemic 2020 and it was back then when I learned about the revitalisation of an old coal mine building into a climbing gym.
It was last year, 13th September when they finally opened it and here's how I got into climbing. I went there for the open days before they opened - I tried climbing on the outside wall and although there's fear I did climb up and I never forget that feeling. That was my first time ever and the view from the top was absolutely stunning - I knew that it's something I really want to go into and that this is a perfect sport for me.
After that I was waiting for them to open and when they did I started going there regularly, started from bouldering - something new for me but really awesome too. It allows me to reset, figuring out the way to approach the boulders, getting ready for the next challenge, work on the best possible way to reach the top - it is what makes me feel a better person and to finally be in peace with myself and everything that's in my head.
It's been not until recently that I got myself a first ever climbing shoes and harness and finally was able to try (roped) climbing and once again it was scary at first - it took me a while to get used to the feeling of being safe on the wall and to trust the autobelay machines. But when I finally did, it took me to another level of changing myself into a better person.
Crossing my comfort zones, fighting with my anxieties, inner demons and everything in my head, step by step, higher and higher it is absolutely the best therapy for me: helping me immensely with both physical and most importantly mental health and wellbeing. Anytime I'm there climbing I feel in peace and both climbing and bouldering makes me a better, more peaceful, stronger and mentally in peace person. I wouldn't change these 2 things into anything else ever again as for me personally climbing and bouldering is magical and its therapeutic strength is absolutely not debatable. Since my climbing gym is open I'm going there regularly, and the pandemic so far did not make it close, so I'm happy to be working on my mental and physical health as often and as much as I can. If you're feeling low, feeling depressed, life doesn't turned out ur way, struggling with your inner demons? Find yourself a local climbing gym and go for it - it really is absolutely the best therapy that does work and really helps.
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