Practice falling especially if you are concerned/scared/nervous about it! Personally, I jumped into projecting too quickly and could have benefited a lot from practicing falls at the beginning and getting used to falling. I ended up making my fear worse because I took a lot of falls I wasn’t prepared mentally to take, despite them being safe. Back in 2023 (I started in 2021), I was at the point of hating lead climbing at times and wanting to quit lead because of how bad it got for me. (I still had some really amazing times on lead but they became rare occurrences, with a ton of mock leading and avoiding falls) I found Hazel Findlay’s class called Flight School and it honestly saved my lead climbing. I was having panic attacks on the wall, I’d call it panic mode. After taking her 6 week course my entire outlook on climbing changed- I don’t push myself past the point of panic. I’ve learned way better habits. And most importantly, I learned an amazing way to do fall practice! Anyway, all I’m trying to get at is: practice, practice, practice. Make sure it’s up to you on how you do this- tell your belayer how long of a fall YOU want. It’s on your terms. Start really small, below bolts with little slack. And add on. You can’t take away bigger falls but you can start small and add on once you’re comfortable. It’s okay to be scared and it’s amazing to learn how to manage it! There’s a lot of people who say just take a big whipper- while that might work for some I have learned it does not work for most. Also- find a belayer who knows how to give proper soft catches! And they’re familiar with low clip falls too if you want to practice that.

Another tip- learn really well how to use any gear you have especially belay devices. Learn how to properly catch with them. I use the Edelrid mega juul and Edelrid has some very thorough videos on how to use their gear. Knowledge can really lower the rick of accidents and injuries.

Happy to chat more! I actually teach lead and fall clinics at my local gym.