one thing I've practiced when moving up, particularly at more "focused" points along a route is to take a deep inhale..., then exhale when executing the move. it is a standard procedure in yoga when making a transition from one pose to the next to do this as it helps the body to relax and prepare for the following posture.( a thank God hold makes for a great asana!!) Also if you are placing gear and are at a difficult spot, put an additional piece in if you feel gripped. the mental reassurance may be all you need. Keep going!

I don't know how well this addresses the OP, but I just had a recurrence of an irrational fear of falling. I say irrational, because I haven't ever experienced anything to justify its existence (injury, gear failure, etc.) and recently I've been climbing mostly overhanging sport routes, so there's nothing to hit but air, and no gear to worry about. For whatever reason, this happens to me every few months or so, seemingly regardless of what sort of routes I've been climbing.

Like Old Dude said, you have to figure out whether your fear is rational or not. It's okay to be worried if you have a good reason. If you're hesitant to run-it-out 30' past marginal gear on thin 5.10 that could result in decking, I think that's rational. If you're scared to climb a body-length past a 3/8" stainless steel bolt and risk a clean fall, that's irrational in my book.

What gets rid of my irrational fear is taking some whippers. Whether it's outside or in the gym, if I take a couple 15-20' lead falls, the fear dissipates and I'm back to "normal". This may not be the best solution for everyone, but it's what enables me to climb without worrying about falling. This is not causing me to ignore the possibility of falling, it's preventing unnecessary fear that keeps me from pushing myself. Hope that helps.

Well, I'm repeating things here, but I would suggest finding a great partner that can lead. Chris, since you say that you don't have a lot of outdoor experience, I would follow a good leader for a while. Start small and get lots of time on the rock. Every so often do a reasonably easy route on lead and then follow your partner on the harder stuff.

To address fear while actually on lead, there are a couple things that work for me.

• First, I don't climb something that I don't think that I can climb without falling. I'm not interested in lead falls. (there are exceptions, of course, like slabby stuff). I like to push myself while following and am very conservative on lead (at least a grade lower). I saw the other posts about falling, but my personal feeling is that it's difficult to get hurt if I don't fall, so why do it. I try to lead like I would solo.

• If I'm on a climb that is freaking me out, I'll often hang on the rope just so my mind can see that it holds me. This really helps me feel better about going on. Though it does ruin "onsight redpoints".

• My partner repeats Psalm 23 in his head. It works for me, too, I've found :)

• Know when to say when. If your partner is a better climber, leave your gear, have them lower you and let them finish it off. Don't let pride force you into a situation in which you're not comfortable. If my partner is less experienced than I am and I can't finish a climb I'm more than happy to leave a quick link and come back another day. Of course, on a trad climb, there's often a monetary advantage to overcoming your fears... which is one reason that I lead trad at several levels below my ability :)

• Like another poster said, remember to relax. Work on your breathing.

• If I know what we're going to be climbing before we go, I do visualization exercises. This particularly helped me on some airy climbs that we did recently. They weren't hard, but they also weren't well protected and had pretty big pendulum falls to both sides (on lead and follow).

• Finally, again echoing another poster, I just focus on the rock that I'm on... the next hold, the next placement. Sometimes I'll surprise myself at the end of a climb and wonder, "Wow! How'd I get so high." ;)