Ideas to help with trusting gear

Hey everyone

Any good books/articles/ideas to help with a climbers mental game? I feel like whenever I get on a climb at my limit I suddenly don't trust my rope to catch me (stupid brain...!). I'd love to up my mental game.

Ive heard of the book called "the rock warrior's way" but I haven't read it. Might that be a decent place to start? 

Yeah that’s the common prescription, start there. Hazel Findlay has some stuff too. 

Also practice falls and reading about gear testing.

The only two books that really matter are The Rock Warrior's Way by Ilgner; and Vertical Mind by McGrath and Elison. Buy both and read both - figure out which approach works for you. Despite being someone who consider's themselves more analytically, logically, and scientifically oriented, I found the Way much more useful than the psychological science driven Mind. 

There are multiple threads on this subject matter, I suggest you use the search function and read those as well. Many describe people's experience with both books, which can give you a helpful perspective. 

The falling chapter from Dave MacLeod’s “9 Out of Ten Climbers Make the Same Mistakes” is something many climbers would benefit from, myself included.

Having read the Rock Warrior's Way, I found Ilgner's Espresso Lessons the more accessible read. Regardless of which approach appeals to you, the important part is to actually practice the skills, exercises, etc. in the book. Mental skills are like any other type of training for climbing: they only work when applied.

Go aid climbing.  

A lot of people seem to be interpreting this to be about trusting trad pro...but the OP posted this in the sport climbing section and specifically mentioned the rope.

OP: find a partner you trust and practice falls.  Starting small/below the bolt if you need to.  Work your way up to it being at your ankles.  Don’t expect it to happen overnight or to stay permanently.  Mental training is something you have to build and maintain just like physical training.

Ondra has a good video on falling.

Thanks guys - really appreciate your input

I got into a habit at the gym or sport crag to just not clip the anchors and jump off.  (only if the fall is clean and you don't need to set up a top rope for anyone.) Don't have your partner pull in all the slack yell I'm off and let go.  We used to call it whipper therapy and it gets your head on straight for sure.  I did get yelled at by a gym employee once though

Definitely check out Rock Warrior's Way, and Hazel Findlay's work as well

When I was a kid the camp counselor who introduced me to climbing told me the rope could haul a Volkswagen, so I shouldn't be worried about it - that always stuck with me

Of course ropes can be cut on edges, belayers are human, knots can be mis-tied...

Fall practice is good, but can be counter-productive if done wrong (Hazel talks about this)

I finally recognized my fear of falling like...fall of 2019. My buddy and I got snowed out of a day on the proj, so we went to the gym and for whatever reason, I decided I wasn't going to clip any anchors on our big overhanging lead wall. Took the whips. I kept up with that and slowly added in skipping anchors on any wall in the gym. It has helped tremendously. I've climbed my hardest indoor routes and outdoor routes over the summer and now (at least in the gym, outdoor I'm still a little hesitant) I don't even have a second thought on doing a move above a clip or letting go at the anchor. Can't recommend it enough. I get weird looks, but it's worked.