In my quest to understand why retiring from boxing has such a negative effect on the minds of fighters, I first had to look into how actively participating in the sport keeps the mental health of these fighters in check. Boxing is an incredibly demanding sport, and it offers many different factors in which it is able to improve mental wellbeing. Whether you are looking to work on your cardio, or actively compete in the ring, each individual journey undertaken in the gym will definitely improve the mind of the participant in some respect.
Firstly, there is already a well known and established link between regular exercise and good mental wellbeing, with studies showing that exercise can actually treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as any prescribed medication. Regularly exercising will also have a huge effect on those struggling with anxiety or ADHD, helping to relieve stress, and improve your sleep pattern and overall mood. Working on your fitness will release endorphins, which are powerful brain chemicals that make you feel good, with the endorphin level increasing with the amount of exercise you actually do. When faced with tough challenges in life, exercise can help you to build up a strong resilience and healthy coping mechanism, as opposed to resorting to alcohol or substances that will only take a negative toll on your health. No matter your age or ability, keeping your fitness in check from any form of exercise will allow you to deal with mental health problems, and improve your energy and perspectives to ensure you enjoy your life much more.
From a boxing perspective, consistently taking part in the sport can only have a positive impact on the human mind, with a major area of improvement being anger management. The sport of boxing will always be a great outlet for emotion, and is a way in which you can use your aggression to improve your technique and achieve a positive outcome on something. Aspects of training such as working on a heavy bag is a great way to deal with anger and emotion in a healthy way, as opposed to putting anger on people involved in your life at home or away from the gym. Furthermore even without being aggressive in your training, boxing is proven to help anger issues. Immersing yourself into hard training and forming a pattern or routine is very positive in regards to anger, as it allows you to take yourself away and think any problems through rationally. It is important that we as humans deal with anger and emotion in a positive way, and boxing allows you to do this in a good environment.
There are so many ways in which boxing can help solve problems caused by anxiety or depression. Boxing is a great way to become more confident in yourself as you journey deeper into your training, and a sport that provides a safe space for you to train on your own grounds. Through the time you spend investing in improving yourself in the gym, you will become much more confident, alongside feeling a sense of achievement, and much more focused. Entering a gym at first can feel incredibly daunting to a new boxer, especially if they are suffering from any form of depression or anxiety. However those that do will quickly learn that most boxing gyms are safe places, that will improve the way you interact with people. There is little chance that you will be training alone in the gym, meaning that having positive interactions with other boxers will massively relieve feelings of anxiety or loneliness. Boxing somewhere new means you will be surrounded by new faces, meaning meeting new friends and putting yourself out there as a person. Whilst this is tough on paper for those with mental health issues, becoming part of a new community and feeling comfortable when surrounding yourself with new people will take you a long way if you are suffering in any way.