Boxing Class Teaches Psychology Students the Ropes on Grief

Combating grief and death is a different personal experience for everyone, and Middlesex College Professor Nikki Gonzalez knows there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

So why not throw some punches while you’re at it?

Seeking to give her students an additional tool for handling stress and loss and showing them first-hand how physical activity can be an emotional release, Gonzalez brought students in her Psychology of Death and Dying class (PSY 234) to a training session at Brunswick Boxing Stars gym in North Brunswick, where students learned some of the finer points of the “sweet science.” 

Students had their hands wrapped in boxing tape, worked on form, and learned different punching techniques.

“This semester — for the very first time — I wanted to offer my students something more physical for their toolbox to acknowledge that grief doesn’t have to be quiet and introspective. Grief can be active, as well,” said Gonzalez.  “I picked Brunswick Boxing Stars because they are pillars of their community.”

Brunswick Boxing Stars has discounts available for Middlesex College students and runs a non-profit that provides seminars, free groceries, and scholarships.

“I love working with people, I loved watching them learn,” said Boxing Stars co-owner Dionne Roberts. “What I really enjoyed was using boxing techniques and breathing techniques to teach the students how to use it in everyday situations and as it pertained to the class they are taking.”

Gonzalez said her students at first were leery of the idea of boxing in a college class, but warmed up under patient instruction.

“My students left feeling empowered,” said Gonzalez. “I could see it on their faces. While they may have been physically tired from moving their bodies, their minds were energized with confidence and a sense of personal strength. They had accomplished something and it felt good.”

Gonzalez has had her students explore other ways of developing coping skills in the past, like yoga and pet therapy to handle the complicated emotions related to loss. Throwing punches may seem like an unusual outlet, but the fight against depression and grief is worth winning.

“No two people will grieve the same,” said Gonzalez. “No one should be constrained to believing they have to grieve through specific stages. No one should feel guilty if they don’t express their grief in a certain way. Grief, like the Psychology of Death and Dying, is a very individual experience.”