By Laura Freeman
For psychiatrist Aaron Hawkins, MD, stepping back into the ring at 43 has been a refresher course in practicing what he teaches.
“I tell patients that courage isn’t the absence of fear,” Hawkins said. “It’s facing the fear and moving forward anyway. To do that, it helps to connect with something bigger than yourself that you can turn to for motivation when things get tough.”
For Hawkins, that motivation was an opportunity to support a friend who has stage four colon cancer. Looking for a way to help, Hawkins decided to participate in the Russel Hill Cancer Foundation Fight Night in Huntsville in early August.
“It was a way I could show my friend and his family support by helping to raise money for the foundation and building awareness that might lead to earlier testing and treatment for others,” Hawkins said. “The opportunity to help gave me something bigger than myself that I could turn to when preparing for the fight.
“You don’t get back into the boxing ring after so many years without at least some fear. Being 43 rather than 23 makes a difference in how you feel a punch and how much physical resilience you have to recover from it. This was a U. S. sanctioned event in Huntsville, so it was the real thing. No one wants to step in front of an audience and not do well. So I had to find what it took to face it.
“As I tell patients who are dealing with anxiety, panic disorders and phobia, you can’t limit yourself by avoiding the fear. What helps is having something beyond yourself in place that means enough to you to be worth the effort.”
Board certified in psychiatry and neurology, Hawkins has served as a consultant for ABC News on multiple programs. He was determined to get in the best shape possible before the match. That meant a lot of training and cutting back on what he ate so he could get down to the weight to qualify against his opponent.
“I got a real life reminder of what patients who were trying to overcome eating disorders, smoking and other addictions and lifestyle changes face every day,” Hawkins said. “But when I didn’t want to get up to work out, when I was missing foods that weren’t on the meal plan, I had something I cared enough about to motivate me, which made the decision easier.
“Since I work with athletes on sports psychology, I knew to expect the mental side of preparation. Performance has so much to do with confidence and being able to quiet stress enough to stay in control or regain it if a case of the yips throws you off. In many ways, sports can have a positive effect on mental health. There’s a lot it can teach about discipline, patience and the resilience to try again.”
At first glance, boxing may seem to be something that attracts people who have anger issues. Although it can seem counterintuitive, Hawkins says many of the people who go into boxing and stay with it for a while seem to become more adept at controlling their anger.
“When you aren’t controlling your anger, you make mistakes and mistakes have immediate consequences. It doesn’t take many times of landing hard on your bottom to learn the wisdom of letting the cooler side of your mind be in charge. That’s a lesson and a skill that can be beneficial in everyday life,” he said.
When Hawkins isn’t training or seeing patients, he is CEO and Medical Director of the Hawkins Group, which has offices in Shelby County, across Alabama and into Tennessee. He often works in the Auburn location, and also teaches at the Edward Via college at Auburn.
People have asked me what I learned after stepping into the boxing ring,” Hawkins said. “The answer has very little to do with boxing. I lost the fight, but I walked away feeling like I had won something far more valuable: a deeper appreciation for the courage of the families we were there to support.
