When you hear the words ‘walking dead,’ you may think of AMC’s hit zombie show “The Walking Dead,” but you don’t have to lack a pulse or crave human flesh to go throughout your life like a zombie.
The population-based study from India to report on depression shows that the prevalence of depression was 15.1%. India is home to an estimated 57 million people (18% of the global estimate) affected by depression.
By 2025, it’s estimated that depression will become the second most common health problem in the world. But depression isn’t the only issue preventing adults from feeling content each day – perhaps it’s a stagnant job, poor health, a loss of faith or countless other factors.
Author, comedian and keynote speaker Ken Davis was a member of the walking dead for years before he realized he was living an unfulfilled life — mentally, physically and spiritually.
“This idea of living fully alive is not some thrill-seeking quest. It doesn’t require leaping from an airplane or riding bicycles at breakneck speeds or jumping a log cabin on skis,” says Davis. “I’ve done all that. What I longed for was to experience that sense of adventure in my everyday life. Shouldn’t we feel some of the excitement that comes from jumping off a fifty-foot cliff when we jump out of bed?”
Ideally, yes. But as adults get caught up in the stressors of daily life — work, commuting, bills — it’s easy to lose sight of the many components that interact to form a meaningful, healthy life.
“The very nature of the words ‘fully alive’ implies completeness,” Davis says. “We are physical, social, mental and spiritual beings. To ignore any aspect of our humanity is to be only partially alive. I’m not interested in partial life any more than I’m interested in partial plates or premature death.”
Davis shared his epiphany and desire to reinvigorate life in his newest book, “Fully Alive: A Journey That Will Change Your Life.” Here’s a snapshot of the advice Davis offers to his readers:
- Kick guilt to the curb, and experience real freedom.
- Be active for an hour a day, and find ways to push your body to its limit several times in that hour.
- Develop spirituality in your life, whether through prayer, meditation, reading, connecting with nature or attending a religious service.
- Focus on positive behaviors and goals, not problems and fears.
- Take a time-out.
- Eat well-balanced meals.
- Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
- Get enough sleep.
- Exercise daily to help you feel good and maintain your health.
- Take deep breaths.
- Count to 10 slowly.
- Do your best.
