When I come home from a draining and stressful day of teaching unmotivated teens and dealing with ego tripping admin, I just want to snuggle with a tub of Talenti ice cream and watch my favorite show, The Walking Dead. I was first introduced to TWD in 2013 when I dated this guy who turned out to be the last man I ever slept with. No shade to him, I was closeted. On top of that I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety and juggling a new career fresh out of grad school. Heartache, trauma, and feelings of hopelessness took over and even now still haunt me. But the only thing that stays constant while battling my demons is my love and devotion—and possibly borderline obsession with The Walking Dead series. Facebook Group Who knew that zombies made for good therapy.
Yes, it’s still on- don’t play with me! In fact, TWD franchise has had 6 spinoffs since the Golden Globe nominee and highest rated series on AMC, aired in 2010. I can honestly say this show does not only satisfy my fascination with a dystopian post apocalyptic view of life and death, it also has cured my fear of zombies and maybe even death. It gets deeper, believe me.
God honest truth, the first time I ever watched the movie, 28 Days Later, 28 Days Later Trailer I couldn’t sleep alone for a week. And as a kid, Mj’s Thriller Video scared the living crap out of me.
TWD had me in a chokehold since Rick rode in zombie populated Atlanta on a freakin horse. What drives my intrigue is the emotional struggle and resilient nature of the characters trying to not just survive, but thrive as a community in this broken world. The way I see it, the real world we live in now has gone to shit. Life’s tough and watching these characters make due and fight for a life worth living gives me a glimmer of hope that I can be strong too. Real talk, therapy twice a week and daily medication seems to be fugazi compared to putting up my feet, and sinking my teeth into a juicy and gory episode of TWD.
Yes, there’s a little cult of us who still religiously watch the show. It has lost many viewers through the years, over four million to be exact, especially after the best Villain of all time, Negan appeared in Season 7 with a full swing of his barbed wire covered bat killing the beloved Glen and Abraham. But their latest spinoff, The Ones Who Live, which aired February 25 of this year, features memorable characters Rick and Michonne who have been absent from the last two seasons of the main series. Nerds like me, were anxious for this comeback and so far the premiere episode generated three million viewers, being almost the most watched episode on AMC+. This makes it the biggest premiere night audience for a new AMC series in six years.
“JSS”, one of many iconic quotes from TWD, meaning “Just survive somehow” hits home for fans. I used to think that if a zombie apocalypse happened now, I wouldn’t make it. I couldn’t see myself as a survivor. I can’t fight. I’m out of shape and sometimes afraid of my own shadow. Certain things I’ve gone through, from losing my brother twelve years ago to gang violence, to not being able to trust people, have traumatized me.
My therapist reminded me that I can’t have that mentality to want to give up. She asked me one day, what would Rick’s group do? And I was like, girl, look at you for knowing the characters of my favorite show: even though I talk about it all the time, some doctors gloss over details like that, but she listened. She made me rethink the person I wanted to be.
For real, for real, it’s still a daily struggle with my anxiety and depression but damn, TWD empowers me to be a better version of myself. I speak and believe these affirmations, I am a fighter, survivor and warrior because of TWD. As Sargent Abraham(the shit talking redhead from TWD) once said, ”I’m living darling, just like you.”