Akshay Nanavati

Last updated

Akshay Nanavati
Akshaymccain.jpg
Nanavati with John McCain in Iraq in 2007
Born (1984-10-15) October 15, 1984 (age 39)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Southwestern University (BA) (2009)
Syracuse University (MA) (2010)
Occupation(s)Speaker, author, runner, entrepreneur
Known forFearvana
Spouses
Sruti Nanavati (nee Sankar)
(m. 2011;div. 2019)
Melissa Nanavati (nee Barker)
(m. 2023)
Website fearvana.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Akshay Nanavati (born October 15, 1984) is a United States Marine veteran, speaker, entrepreneur, ultra runner and author. He served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was later diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. His book Fearvana was endorsed by the Dalai Lama and Jack Canfield. His latest adventure is a plan to cross Antarctica solo over the 2023/2024 season.

Contents

Early life and education

Nanavati was born in Bombay, India, on October 15, 1984. He has also lived in Bangalore, Singapore, Austin, Texas, Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Basking Ridge, New Jersey. [1] He did his Bachelors of Arts in History at Southwestern University. [2] During his high school years at Westlake High School, [3] he watched the film Black Hawk Down , which inspired him to join the United States Marine Corps. [2] The next year he for his MA in Journalism from Syracuse University. [4] He currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. [5] After living in New Jersey for some years, he got a divorce from his first wife, Madras-born Sruti Shankar, whom he met at Syracuse, initially as a separation after six years of marriage in 2017 and divorced two years later. After then moving to Arizona, he met Taiwanese American from Washington, Melissa. and were officially married on 18th December, 2023.

Nanavati and wife Melissa. Aksh-mulan.jpg
Nanavati and wife Melissa.

Career

After overcoming drug addiction, despite two doctors suggesting basic training could kill him because of a blood disorder, he enlisted in the Marines. [6] Nanavati was then sent to Haditha, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. [7] He was an infantry non-commissioned officer, [8] where one of his jobs was to walk in front of vehicles to find improvised explosive devices [9] and another as communications liaison. [10]

He received his Masters of Arts in journalism from Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. [2] He ended his tenure in the military as a sergeant before graduating. He was also diagnosed by the Department of Veterans Affairs with post traumatic stress disorder [11] and survivor's guilt, [12] which led him to alcoholism and depression before realizing he was on the brink of suicide. As a result, this led him to research neuroscience, psychology and spirituality. [11] His genetic neurological patterns have also indicated, [13] that his brother has Asperger's.

While at base in Iraq, he started to run to cope with the stress of war, including running long distances and ultramarathons. [11] [14] In addition to becoming an ultrarunner, he also took up skydiving, mountain biking, scuba diving, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering and polar exploration, in trying to deal with his fears. [15] He is also a public speaker. [16] He had also served with Graham Dale.

In December 2021, he skied up the Axel Heiberg Glacier in Antarctica. [17] In Fall 2023 through 2024, he had planned to do a first solo pan-Antarctica trip, [18] which was postponed by a year for logistical reasons.

Nanavati is planning to be the first one to solo cross Antarctica in 2024-2025 southern summer. [19]

Fearvana

Nanavati in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Iraqakshay.jpg
Nanavati in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

His philosophy is about fighting fear. [20] As a result of his research, he wrote Fearvana which is, in his words, about the "revolutionary science of how to turn fear into health, wealth and happiness." His research led him to believe in neuroplasticity and said of neuroscience, psychology and spirituality that: [21]

Fearvana teaches the science of how to transform all your seemingly negative emotions into health, wealth and happiness. Fearvana’s revolutionary approach shatters conventional wisdom, giving you the tools to leverage your fear, stress and anxiety to accomplish anything you set your mind to.

The Dalai Lama wrote the foreword for his book. [21]

I am happy that Akshay Nanavati has found the strength to overcome the traumatic experiences of his life and has developed the aspiration to help others. His book, Fearvana, inspires us to look beyond our own agonizing experiences, suggesting means for overcoming our fears. I appreciate his sincerity and hope that others will find reason and the encouragement to see the positive side of their lives. [22]

It was also endorsed by Jack Canfield, [6] amongst others. [21] All his profits from the book go towards his non-profit, [23] Fearvana Foundation, which sought funding for a vocational school in post-civil war in Liberia, [24] amongst other projects.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Neurosis is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related conditions more generally.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life or well-being. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.

<i>The Art of Happiness</i>

The Art of Happiness is a book by the 14th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist who posed questions to the Dalai Lama. Cutler quotes the Dalai Lama at length, providing context and describing some details of the settings in which the interviews took place, as well as adding his own reflections on issues raised.

Psychological trauma is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events that are outside the normal range of human experiences, with extreme examples being violence, rape, or a terrorist attack. The event must be understood by the affected person as directly threatening the affected person or their loved ones with death, severe bodily injury, or sexual violence; indirect exposure, such as from watching television news, may be extremely distressing and can produce an involuntary and possibly overwhelming physiological stress response, but does not produce trauma per se.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas, i.e., commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events, within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape.

Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the target patient to the anxiety source or its context without the intention to cause any danger (desensitization). Doing so is thought to help them overcome their anxiety or distress. Procedurally, it is similar to the fear extinction paradigm developed for studying laboratory rodents. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.

Traumatic stress is a common term for reactive anxiety and depression, although it is not a medical term and is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The experience of traumatic stress include subtypes of anxiety, depression and disturbance of conduct along with combinations of these symptoms. This may result from events that are less threatening and distressing than those that lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The fifth edition of the DSM describes in a section titled "Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders" disinhibited social engagement disorder, reactive attachment disorder, acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a form of behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. It is characterized by two main treatment procedures – imaginal and in vivo exposures. Imaginal exposure is repeated 'on-purpose' retelling of the trauma memory. In vivo exposure is gradually confronting situations, places, and things that are reminders of the trauma or feel dangerous. Additional procedures include processing of the trauma memory and breathing retraining.

Memory and trauma is the deleterious effects that physical or psychological trauma has on memory.

Jonathan Shay is an American doctor and clinical psychiatrist. He holds a B.A. from Harvard (1963), and an M.D. (1971) and a Ph.D. (1972) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his publications comparing the experiences of Vietnam veterans with the descriptions of war and homecoming in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Reserved to Fight is a documentary film that follows four Marine Reservists of Fox Company 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines for four years. It documents their deployment, their return home from Iraq combat in May 2003, and their reintegration into civilian life. Their battalion was the first reserve unit activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were also the first to return home. The film deals with the lives of the friends as they come to grips with the harsh reality of reassuming civilian life. Each has a different experience, some dealing with varying degrees of posttraumatic stress disorder. The film is notable for following the first reservists deployed in the Iraq War, and therefore the first of these Marines to begin the reintegration process.

Bessel van der Kolk is a psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator based in Boston, United States. Since the 1970s his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress. He is the author of The New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States</span> United States Department of Veteran Affairs disability support for post-traumatic stress disorder

The United States has compensated military veterans for service-related injuries since the Revolutionary War, with the current indemnity model established near the end of World War I. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began to provide disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the 1980s after the diagnosis became part of official psychiatric nosology.

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychiatric disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts and memories, dreams or flashbacks of the event; avoidance of people, places and activities that remind the individual of the event; ongoing negative beliefs about oneself or the world, mood changes and persistent feelings of anger, guilt or fear; alterations in arousal such as increased irritability, angry outbursts, being hypervigilant, or having difficulty with concentration and sleep.

<i>PTSD</i> (Pharoahe Monch album) 2014 studio album by Pharoahe Monch

PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Pharoahe Monch, released on April 15, 2014 under his independent label, W.A.R. Media, in partnership with INgrooves. The album features guest appearances from Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Denaun, The Stepkids and Vernon Reid, as well as production from Lee Stone, Marco Polo, Jesse West and Quelle Chris amongst others. The album was promoted by two Lee Stone-produced singles: "Damage" and "Bad M.F.".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell Shock (Part I)</span> 6th episode of the 10th season of NCIS

"Shell Shock (Part I)" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American police procedural drama NCIS, and the 216th episode overall. It originally aired on CBS in the United States on November 13, 2012. The episode is written by Nichole Mirante-Matthews and directed by Leslie Libman, and was seen by 17.05 million viewers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-traumatic stress disorder among athletes</span> Prevalence of PTSD among athletes

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a cognitive disorder, which may occur after a traumatic event. It is a psychiatric disorder, which may occur across athletes at all levels of sport participation.

K9s For Warriors is an American charity and veterans service organization that provides service dogs to veterans. The organization trains rescue dogs to help veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, post-9/11 issues and other psychological challenges associated with military service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Bryant (psychologist)</span> Australian psychologist

Richard Allan Bryant is an Australian medical scientist. He is Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and director of the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic, based at UNSW and Westmead Institute for Medical Research. His main areas of research are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and prolonged grief disorder. On 13 June 2016 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to medical research in the field of psychotraumatology, as a psychologist and author, to the study of Indigenous mental health, as an advisor to a range of government and international organisations, and to professional societies.

Ajay Nanavati was the former Managing Director of 3M Company, the only publicly listed subsidiary. He is currently the Chairman of Syndicate Bank.

References

  1. "About Us". Fearvana. Retrieved September 14, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 "Adventure Enthusiast". Southwestern University. February 13, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  3. "About Me". Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  4. "Akshay Nanavati Phone Number, Address, Age, Contact Info, Public Records ᐈ Radaris".
  5. "Daily Inspiration: Meet Akshay Nanavati". voyagephoenix.com. June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "The Marine, the Dalai Lama, Overcoming PTSD, and Overcoming Fear". Inc.com. July 25, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  7. "PTSD: A Marine Corps Veteran's Battle and Victory". Huffingtonpost.com. December 6, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  8. "Three Types Of Employee Recognition That Backfire (And One That Doesn't)". Fastcompany.com. July 26, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  9. "Why you should never sleep on long flights, travel tips from a Marine". Bloomberg.com. October 25, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  10. "How to survive a marathon flight". The Washington Post. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Akshay Nanavati (November 8, 2017). "6 Lessons This Marine Veteran Learned Overcoming PTSD, Alcoholism and Suicidal Thoughts to Build a Successful Business". Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  12. "Wounded Warriors Using Entrepreneurship To Combat Military Injuries & Retirement". Forbes.com. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  13. Xiong, J.; Chen, S.; Pang, N.; Deng, X.; Yang, L.; He, F.; Wu, L.; Chen, C.; Yin, F.; Peng, J. (2019). "Neurological Diseases with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Role of ASD Risk Genes". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 13: 349. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00349 . PMC   6470315 . PMID   31031587.
  14. "7 Ways That Running Makes You a Better Person". Runnersworld.com. November 28, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  15. "Ex-Marine plans to beat PTSD by trekking every country". Edition.cnn.com. June 30, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  16. "Akshay Nanavati - Author Biography". Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  17. "Who is Akshay Nanavati". indianexpress.com/. April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  18. "Episode 282: Keto & 2700 km Through Antarctica - Akshay Nanavati & Dr. Mike Nelson".
  19. Greatsoulcrossing.com
  20. "Fearvana: How Millennials Are Using Fear As A Gateway To Bliss". Forbes.com. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  21. 1 2 3 Nanavati, Akshay (October 10, 2017). Fearvana: The Revolutionary Science of How to Turn Fear into Health, Wealth and Happiness: Akshay Nanavati: 9781630476052: Amazon.com: Books. Morgan James. ISBN   978-1630476052.
  22. Nanavati, Akshay. Fearvana: The Revolutionary Science of How to Turn Fear into Health. Forward. Morgan James Publishing, 2017.
  23. https://fearvana.com/about-us/ [ dead link ]
  24. https://www.fearvanafoundation.org/liberia