Elyn Saks - A tale of mental illness…from the inside

Mental illness has always been a subject of fascination since I was very young. I believe nothing is more dangerous than our own minds. Our entire existence is based on how we perceive the world; the mind is the hardrive for how we function, how we think, what we like etc. Now imagine what would happen if this hardrive starts working differently, from other, from what you’re accustomed to.

This TED talk from Elyn, offers a personal insight of her own experience living with mental disease. A true testimonial of what people suffering from psychosis and schizofrenia feels and experiments. Mental disease carries a daunting stigma in this society where victims are perceived as outcasts, they are rejected and feared by many. But perhaps what everyone needs is to be more understanding and empathetic.

“Portray [people with mental illness] sympathetically, and portray them in all the richness and depth of their experience as people, and not as diagnoses.”

“Some people still hold [the] view that restraints help psychiatric patients feel safe. I’ve never met a psychiatric patient who agreed.”

“You know what the big secret about TED is? I can’t wait to tell people this. I guess I’m doing it right now. (Laughter) This is like the failure conference. No, it is. (Applause) You know why this place is amazing? Because very few people here are afraid to fail. And no one who gets on the stage, so far that I’ve seen, has not failed. I’ve failed miserably, many times. I don’t think the world understands that because of shame.”

Brené Brown: Listening to shame

Another absolutely brilliant, soulful talk by Brené Brown. We saw her previously in her famous TedTalk on vulnerability. 

It takes courage to admit your weaknesses. But being vulnerable is not a sign of failure, not something to be embarrassed or even ashamed of. I’ve never been really open about my emotions (I’m the type who would rather ignore their existence than recognize discomfort). Nevertheless, this past year has been an amazing journey of self discovery so far and I’m fully aware that I’m just getting started. Brené, once again has managed to strike a chord: “Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.” . You need to face your fears, to allow yourself to be vulnerable in order to grow and confront what keeps you from being who you want to be, from where you aim to go. 

“You know what the big secret about TED is? I can’t wait to tell people this. I guess I’m doing it right now. (Laughter) This is like the failure conference. No, it is. (Applause) You know why this place is amazing? Because very few people here are afraid to fail. And no one who gets on the stage, so far that I’ve seen, has not failed. I’ve failed miserably, many times. I don’t think the world understands that because of shame.“ 

Don’t be afraid to be human, don’t be afraid to try, to fail and to get back up again. Don’t give up on your dreams, if you truly believe in yourself than follow that gut feeling. What can possibly go wrong? A million things, but there’s also another million things that can go wonderfully right. It’s a risk one must take.

Fear & Permission- Chris Guillebeau

” We try to bargain with fear, a deal with fear. And the bargain we try to make is: OK, I won’t take any risks, I won’t do anything to drastic and in return it’ll leave us alone and let us live our little lives. Now sometimes it works but just like the crocodile, sometimes fears decides to break the bargain. It doesn’t want to play by the rules anymore. When it does that, it introduces us to a few of his friends: discontent, dissatisfaction and regret. And the little life becomes a life of quiet desperation where we start to ask ourselves questions… is that it? Is that all there is? …

…So we make these rationalizations because we know that if we’re really going to acknowledge fear, if we are really going to engage with it, to overcome it, It will probably involve some kind of dramatic personal change…”