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The World Health Organization reports that depression is the foremost cause of a lot of diseases and disabilities. The stigmas surrounding mental health have kept a lot of people from talking about them and losing their lives to depression and other mental disorders. Following are some of the TED talks which will inspire people to resort to different ways from medications to therapies to come out of depression and give themselves another chance to a beautiful life.
1. Don’t Suffer from Your Depression in Silence by Nikki Webber Allen
Admitting that she had a privileged life, Allen says that she was too ashamed to admit that she was suffering from depression. It was after she lost her nephew in his battle with depression that she realized the importance of addressing this issue and opening about it. Having feelings doesn’t mean that you are weak, it only means that you are human and should resort to external help to come out of your depression. She quotes Kelly Pierre-Louis famous words “Being strong is killing us” to endure that how important it is not to build a shell around us and let our inner fears be heard.
2. Depression, the secret we share by Andrew Solomon
Solomon discusses the darkest corners of his mind while he suffered from depression. It was during the time when he was suffering the most that he decided to talk to people in similar situations. He started interviewing other people battling depression and found out that the more he talked, the more people would share their stories with him. Thus, he emphasizes that talking about your fears and the things which are bothering you is the best way to find a cure for depression.
3. Confessions of a Depressed Comic by Kevin Breel
Talking about himself, he says that he never really gave the impression of a depressed teenager. His jokes were the center of attention in every party, he was confident, and a team captain. Depression can not only be experienced during the hard times of life rather, the deadliest depression is the one which one suffers from when everything is perfect. Eventually, he realized that to save his own life, he needed to say the four words.
4. Toward a New Understanding of Mental Illness by Thomas Insel
People consider mental disorders to be a taboo and would preferably call them behavioral disorders. There is no denying that these orders do affect behavior and calling them by this term will not bring a change to the way people perceive them. However, talking about issues of the brain or your mind shouldn’t be such a big deal. It is as real as humans themselves and must be dealt with in a simple way.
5. Mental Health for All by Involving All by Vikram Patel
“The difference in the quality of medical received by people with mental illness is one of the reasons why they live shorter lives than people without mental illness,” says Patel while addressing the lack of correct medical care available for mental illness patients. More than anything else, it is suicide which is killing the young people in every part of the globe, even in the poorest countries. Thus, people are not dying a natural death but are being pushed to the verge of such humiliation by the society and their own selves that they opt to take their lives. By working together and addressing the issues more seriously, people can be made to live a happier life.
6. A Tale of Mental Illness – from the Inside by Elyn Saks
Being a patient of chronic schizophrenia herself, she chose a better side of life and is now a chaired Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry at the USC Gould School of Law. In the United States alone, it is estimated that about one to three people die in a given week because of restraint. In order to control their urge, they suffocate themselves which may lead to aspirating their vomit or even a heart attack. Despite excellent treatment and extreme support from family and friends, she still didn’t have the courage to make her illness public until quite recently because of the stigma surrounding it. However, she encourages people especially the entertainment industry to portray such individuals more positively because they don’t choose to suffer from such conditions.
7. How Electroshock Therapy Changed Me by Sherwin Nuland
For a very long time, extreme mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia were associated with evil spirits entering your body. People refused to accept and realize their gravity but with the passage of time, a number of treatments and medications have been introduced. One of them is the electroshock treatment which was his ultimate cure from the life-threatening depression. His talk about relief and second chances is heartfelt and moving.
8. The Bridge between Suicide and Life by Kevin Briggs
Sergeant Kevin Briggs spent many years of his life patrolling the infamous Golden Gate Bridge. Infamous because it has been a top choice of people attempting suicide. Standing at the edge of that bridge, he actually talked to a lot of souls and convinced some of them to give another chance to life. Through this talk of his, he emphasizes the importance of keeping a check on your loved ones and foreseeing if any one of them is contemplating suicide.
9. What’s so Funny about Mental Illness? by Ruby Wax
All the other diseases of the body easily garner sympathy except for those associated with the brain. Wax explains this in a hilarious way through her immense energy. Being a patient of chronic depression herself, she urges to make enough efforts to remove all the stigmas surrounding mental illness.
10. The Mindful Way through Depression by Zindel Segal
Therapies, medication, and electroshock therapy – he talks about all the possibilities which may lead to alleviate depression from our lives. Getting rid of depression is one thing but staying in that condition is another as depression is recurring and can strike back at any time. There needs to be such an approach which can provide protection from relapse for a considerable period of time.
Taking some time out and listening to these talks can actually help you in finding the right way out of your depression. Have you ever experienced depression? Share it with us in the comments below.