Ted Talks on Many Topics

Anxiety

How I Live With High Functioning Anxiety, Jordan Raskopoulos (14 min.)    
A stand-up comic explains what it is like to live with anxiety.  She discusses people’s perceptions of people with anxiety, coping skills, and strengths.

Addicted to the Answer – Anxiety in the Age of Information,Sheva Rajaee (13 min.)
Sheva describes what it was like to discover she had anxiety as a freshman at UCLA.  Now a therapist, she explains that “thoughts aren’t facts” and suggests there has been a huge increase in anxiety as information has become more readily available.  She suggests we must learn to tolerate the existence of anxiety.

Anxiety: It’s the New Adventure, Paula McGuire (6 min.)
Paula discusses her experience with social anxiety and suggests a shift in perspective to accept and embrace anxiety.  Challenge yourself to try new things. 

Autism Spectrum Disorders

How I learned to Communicate my Inner Life with Asperger’s, Alix Generous (10 min.)
Alix discusses her experience as a person with Autism.  She discusses the advantages of ASD, communication roadblocks, and the gaps between internal experiences and verbal expression.

The World Needs All Kinds of Minds, Temple Grandin (20 min.)
Temple speaks about visual thinking common in people with ASD.  She suggests the importance of “selling your work, not yourself.”  She talks about her contribution to the cattle industry.

ADHD

This is What It’s Like to Live with ADHD, Jessica McCabe (17 min.)
Jessica tells her personal story and talks about feeling like everything she was struggling with was her fault.  She also has her own YouTube channel called “How to ADHD.” This talk would also be really great for anyone in a relationship with someone with ADHD.

Depression

Depression: The Secret We All Share, Andrew Solomon (28 min.)
Andrew discusses his own experience with depression and the stigma that comes with it.  He suggests that community is so important to those with depression, yet we tend to isolate them.

Don’t Suffer From Your Depression In Silence, Nikki Webber Allen (6 min.)
Nikki talks about her experience with depression and the stigma, especially as a black woman.  Discussed shame involved in feeling depressed.

What’s So Funny About Mental Illness?, Ruby Wax (8 min.)
Ruby talks about the one in four people who will struggle with mental illness and how we have not evolved enough to handle the 21st Century.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Starving the Monster, Tauscha Johanson (13 min.)
Tauscha talks about her experience helping her daughter with OCD.  She discusses what OCD is and isn’t.  She suggests that the rituals feed the monster and you must starve it.  “You can’t be beaten by something you don’t fear.”

My Hidden OCD Exposed, Anne Swanson (14 min.)
Anne talks about her experience with OCD and the treatment she has had.  She does a good job of explaining what goes on inside the mind of someone who is obsessing.  She talks about “coming out” to family and friends about OCD in order to remove the shame.

Forgiveness

Why Forgiveness is Worth It, Sarah Montana (16 min.)
Sarah talks about her experience forgiving the man who murdered her mother and brother.  She discusses the “how” of letting go and what happens when you don’t.

Love and Relationships

The Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Love, Katie Hood (12 min.)
Katie talks about the 5 markers of unhealthy love both in romantic and platonic relationships.  Discusses warning signs that relationships might become abusive.

How to Fix a Broken Heart, Guy Winch (12 min.)
Dr. Winch talks about how emotional pain causes us to be illogical. Discusses the withdrawal of romantic love being similar to the withdrawal of narcotics (brain scan data). The “methadone” for this withdrawal is repeatedly going back to the happy memories, social media, texting the person, etc.  He discusses how to break this cycle and the importance of acceptance.

How to Deal with Gaslighting, Ariel Leve (12 min.)
Gaslighting is an emotionally abusive tactic that makes the victim question their own sanity and perception of reality. Ariel Leve shares some of the life-saving strategies she adopted as a child to survive her mother’s gaslighting.

Suicide

Break the Silence for Suicide Attempt Survivors, JD Schramm (4 min.)
JD shares his story of leaping from a bridge and surviving.

The Bridge Between Suicide and Life, Sergeant Kevin Briggs (14 min.)
Sergeant Briggs shares his experience with being a police officer frequently called to the Golden Gate Bridge to talk to people getting ready to jump.  He shares letters and advice from family members.

Addiction

Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong, Johann Hari  (14 min.)
Discusses the idea that addiction is an adaptation to your environment based on the need for connection and human bonding.  Discusses a study done in Portugal that shows what happens when a country takes the money usually spent on drug awareness and treatment and instead put that money into building community and connectedness.

Sexual Assault, Violence Against Women

How We Talk About Sexual Assault Online, Ione Wells  (14 min.)
Ione Wells talks about her experience being sexually assaulted and the large online movement that happened following this event.  She talks about the experiences online and how social media gets involved, in good ways and not so good.  The #notguilty movement was born out of this.

Violence Against Women – It’s a Man’s Issue, Dr. Jackson Katz (17 min.)
Dr. Katz talks about the need for men, especially men in power, to step up and challenge other men.  He believes this is a leadership issue, not a “sensitivity training” issue.  He talks about complicit silence.

Self-care, Mindfulness, Resilience

Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid, Guy Winch (17 min.)
Dr. Winch talks about loneliness, failure, and rejection.  Discusses the “tricks” our minds play on us and how to combat them; how to battle negative thinking. Talks about the difference between how we treat mental health and physical health.  This would be a great video for anyone who isn’t sure if they want therapy.

All It Takes Is 10 Minutes A Day, Andy Puddicombe  (9 min.)
Andy talks about the benefits of mindfulness.  He explains that pattern of being anxious about being anxious and how to break these thought patterns.

Want to be Happy?  Be Grateful,  David Steindl-Rast (14 min.)
David talks about being grateful for given time and opportunities.  He discusses the challenge of finding gratefulness during terrible events and hardships.  He discusses the “power of stopping.”

The Power of Vulnerability, Brene Brown  (20 min.)
Brene talks about being worthy of love and belonging.

Confidence

3 Tips to Boost Your Confidence, Amy Adkins (4 min.)
Quick easy tips for growth in self-confidence

What is Imposter Syndrome and How Can You Combat It?, Elizabeth Cox  (4 min.)
Quick explanation of what Imposter Syndrome is and the power of talking about it.

A Pro Wrestler’s Guide to Confidence,Mike Kinney (13 min.)
Professional wrestler “Cowboy Gater McGraw” talks about learning to find your strengths and “turn them up!”  This was surprisingly good!

Shame

Listening to Shame, Brene Brown  (20 min.)

Worth Listening To

Why I Train Grandmothers to Treat Depression, Dixon Chibanda  (12 min.)
It’s a really great story of treating depression by building connections and how to reach more people when there aren’t enough professional helpers.