for you how would you react if I was to
tell you right now that I like I have a
mental disorder my guess would be you
would probably say that it doesn’t show
or it doesn’t show or that I look pretty
normal but how many of you would that
concerned or would asked me how I’m
doing
or tell me to have a strong enough I
don’t need to keep fighting that would
have been the kind of vectors I would
have gotten if I had told you I have
cancer instead
well actually luckily for me I don’t
have a mental in this but it’s much more
common than you think
like Frederic told us earlier according
to the Duke WH o at this one person you
for experience is mental I’m this at
some point in their lives so
statistically of you all know at least
one person or probably you more who has
experienced this it can be anyone
reading can be a member of a family a
friend a teacher can be your crush why
not as for me I have a younger sister
with an eating disorder and all the
sister with depression and manic aunt so
okay that sounds like much maybe
statistics were a bit hard on me but you
will find that it’s really not that that
uncommon and the tragedy is that we
don’t know much about it and our
ignorance is not only preventing us from
benefiting from these people and the
experience that they have but it’s also
cutting them from the hell that you’d
get from two sides now why do I make it
sound like it’s your fault that they’re
sick it’s not but you might be part of
the reason why they are not Hewitt so
well there are people who just consider
them crazy people and avoid them and
obviously these people are not helping
but I’m just going to assume that we are
all here people with good intentions
that wants to help and that wants to be
part of the reason why they are contiki
the problem is even if you have to
tensions in the world sometimes we just
don’t know how to do and we might end up
doing more wrong than good
let me just give you examples for
example you want to reassure this young
girl with a Korean eating disorder and
you tell her that it’s alright to as a
bit of weight it’s not that bad and she
she looks prettier anyway now that she
has lost a few kilograms well its life
time someone was currently there so
right to lose a few teeth you don’t want
to make that sound healthy to you it’s
exactly the same thing when you try
really hard to show your depressive
friend how beautiful life is and explain
to him that he should definitely go out
and enjoy it instead of moping inside
all day and maybe that’s one of the
reason why is me everyone in the first
place right oh no that does not really
work like that yes many people may have
it worse than them maybe people are
dying from starvation or under bombings
but that’s not going to make them
feeling better the thing is it might end
up actually preventing them anyway and
the reason is we can try it as well we
try as much as we can it can get
frustrating but we won’t get to them
that way because it’s not it’s not
rational believe me I’ve been there I’ve
tried I have an aunt who was had any
manic episode that’s when suddenly you
are bursting with energy and everything
is fantastic and you were very excited
with anything and everything meeting and
she had found an ad online about the
ruin somewhere in Normandy 50 kilometers
away from any civilization and suddenly
she thought that the greatest idea of
her life was to buy this ruin and jump
everything and go live there with dot
and yes I could think of many good
reasons why that was really not a good
idea and nice and a lot of time
explaining it to her but no matter how
good my case was there was just no way
that was going to convince her because
that’s not the way we should do it and
mostly even if we want to do
we just don’t know how to do it because
we don’t know actually what it means to
have a mental disorder so I I myself I
don’t know it I have never experienced
it so I can only guess what I know is
that it’s very it’s very diverse region
vary in degree to the very in nature
there are many many beautiful forms of
mental disorders you can have mood
disorders psychotic disorders you can
have most just traumatic disorders this
there are just so many that I can’t
quite tell them like I think put them
all but there are a few things that they
had in common and that’s not this the
crazy person image that we tend to have
sometimes the first thing that’s in
common between all of them is that
they’re all very intense addicting we
can’t leave a normal life the way you
should when you have a mental disorder
some things that we might do without
thinking becomes like huge obstacles for
them take get happen in the morning
getting up in the morning as an example
I know Monday mornings are hard for
everyone but in the end we all get up
don’t we because we have an important
meeting to go to
we have class and we don’t want our
district teacher to yell at us or we
have a TEDx is just when we really need
come but let’s just make an effort of
imagination close our eyes and imagine
that we’re in bed we open that we open
our eyes we feel rested but still we
have no energy we have nowhere to go no
one to see we don’t feel like anything’s
expecting us outside of our bedroom we
could just spend the day in bed no one
would lines because no one cares and
there’s really nothing
right so it’s not that we practically
want to stay in bed with why shouldn’t
we
and that’s probably that’s how I feel
defensive people wake up like and I
picked a freshman I could have picked
anything I would have chosen paranoia
and tell you how difficult it is to feel
like the people using love you are
plotting to have your back
or I could have chosen another of my
exotic examples from my arms and say
that you really need to move all the
furniture in your apartment before you
get started visiting so yes that’s that
it’s not easy to have a normal everyday
life with a mental disorder but another
misconception that is criminals that
it’s all in your head what really it’s
not it has an impact on your body – the
brain has a big impact on you as a whole
approach as well your menses states
shows of your body and that’s something
we all experience at some point for
example before you take a very important
test or before you make a TED talk for
example in this example random that you
can experience stomach aches because
you’re so stressed for another example
at seven most striking but only applies
to female if you convince yourself that
you’re pregnant
well you might start exhibiting signs of
pregnancy while not being pregnant at
all like it would go very far you can
stop having invariant you can have your
vet explaining it’s you can bloom swings
and good morning sickness while being
well well pregnant that’s exactly the
same thing for mental disorders it
affects your mind and your body and it
doesn’t even stop there
it also affects people around you your
circle friends your family everybody so
yeah well do there’s any for example but
it can be used that also Miguel
that could be another to be any one of
us really and sometimes yes like it
didn’t funny I first I find it funny
when I receive protectors by the mail
because my all things I’d really need
them right now or that she called
Natalia to tell me that the Baker has
been stealing her letters and I reading
to stop him because that’s not going to
continue on it I find it funny but I
know people we don’t I told you of
suppressive older sibling who’s actually
were more my cousin but she’s lived with
me since I was there is most like more
for sister for me and she’s well the
daughter of this woman and she has known
her since before she was bistec and just
imagine having a mother figure who is
sending you by the mail of a single
earring and toenails it’s not really
from know is really powerful and it can
affect you in more ways than just one
example for my sister it infected her so
much that at some point she fell into
depression and it didn’t go well with my
family so in the end what she ended up
leaving the house by slamming the door
and really I feel like twice you know
and she goes so far away from us that
she got married last year
and I only learned a few few months ago
when she came and visited me and you
know secretly without my parents going
so that’s not really a healthy situation
in there and we I can’t help but think
that has something to do with the fact
that my
sister that has now an eating disorder
so can we say that it’s contagious I
don’t know but the thing is it really
affects human people around you and it’s
incredible whether it’s so it sounds
such an impact that we still know so
little about it we don’t know what
triggers it really some very tips
probably in your genes so you can
inherit it but is it may be recessive
like red hair or is it triggered by
something in your environment nobody
knows and it’s not only the causes that
are not well-known enough it’s also the
cures like the drugs you get to heal are
nowhere efficient enough and they often
have very scary side effects and that’s
not even mentioning the electric shock
therapies that are still in use
sometimes but sorry I’ve seen that my my
sister is take some drugs but that
Hallett go like maybe I’m very
multifaceted and not risking to have a
massive loss of hair or swollen medic
work sort of unexplainable death because
that’s what they’re right in the side
effects that’s super scary that’s really
hard enough to get help like this but
you know what makes it even harder it’s
us and it’s not it’s an accusation
because we can change and I’m hoping
that everyone will try to change a
little bit after my talk but the way our
reactions affect them is that sometimes
they can start believing that there are
tech when we tell them self and that’s
the well that’s one way they’re not
going to do if they don’t get help
obviously that’s what happened to my own
that’s why she keeps saying don’t
toenails like the male that’s because
your mother told her she was not sick
she didn’t need to get help and she
didn’t and she’s not going to heal it’s
too late for her but it’s not too late
for many other people that are sick they
need to know that they need help in
order to get them to get help but the
second danger would be for them to start
to try to
that they are saying because because
then they’re not in an upward slope you
know they’re just getting sicker and
sicker just to prove that they deserve
the help they’re getting and that’s what
happened to my little sister she started
losing weight about a year ago when she
was 14 and she lost 20 kilos in two
three months that’s a lot can we all
agree that’s not healthy but the thing
is young girls at that age are often
very skinny and what my sister didn’t
look very different from them from some
of her classmates who were sometimes
even skinnier than them and my little
sister so well one of her best friends
told her well look at you know you’re
not in anorexia you’re not skinny enough
I can you believe it there are actually
standards too before the fire something
as live in or x”k and if you don’t if
you’re not like these skeleton like
models you see on TV you’re not anorexic
and you have to prove that Ehrenreich so
what did my sister do she lost it always
that’s not healthy either
so yes it can be yes our behavior can
stop these people from getting a healthy
need but it’s also stopping us from
benefiting from what they could bring
because they have a very unique
experience they have lived through
things that we don’t we don’t nothing
about and you think translate this into
something useful
or if they translate this into art can
give some of the greatest artists we
have ever known take my kimono for
example it is believed that he had OCD
or at a calm
no take my favorite singer Sinead
O’Connor she was bipolar if I go up to
was bipolar and that’s not only artists
it is believed that the Darwin or even I
Abraham Lincoln at some form of mental
disorders so maybe we’re missing some
Abraham Lincoln’s I’m nervously same
Sinead O’Connor’s because we don’t know
what they’re going through and we don’t
even come to deal with them so
furthermore what they could bring to
society is that they were set a very
positive and inspiring example for sick
people everywhere to try to heal so what
could we do to include them or to give
them the help a meet and you get from
them the experience they have well it’s
really the only person who can heal them
is well then they have to get the help
they need they have to be willing to to
heal so that they can actually feel but
there are ways that we can help them do
this we can first of all well recognize
that they’re safe that it’s is the
sickness there are a Penguin’s they need
help but we also have to bring their
attention and compassion we have to try
to put well to walk in their shoes to
try and understand what the living so
that so that we can we can give them the
help they need because I mean because
when you feel bad you get help but when
you’re feeling good you should give it
thank you very much [Applause]