EXTRA! EXTRA! TED Talk on Mental Illness

TED TALKS: TOWARD A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL DISORDERS

It was especially interesting for me to watch the TED Talks "Toward New Understanding of Mental Disorders" because I have two close friends who suffer from mental illness (brain disorders), so this topic hits close to home for me. And I shouldn't say "suffer" so much as, they live with mental disorders that they have learned to effectively deal with to the point that I forget about their disorders most of the time- and I am around them ALOT. 

The brain is a fascinating yet overwhelmingly daunting thing that I feel we will never 100% understand. However, in this TED Talk, he examines the importance of understanding how we should be looking at mental disorders- that we need to be better educated and gain a more concrete understanding of how to help people with mental disorders. 

In the education world, students who have mental disorders are often misdiagnosed as having learning disorders or behavioral disorders. Furthermore, mental disabilities are shied away from, as people tend to be frightened by them rather than interested and willing to help. 

As teachers, it is important for us to realize the seriousness of mental disorders in children and young adults. When diagnosed and treated at an early age, people with mental illnesses learn effective coping skills that can help them through difficult times at school, especially in the adolescent years. Especially because suicide is the third most common cause of death for people between the ages of 15-25. That's SCARY but we also have the ability to help these people before it gets to that point. 

Mental illnesses SHOULD NEVER BE IGNORED. 




"What we need conceptually to make progress here is to rethink these disorders as brain disorders." 










Here is the link to the video: TED Talks: Toward a New Understanding of Mental Illness