Depression, schizophrenia, suicidal feelings—too often, these experiences stay private. These speakers who've struggled with mental illness boldly share their stories, in hopes that others don't feel so alone.

These powerful stories shatter preconceived notions about mental illness, and pose the provocative question: What can the world learn from different kinds of minds?

Feeling a little down on yourself? These mental tricks and pearls of inspiration will give you a lift.

Dixon Chibanda is passionate about the human brain, how it influences our behavior and what we can do to make everybody happy.

Got just enough time for a coffee, but in need of a mental pick-me-up? These short, yet riveting talks may just do the trick.

Vikram Patel helps bring better mental health care to low-resource communities -- by teaching ordinary people to deliver basic psychiatric services.

Nearly 450 million people are affected by mental illness worldwide. In wealthy nations, just half receive appropriate care, but in developing countries, close to 90 percent go untreated because psychiatrists are in such short supply. Vikram Patel outlines a highly promising approach -- training members of communities to give mental health interv...

Diseases of the body garner sympathy, says comedian Ruby Wax -- except those of the brain. Why is that? With dazzling energy and humor, Wax, diagnosed a decade ago with clinical depression, urges us to put an end to the stigma of mental illness.

Schizophrenia was first identified more than a century ago, but we still don't know its exact causes. It remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses today. So what do we actually know about its symptoms, causes, and treatments? Anees Bahji investigates. [Directed by Artrake Studio, narrated by Susan Zimmerman, music by Stephe...

Writer, comic and mental health activist Kevin Breel speaks up about depression.

Today, thanks to better early detection, there are 63% fewer deaths from heart disease than there were just a few decades ago. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, wonders: Could we do the same for depression and schizophrenia? The first step in this new avenue of research, he says, is a crucial reframing: for u...

At TED2010, mathematics legend Benoit Mandelbrot develops a theme he first discussed at TED in 1984 -- the extreme complexity of roughness, and the way that fractal math can find order within patterns that seem unknowably complicated.

What moves Jill Bolte Taylor? "I love talks that contribute to the overall well-being of who we are as humanity -- about how we can explore ourselves as people in relationship with one another and with this beautiful planet."

Can the way you speak and write today predict your future mental state, even the onset of psychosis? In this fascinating talk, neuroscientist Mariano Sigman reflects on ancient Greece and the origins of introspection to investigate how our words hint at our inner lives and details a word-mapping algorithm that could predict the development of sc...

Depression is an illness that many suffer alone. These speakers bravely share their own stories -- and how they recovered.

At TED's Full Spectrum Auditions, comedian Joshua Walters, who's bipolar, walks the line between mental illness and mental "skillness." In this funny, thought-provoking talk, he asks: What's the right balance between medicating craziness away and riding the manic edge of creativity and drive?

Guy Winch asks us to take our emotional health as seriously as we take our physical health -- and explores how to heal from common heartaches.

Some of the world's greatest minds swore by the benefits of taking a stroll. Make your next walk better (or even just go for a mental walk in the woods) with these rousing talks.

"For all that's ever been said about climate change, we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts of living in a warming world," says science writer Britt Wray. In this quick talk, she explores how climate change is threatening our well-being -- mental, social and spiritual -- and offers a starting point for what we can do abou...

"Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" It's a question Elyn Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn't a joke. A legal scholar, in 2007 Saks came forward with her own story of schizophrenia, controlled by drugs and therapy but ever-present. In this powerful talk, she asks us to see people with mental illness clearly, honestly and compassion...

While searching for a kidney donor, Karen Keegan stumbled upon a mystery. After undergoing genetic testing, it turned out that some of her cells had a completely different set of genes from the others. And this second set of genes belonged to her twin sister— who had never been born. How did this happen? Kayla Mandel Sheets explores the conditio...

School can be rife with stress, anxiety, panic attacks and even burnout -- but there's often no formal policy for students who need to prioritize their well-being. Hailey Hardcastle explains why schools should offer mental health days and allow students time to practice emotional hygiene without stigma. Follow along to learn how she and a team o...

Too busy to take care of yourself? These talks offer simple ways to stay healthy -- both emotionally and physically.

The Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Insel supports research that will help us understand, treat and even prevent mental disorders.

When you report an emergency in the US, police, firefighters or paramedics answer the call. What if mental health professionals responded, too? Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod shares a straightforward and research-backed approach that brings heart and humanity to criminal justice rather than unnecessary fines and arrests -- and keeps ...

Ruby Wax is a loud, funny woman -- who spent much of her comedy career battling depression in silence. Now her work blends mental health advocacy and laughs.

Rosie King challenges stereotypes of people with autism and contextualizes the issue by asking us, “Why be normal?”

As a member of the California Highway Patrol with assignments including patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge, Sergeant Kevin Briggs and his staff are the last barriers between would-be suicides and the plunge to near-certain death.

Through his lab at the California Institute of Technology, David Anderson seeks to find the neural underpinnings of emotions like fear, anxiety and anger.

Andrew Solomon writes about politics, culture and psychology.