It's easy to suffer in silence, not knowing what to say to whom. These brave, honest talks suggest ways to open up, talk about it and seek help — as well as ways to offer it.

For many years Sergeant Kevin Briggs had a dark, unusual, at times strangely rewarding job: He patrolled the southern end of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a popular site for suicide attempts. In a sobering, deeply personal talk Briggs shares stories from those he’s spoken — and listened — to standing on the edge of life. He gives a powerfu...

Even when our lives appear fine from the outside, locked within can be a world of quiet suffering, leading some to the decision to end their life. At TEDYou, JD Schramm asks us to break the silence surrounding suicide and suicide attempts, and to create much-needed resources to help people who reclaim their life after escaping death. Resources: ...

Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy takes on a terrifying question: How does the Taliban convince children to become suicide bombers? Propaganda footage from a training camp is intercut with her interviews of young camp graduates. A shocking vision.

Tanmay Bakshi realized that in order to prevent suicide, we need a better way of detecting patterns. For the last 3 years, Tanmay and his team have been developing an app that can pick up on irregularities in a person's online behavior to build an early warning systems for at-risk teens. His hope is that this app will help get teens in distress ...

Is there someone in your life dealing with anxiety, depression or thoughts of suicide -- but is too ashamed to talk about it? Jeremy Forbes saw this happening around him, and now he's on a mission to teach people how to start a conversation about it. In this deeply personal talk, Forbes shares his approach to helping a group of traditionally sil...

Veterans in the United States take their own lives at an alarming rate. Suggesting new ways to prioritize mental health in the military, veterans advocate Charles P. Smith offers a data-driven plan to help prevent suicide and ensure service members get proper care before, during and after active duty.

Jake Wood runs Team Rubicon, a nationwide nonprofit that provides military veterans with the opportunity to continue their service by responding to natural disasters and global crises.

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.

Beautiful, intimate and ultimately uplifting stories of challenge -- from making a new home in a strange country, to rebuilding life after unthinkable tragedy.

Kevin Breel didn't look like a depressed kid: team captain, at every party, funny and confident. But he tells the story of the night he realized that -- to save his own life -- he needed to say four simple words.

"The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment." In a talk equal parts eloquent and devastating, writer Andrew Solomon takes you to the darkest corners of his mind during the years he battled depression. That led him to an eye-opening journey across the world to int...

These talks honor the selfless and overall wonderful human beings who help us every day.

After fighting overseas, 92 percent of American veterans say they want to continue their service. Meanwhile, one after another, natural disasters continue to wreak havoc worldwide. What do these two challenges have in common? In telling the story of his friend Clay Hunt, Jake Wood from Team Rubicon reveals how veterans can contribute to disaster...

"Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop," says Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, she says, “I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.” Today, the kind of online public shaming she went through has become constant -- and can turn deadly. In a brave talk, she takes a hard look at our online culture o...

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, killing more people each year than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murder and suicide combined. Follow health policy expert Mitch Zeller into the murky depths of the tobacco industry as he details the sordid history of nicotine addiction -- ...

Through his charity HALT, Jeremy Forbes aims to break through the stigma attached to mental health, raise awareness through education and empower men to open up conversations around mental health and suicide prevention.

We need to talk about war. These powerful, crucial talks come from soldiers, politicians, journalists and others who've seen the reality of war firsthand.

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.

Handy TED Talks for when you (or a loved one) need help recovering from an emotional hit.

Kevin Toolis's wide-ranging command of culture and history blends meaning and connection with death as part of life.

Sophie Andrews is the CEO of The Silver Line, a 24-hour phone line that provides social connectivity for isolated senior citizens in the UK and receives approximately 1,500 calls per day.

Dan Pallotta is on a focused mission to change the way the donating public things about giving.

Surgeon and author Sherwin Nuland discusses the development of electroshock therapy as a cure for severe, life-threatening depression -- including his own. It's a moving and heartfelt talk about relief, redemption and second chances.

Sue Klebold has become a passionate agent working to advance mental health awareness and intervention.

At TEDActive 2011, JD Schramm shares the story of his friend, John, who, after surviving a suicide attempt, found that there were few resources available for someone in his position to be able to communicate the hardship he experienced and the depression he continued to battle. And there are others in this position, too – as Schramm points out, ...

Inspired by JD Schramm’s powerful TEDTalk on surviving a suicide attempt, this list of resources has been updated to help you widen your understanding of mental health, depression, suicide and suicide prevention. Whether you’re an attempt survivor, a concerned family member or friend, or struggling with suicidal thoughts yourself, this list offe...

Kristen Ashburn's photographs bring us face-to-face with real people in desperate circumstances. Taking us to the intimate spaces of her subjects -- the victims of war, disaster, epidemic -- she elicits the sublime sadness and resolve of human beings in suffering.

I was a foreign correspondent based in China when I attempted suicide, twice. A big factor was the fear that if anyone knew what I was feeling, I would be fired and my career would be over. Here I was, a journalist since the age of 16, whose far-flung life -- Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, extra in Bollywood films, teacher in rural Pakista...

Sheena Iyengar studies how people choose (and what makes us think we're good at it).