Elyn Saks on TED TALKS: A tale of mental illness from the inside

I first learned of Elyn Saks, moons ago, when I attended grad school at USC. I had heard buzzing about a law professor who suffered from Schizophrenia and had written a book entitled, Center Cannot Hold. I'm glad to see that she's still preaching.

She voices the opinion that one should never be forced to take medication or undergo forced restraint. She says she is pro-psychiatry and anti-force. While this may sound sensical, it is not that simple. It's a complex subject that I will not explore at this time.

What I love love love - is that she tells us that there is no such thing as schizophrenia but rather individuals with schizophrenia. We can all work towards ending stigma by making that shift in our heads.

Elyn Saks on TED TALKS: A tale of mental illness from the inside - 2012

TED Talks YouTube Description:

http://www.ted.com "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 compassionately.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate
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