Growing up Stressed or Growing up Mindful? | Christopher Willard | TEDxYouth@GDRHS

Teens are the most stressed population in America. Learn how simple mindfulness exercises not only physically change our brain for the better, but also help our response to stress.
Christopher Willard, Psy. D. is a psychologist and educational consultant based in Boston specializing in mindfulness. He has been practicing mindfulness for over 15 years, and leads workshops internationally on the topic of mindfulness with young people. He currently serves on the board of directors at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, and the Mindfulness in Education Network. His thoughts on mental health have been featured in The New York Times, cnn.com, and elsewhere. Dr. Willard is the author of Child’s Mind (2010) Growing Up Mindful (2016) and three other books. He teaches at Harvard Medical School. When not working, he enjoys time with family, travel, cooking, eating, reading, writing, hiking and any combination of these he can manage.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@akimboclapper484]

Why is my school showing this

[@Yoga4Classrooms]

Wonderful, Chris! Thank you. We'll be using this as a great resource to share with teens (and adults). "Mindfulness is not about shutting off our thoughts, it's changing our relationship to our thoughts."

[@luceturgeon6267]

Shared this video with my class and was very useful. Thank you.

[@stxred22]

Well done. I appreciate your work and share it with teachers and students that would benefit from implementing mindfulness!

[@hamishcameron9510]

Correlation is not causation. Maybe living in the present doesn't make you happier, maybe when people are happy it encourages them to live in the present

[@theonethatasked5111]

this was very help full thanks

[@agroelite3318]

This guy sounds like Gabe from the office tbh

[@pachec2082]

James Angelo Back yes

[@rockyconley8352]

pov ur doing a ws for health over this

[@jojo.cowboys]

Unfortunately

[@CHRF-55457]

@@jojo.cowboys Same here...

[@collinhilson6273]

I need the answers

[@lilith647]

@@jojo.cowboys yep

[@SpiritBear12]

This didn't go the way I thought. "Growing up Stressed"... I thought it was going to be a talk about what happens when young children have to grow up in a stressful atmosphere and how it may effect them for the rest of their lives. How it might damage them. Drunk neglectful parents, parents that scream and argue and go through a shit divorce, abuse of mental or physical kind. Nope, a talk about college students.

[@healthfuldave5207]

Encourage your parents to watch this Tedx video with you. Speaking for myself, I can say being a parent can be very stressful even in the best of circumstances.

[@SpiritBear12]

David Patton My mother is gone. I hate to say it, but she was the one who caused the stress. But it's over now and has been for years. I'm over it, but my sister is still affected.

[@kimbobrunel566]

You're not alone. My dad was the abusive alcoholic. I have PTSD from the violence and have had it since I was a kid, but wasn't diagnosed until three years ago. DBT therapy has done wonders for me though.

[@SpiritBear12]

Kimbo Brunel What's DBT?

[@kimbobrunel566]

Dialectical Behavior Therapy. There is lots of info. online.

[@lilywater3683]

The way to calm down a snow globe is not to shake it more.

[@zzzlife]

Dr. Willard, this is a brilliant and very useful lecture, but I have one deep criticism that I cannot resist to put it out there. You show the image of a young Buddhist monk in a derogatory way. Couldn't you find any other image to make the point? Don't forget even for a fraction of a moment that mindfulness that you are teaching has been taught to Buddhist monks for day one for last 2500 years. It is a central theme of Buddhist way of life. How shameful of you to show that image to instill a negative picture in the minds of the audience toward young Buddhist monks. If possible, please be mindful yourself before showing disrespect for a tradition that has brought mindfulness to general public in the modern world . (Zen, Buddhism, Yoga etc.)