Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough

www.ted.com 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?
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 www.ted.com/tra....

[@pirobot668beta]

The bipolar mind is like a very sensitive radio receiver: it can pull in the desired 'signal' but it also pulls in static and noise just as well.

[@librom5542]

A big mother's hug to bipolar children of all ages. I love my son unconditionally regardless if manic, depressed, medicated or driving me crazy!

[@nikkierickson2967]

I'm bipolar, and on several meds. I'm as "level" as I've ever been, but I still have spikes up and down. I have noticed that those with bipolar make the best actors and performers. That's because (I think) they're creative. My creativity is limited to sculpting model horses, but because I also have Social Anxiety I stay home and refuse to be in public as much as possible. But I know if I could handle being in public I know I'd make a good actor. I see through a creative eye. I sort of embrace my bipolar disorder, because without it I wouldn't be who I am. WONDERFUL video.

[@figarofog9409]

I'm afraid to go on meds but, if I can keep some of the highs, I will. My manic hobbies are writing and devouring scientific information. My delusions were always a feeling of superior insight.

[@walpurgina8366]

Yeah you're totally right. Best example, Robin Williams, Stevie Ryan, Vivienne Leigh, Carrie Fisher, Virginia Woolf, Van Gogh and the only who is alive Demi lovato (Sure there are more people alive but I forgot who else). My doctor would give me high dose lithium and floucetine;antidepressant. I didnt take it because im afraid. Instead I sold it and used the money to buy new art equipment. Thats what I do. I go hiking in the forest and do my art there. Im writing too. It helps a little with stress and anxiety so does meditation and green magic herbs. If I can't sleep I look at the stars and smoke some green magic. If you click on my channel there is a playlist FREEDOM & PEACE That's what I do too. Sometimes It is hard to sleep because they are so many Ideas rushing through my head and I synchronize the content with my bucket list unfortunately my bucket list is 2 notebooks long more than 3 thousand Ideas. Sorry not sorry. ☻ Just make you're horses and sell them on etsy. You can open a KZbin channel and do your own movies you dont need to leave the house to film movies.There are so many creative short movies. Asked anyone who knows someone that can do an art Channel based website where you can be creative as much you want. Or something like a bookclub and instead of reading books just invite people who make theatre you can learn some acting skills as well and it takes really long but if you trust them there will be a way to make you the actress you ever wanted to be. We must leave our comfort zones right now so we can see the magic in life

[@walpurgina8366]

Figaro Fog Me too. I learned to appreciate the times where I'm manic. I feel you. Enhance your talent and make it your little getaway. Sadly there are only two choices for bipolar people. But only one two make you feel stronger. "You must never give into dispair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." - Uncle Iroh

[@AmandaRox12345]

i lost it when he pulled out his curls omg

[@bon12121]

I love this guy. Sometimes I think I feel things more than others, and my family don't understand. I initially rejected my diagnosis at first but I've learnt it's correct. But I do feel quite creative even though I took a Science/Math heavy education.

[@SoundInWhisper]

One of the best TedTalks videos i've seen. This guy is amazing.

[@VelourYeti]

I don't know who you are, but I know that the world is blessed to have you in it. :)

[@PrashantGhadge30]

This is the best Ted talk I have ever seen...try to be mad hope will get lucky sometime...:)

[@sirdouglashowel5thseat776]

+Prashant Ghadge ted talks are crap.. ted is a very bad organization

[@overratedyouth]

this speech just saved my life

[@lukabaljkas8593]

It really is an awe-inspiring speech. :)

[@KirstenLynch319]

Absolutely amazing. I now have a new term to use in my own mental health/mental illness awareness campaigns - "Mental Skillness"! As a person living with Bipolar Disorder, I can relate 100%. I've been to the same places... I nearly spit my tea when he mentioned the drugs and the pen. My 1st psychiatrist prescribed like that and it made me a very sick lady! I left him for a doc who listen to me. I now lead a very balanced life.

[@freesk8]

"Three things are the same and come from one 'god' how we are special, how we are unique, and how we are odd" Grace R. Garvin Guthrie 1959-2005

[@webba0000000069]

Appreciate the madness Josh. Be yourself even if others do not understand you. I find a lot of the times people who think you have gone mad are the same people who refuse to notice that at the right angle you can see the fire in our eyes. Does not make us different, its just in how you harness that gift... Good or evil....just like any other man.

[@iron60bitch62]

Thank you for the first time anyone ever put in words what I was thinking every day.

[@Aran_Zar]

Why people is asking this guy to be funny? He is just making a point.

[@rey777777]

Brillante actuacion!!!! Sencilla y directa y profunda a la vez.

[@caryn68bishop]

OMG GOOD STUFF!!! Thanks Joshua Walters!!! ♥

[@wrgajdhar]

I'm bipolar. I identify with him so much.

[@larissapaiva4178]

me too

[@thebrownsupremacist4627]

Me three :) I am so happy that it finally feels like being part of a community. I used to think that i was the outcast in society.

[@KLJeffreys1]

Incredible man!

[@PrashantGhadge30]

this is the best TED talk I have ever seen...ever1 is little bit mad how much? how luck u r 👌

[@PeachPlastic]

I'm bipolar, too, and, from my perspective, the way he describes mental illness as some kind of secret revolutionary blessing is dangerous. Mood episodes of both kinds wreak havoc, not only in the personal life of the sufferer, but also in the patient's brain. I very much understand the creative value he talks about! My two cents here are: Treatment is necessary anyway.

[@Bread_Noob]

this was a great talk, great job joshua walters!

[@subzero628]

I was meant to find this today... I was really meant to find this today. Thankyou so much... Very few rare people have the ability to change people's lives with a few words and this guy can and he is my fukkin hero!

[@kelseygonzo3109]

I love it. I absolutely love this.

[@crabwalker01]

I don't understand why everyone assumed he was going to do a set. It was a solid, professional presentation that included some wittiness. He had a point and if he presented it as a comedy sketch, the idea would likely get clouded in the punchlines.

[@writeleahnoel]

brilliant!

[@AnExplorer1000]

This is one of the best TED speeches I've heard so far...and I've heard a lot of them.

[@h0merg0mez]

The "more sensitive to what people can't see" should never be a justification during a depressed mood state. My girlfriend was thinking this way when she was having suicidal thoughts - "How can anyone be happy in my situation?? Anyone would be". It's just distorted thinking. Bipolar IS something that needs to be treated to some extent -- its not as innocent as he makes it seem.

[@kyral210]

Its not about being normal or not, its about being in a mindset which allows you to integrate successfully with society.

[@gitadji]

There's a lot of wisdom in this idea. I have adult ADD and quite often coworkers and friends would call me crazy just for being different and thinking that everything is doable.I was raised in a socialist republic where being unordinary and eccentric was not well accepted by the society. Luckily, now I'm in a place where those qualities of a "crazy" are recognized. I'm working in the technological innovative field where you have to be "crazy" in order to create the future. I'm glad I'm CRAZY :)

[@adaptkng]

its always nice to see the bright side of the so called bad things, as creators or inventors, most people think we are crazy

[@BuriedErect]

Whether it is treated should always be left up to the individual. As someone who struggled with suicidal thoughts and an attempt, I shun medication as a "treatment" for my disorder. I don't mind feeling sad as much anymore because I embraced that it was a part of who I was. It allowed me to understand and accept and love myself so much more than I ever was able to while being "treated." I hope your girlfriend finds peace, but her way isn't the only way.

[@aaronkeogh]

The great thing is I can be mad/ weird but underneath that I can still make money, and nobody will ever take that away form me

[@seanericanderson3666]

A future star.

[@Andre3KPlus]

YOU INSPIRED MY LIFE!

[@merryweatherhoneyfoot9577]

he really can see.

[@bekah9470]

Ha,ha...Josh Walters is my dream guy! Go Josh! Come back to Seattle ASAP!

[@Ryan44567]

Brilliant.

[@aliciasinternets]

Being in a similar if less exaggerated situation, I do agree with this point of view and I frequently bring up Beethoven and Van Goh along with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. However, I think that the magnitude of bittersweet beauty that comes with a force like that was not portrayed to its full spectacularness here... I feel like it was a great set up which then fell flat. But it makes me happy to see this concept creeping out into the big world... That we are seeing imperfect as a perfection.

[@TheRooster602]

Brilliant. I had a bipolar acquaintance once, he was brilliant too, half the time. The rest of the time he was... difficult.

[@DarkAura971]

"Maybe everyone's just mad"-The Mad Hatter

[@celticphrog]

The real question is not whether someone is "normal", but whether they are able to function adequately in the world they chose to inhabit. There are people for who functioning is impossible or very difficult and they may choose treatment that moves them toward the bubble on the curve.

[@renzmabalatan2034]

thank you too sir

[@lalalawy345]

thank you , Joshua! Very inspiring

[@BrannuSunyata]

obviously, there are many people who do not understand mental illness ... and those are the exact people this talk needs to educate.

[@jagk4459]

Thank you for sharing. =)

[@MonkeyRecords]

I have forwarded this on to my psychologist friend who works with a lot of people who are bipolar...

[@AndrewRaines614]

lol that would be me. wandering again! i just had to acknowledge that this video seems to have had an impact on you as it did me. truly wonderful :)

[@avedic]

That was..awkward. I'm 30...and a few years ago, had a pretty bad day...suicide attempt, police called, parents crying, 72 hour stay in a mental hospital. On the 2nd day, I sat before a panel of 8 doctors..not ONE who looked me in the eye. They stared at their notepads, asked questions for 5 minutes having never met me before, and diagnosed me bi-polar. The drug they prescribed made my life flat..gray..lifeless. I'm now off it and happy. Manic at times, but functioning..and more creative for it.

[@overratedyouth]

I guess we both kinda wandered to the awesome side of youtube. So hello :)

[@shriswamiramanand]

very deep and excellent point!

[@seanericanderson3666]

This is so inspiring, and well done.

[@ocean514]

This was great.

[@Arghira]

wonderful

[@esquilovermelho]

excellent

[@l0vablelinda]

great performance and ending thought-inspiring comment. really like the idea of re-framing mental illness as much of it is just differences we fail to appreciate in a society based on conformity (Industrialization, assembly line, mass production of standardized products)

[@saturnskies3897]

I have Bipolar and this inspired me :)

[@RockalilyDunne]

i'm just wondering, how does one qualify or apply to be on ted talks?

[@overratedyouth]

Thank you. :) Likewise!

[@bandersnatch9793]

i saw that on a billboard once, and i always think "what is normal?" when (not if) people say i'm wierd, what do i have to do to be "normal"?

[@multuminparvo5]

I'm not bipolar, but I've gotten called bipolar several times for speaking out against professional child abuse cover-up behaviors in my area. So I can identify with a lot of this.

[@FenixAiroso]

A wise friend once pointed out to me that "Normal" is a setting on your washing machine. And who the Hell wants to be a washing machine?

[@rey777777]

I LOVE IT, really cool n' deep

[@26whosthatgirl]

i think this man's fantastic

[@AndrewPMello]

I think he has points. the opposite of logic is something most of you don't understand. it's why a rare person becomes a legend, and no one knows who any of you are.

[@slappedyak31]

that audience... the man is basically talking about how massive pharamceutical companies profiteer the health care system... how categories and "disorders" have been used to put people in boxes and pigeon hole them, how the treatment of mental health problems is often nothing short of chemical sedation, an indoctrination of "you are sick, we will make you normal again"... and people are laughing? :/ Some bits are obviously funny, some are heartbreaking.

[@TheAlexandreThompson]

that was AWEESOM!

[@ShopWornFairy]

while bipolar can bring a fuller range of consciousness that can include splashy creativity and blooming gifts, it also comes with the price of funky brain chemistry that can be very uncomfortable/unbearable to cope with at times.

[@--ART3MIS--]

I was sceptical when I saw the title of this. I was right. because evertime the title of the video suggests the person in it to be creative or crazy it just ends up to be silly, boring or banal. but i guess it helps not beeing to aware of yourself, when you`re in public ;-) thats the key to success! at least in showbiz :-))

[@JDD_Music_Press]

Love it!

[@miralabualjadail4206]

his eyes are an amazing shade of green!!

[@TheThrillingist]

Good talk. I was thirty when my mania expressed itself. I thought I was some sleepy version of Cleopatra (Do. Not. Ask.), though I never told a doctor that for fear that they would think I was crazy.

[@JegasLLC]

Awesome! Well Done Brother!

[@azmanabdula]

@gulllars im sorry but i dont know what you mean...... are you saying the speaker is right about showing people just enough of your "crazy" side...... to be appreciated without looking full out crazy?

[@Jackcabbit]

One of the things a guy named Hank Green says is "Decrease the suck, and increase the awesome." We need to find a way to do that with "mental disorders."

[@mm-lt9jk]

Everyone’s somewhere in the middle.☺️

[@gulllars]

@azmanabdula sort of. The first part about about Tesla is an argument that "not normal" thinking can lead to great things if paired with a personality and knowledge able to wield that way of thought. The second part is a comment that i myself have periods i deeply immerse myself in a subject sometimes for all of my spare time a few weeks before moving on. This has lead me down an aspiring polyglot/polymath lifepath, and a free-thinker. Some crazy can be good as long as it's not self-destructive.

[@friebender]

Understanding is relative, even for the person itself in different circumstances. If you dont have the will power and strenght as this guy i suggest you don't wanna trade, he is one case out of thausend... which are living a terrible live until they finally can die, no matter how talented they realy are. And if you don't want to be a normal person, than just simply don't be a normal person, you have a way better chance potential that this guy will ever have.

[@KrabiAdventure]

"How much depends on how lucky you are..." I like that. I've helped (or like to think I have, right?) many people with mental illnesses as part of my job in the 1990's. It's bizarre thinking it comes down to luck. Which straw you drew in the cosmic goo that decides whether you end up born with a mental or physically debilitating illness. There are some that drew the short, short straws. Most of us got something between the short and the long. Those that got short need our time if we can give it.

[@charlienethercoat094]

shit ive been in denial about how i feel for years...but seeing someone admit the positives of the condition as well as the condition itself brings gives the inspiration to finally come to terms with it... although i dont enjoy the times where your so hyper nothing can is powerful enough to meet the demands of that hyper-ness if that makes sense but the hyper ness is great too even though it cant get satsfied so why let yourself satisfy the negatives? i think i get it now thanks joshua :)

[@JeanKM1]

Anyone who has actually SUFFERED from bipolar would be hard put to say anything good about it.

[@FireStorm821]

@clannon some would say they give a little more than just "pens" to influence those professionals, the pen is just an indicator of that influence

[@Skellyrm]

What your saying and what you mean are two different things. Yes we are all eccentric and special. If we are concerned about what we do on a daily basis only because we are afraid of how others will view us then we need to recognize that our happiness is second to fear, But if you want to run through the streets naked every day but don't because the Herd has rules then call me a bit sheepish! To each his own but as individuals and society we can excel when we have balance! We consider normal!

[@misguidedangel9263]

that was awesome!

[@cjharrys]

@Zen4Zorba I believe that you are very right..besides something that he made me realize was what is being "normal" all about.. I mean as to who sets the standard...we were created with different abilities and limitations and it takes one session with a psychologist to term you normal or abnormal....There is definitely more to what a human being can definitely do....

[@SiCGaming123]

@TimmacTR Normal is the way you or a group see people: act, say, what is socially acceptable, (Which are all different in certain countries/cultures). Once we find that someone is different, isn't what we're used to, or acts differently, we call them weird.

[@Waranoa]

As long as a mental 'disorder' does not paralyse your functioning, it's ok to embrace it; every human is different; I love the crazy ones better anyway and all my friends and the interesting people I know dig the crazies. I might be somewhere on the bipolar spectrum; it's not always fun but I think I'm gonna roll with it. My parents were blue collar; they didn't complain. One told my; "one does not simply apply into a PhD program in Berlin' But I will and I'll show those Germans. Wish me luck!

[@freesk8]

Wow, the libertarian psychologist Thomas Szasz would love this talk!

[@vapoet]

Okay, those of us with bipolar disorder have to laugh at the line, at "Xiprexal...uhumm...uhumm... At least that's what it says on my pen." I can always tell when a drug salesman visits my doctor. He has new pens, notepads, etc... And he wants to try a new treatment on you. I laughed out loud at the line.

[@debistanley7419]

So TRUE! The saddest part, which many don't realize is that all it can sometimes take is ONE visit with the wrong Dr. U can be labelled with the cruelest of diseases & that diagnosis is the 1st thing other Dr.s will see. So begins a long & sometimes ridiculous journey thru a healthcare system that profits not on curing but on medicating. Meanwhile U might not even be aware of the stigma of the label, or it's mind numbing results. Down the rabbit hole & good luck with trying to crawl out. Peace!

[@froyboy4life]

Articulation of crazy. I like it.

[@JabutiTV]

Beautiful. Poor audience but he didn't falter a bit.

[@dookiecheez]

@SiCGaming123 Natural and normal are not mutually exclusive terms, so I don't see how this objection is valid. I didn't confuse the two. I stated a factual norm that happened to also be "natural". If one can merely dismiss something as not normal because it is also [insert any descriptor] then nothing is normal simply because one refuses to adhere to the rules of language.

[@elyariti3536]

Yesss! yes yes!

[@miralabualjadail4206]

actually i've know this for a very long time, that your some sort of creative genius because your crazy and growing up everyone would tell me about how all the gr8 people had some mental disorder and ever since then i wanted to be crazy lol i have always been told i was very creative and today every single person i know has described me as crazy i sometimes wonder if its true as someone once told me crazy i had convened myself that i have mental disorder i just don't know what it is..

[@ToddHowardWithAGun]

@adapaevolved This is not cultural marxism. If anything, it's the opposite. Bipolarism, schizophrenia, etc are so evolutionarily disadvantageous and yet they still persist in the human gene pool. There HAS to be a reason why this is so. One theory proposes every few generations, a bipolar/schizophrenic family produces a genius. This explains why, despite causing so many problems, it still is sexually selected for.

[@Cinqmil]

Who considers what is normal? If you follow the herd, you follow the herds rules. If they tell you you are sick, you will think you are sick. Nobody but yourself should be setting the marker for what is normal or not.

[@ratholin]

@AndreLeCoz that was my first reaction.

[@cattag6609]

jajajajaja I FrikingK love these guy ..... Made my day ... jajaja

[@Andre3KPlus]

172 Psychologists watched this Video! He is Damn Inspiring!

[@AndrewRaines614]

I don't know what brought you here. or myself either. So hello to you. :)