Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind

[@TheIAMINU]

If you don't hear the voices in your head , it means they're silently judging you...

[@theboss-vr1jj]

+TheIAMINU lol x

[@sharps8726]

Gold

[@hebam81]

TheIAMINU I've always felt the same way about that! the voices are always there judging and arguing with u... its just not auditory to them or they r so far gone they cant decipher their true thoughts n feeling from this external source silently telling them what to think and how to feel

[@franciscusbaars1014]

I completely agree It also means that the bias in the observations of the first two speakers (perhaps the presentation chairlady!) is age-old judgemental view of the non-mad of us mad. I am treated bipolar scientist and can easily prove that the bias of onservation is unfair. I have met and smelt my own multiple symptoms amongst the huddles of hundreds of friends and anons in the web and milieu of 'normal' life. The scientific literature that I have read copiously clearly indicates that the undetected sample of afflicted, non-treated and non-normal 'normal' voice hearers causes the bias that maintains prejudice in close to medieval levels. Hear the voices, speak back to them, but don't obey them if they are mis-behaving. If you don't need to hear, then don't.

[@rustic35]

If you don't hear the voices in your head, you're provably speaking them allowed.

[@richardbedford6657]

I worked in a hospital. We had a fellow come to us in a manic state. He was so wild we had to seclude him. After a day or 2 he calmed down. I told him it's good to see you up and around, He replied it's "nice to be down and around"".

[@wishaalkhalid4414]

Elyn Saks seems so cool. When she said in the middle of an episode "it takes all your energy to be contained." i really felt the gravitas in her voice. What a brave woman.

[@vailryan5682]

I've always said that it takes all my energy to appear normal.

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

creativity arising from depression is exactly my experience; you gotta go to the deep waters to catch a big fish. There's also creativity going into depression but is blurrier and it burns faster

[@johngoldsworthy7135]

credit david lynch

[@zthetha]

As good old Krishnamurti rightly said, "Thought is the pollutant." The rational mind - so prized in our day - is a good tool but a bad master. To get stuck in the thinking function (Jung classified four functions - thinking - feeling - sensing - intuiting) is to become unbalanced by definition. Artistic genius brings all these to a high degree of perfection which sees the world clearly in all its madness, brutality, corruption and stupidity. The prospect of this may lead to a breakdown of some sort. Edvard Munch, a painter of genius, had such a breakdown and sadly fell into the hands of the electric shock medics who cured him of his 'madness' and alcoholism... and also his genius. Now he was officially 'sane' his paintings became banal and unimaginative and ordinary. But then that's what the medics want - for you to be as ordinary as them. So called madness may be the reaction of a sane person to a mad world where psychosis is a safe place to hide.

[@kahlread5537]

And to think they translated Cogito ergo sum as... I THINK therefore I am. How sick is that?

[@FethiKaratas]

Alan Watts alert!

[@bobaldo2339]

That foolish dualistic statement of Descartes has caused nothing but trouble for centuries, Kahl.

[@ichheieelsenorandorayashi4824]

Thank you, I'm autistic...

[@erinprather3793]

I knew a father who hated his son's creativity in the arts. He crushed that shit like a bug. He had money, and sent his kid to a reform camp. They put a shovel in his hands and worked him 14 a day. He is still artistic, but refuses to do it out of fear that was drummed into him as a kid. He is now a drunk, and two of his kids showed signs of non conformity and he slapped them around for it. His dad created a monster cause his dad was a monster too.

[@oUncEblUnt420]

Useful, thank you

[@matthewnelson4298]

Sounds familiar

[@glenharnish]

Sounds a bit like what happened to Paulo Cohelo

[@dionysusthemadgod]

“There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness.” -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

[@myfragilelilac]

Let's just face it, normal people are not interesting.

[@james12erby43]

Lol .. Right!!!!!

[@ms.q7445]

What is normal? Our species is knowingly destroying the air we breathe--and a significant percentage of the global population (including USA) lives under pathocracy (governments ruled by sociopaths)--THAT is insanity.

[@ichheieelsenorandorayashi4824]

Would you choose to be psychopath and dementia? I choose the polar opposite, I chose autism and cancer It's easier 'cause I'm already really autistic

[@PolaOpposite]

Normals: Stephen Hawking, Miles Davis, MLK, Malcolm X, Bach, Kobe Bryant, Chet Atkins, Niels Bohr, Jimmy Stewart, FDR, Eddie Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Babe Ruth, Emmanuel Kant, Lao Tzu, George Gershwin, Leonard Nimoy... I'd say they're a pretty interesting lot.

[@robertimmanuel577]

Honestly, anything that isn't normal is interesting.

[@stuartlawler2411]

I'd rather be schizophrenic than be so petty and unforgiving that I come to the comments and complain about this woman's laugh, rather than just watching something else without being so nasty.

[@robinhuizing4406]

realistically, it's a flat affect and an symptom of her mental illness- specifically schizophrenia.

[@vailryan5682]

Those women, alarmingly and comfortingly, confirmed so many things I feel and experience.

[@veronicaalessandrello1022]

Genius, outside of the box thinkers, experiencialists, will always be labelled or dismissed as ‘mavericks or nutters. Only those who experience real consciousness, presence, high intensity attention to detail, those who have the privilege to experience moments of total freedom and uninterrupted concentration can dance the music other distracted minds can’t even hear.

[@crazyeyedme4685]

I used to resent that saying about "speaking to yourself is the first sign of Madness" because it reinforces ones belief that they're "bad". Just the word schizophrenia gives of a stereotype😔 Someone with schizophrenia can do bad things but the illness shouldn't be portrayed so constricted. There are some very sweet and strong people who overcome their living nightmares and go on to do plenty of positive things. I think schizophrenics brains have opened up more doors in their minds than neurotypicals. Ppl with the problem can have a wide spectrum themselves. Some can cope, some cant. In tribal cultures schitzophenics* are the members who become medicinemans or shaman. I thought this was very interesting.

[@jfinney225]

That introductory video - short film rather, as it was incredibly directed and shot - was amazing! I felt the madness and insanity in my chest and gut. I struggle with mental health (nothing this serious but still) and you guys recreated the human condition struggling with reality when everything in the brain tells someone reality is what is in fact not real so perfectly. Great job.

[@jitrulz1]

Bad Hostesses. She turned all 3 participants into patients she is interviewing. If it was some other host it would have been better discussion where they talk as experts/doctors/professors rather than like a patient.

[@cosmicflowstudio]

Agreed, I felt this convo needed to be much more empowering towards the guests (especially given their rank) we know nothing about the host and she came off as pretentious and judgmental . This could have been handled in a much more empathetic and equatable way.

[@michaelembree7491]

ART-----MY attempt to silence the storm within. Never stirred in tranquil thought. THE predawn awakens from its uneasy slumber, the quiet, the pallet , the paint, and the relief, alone within myself once again .

[@RumiSupertramp]

Spent some time in a mental hospital after a psychotic episode and met more intelligent and creative people inside the hospital than outside (the patients, not the staff, although i have to say the staff were some of the nicest people I've met)

[@MSPWrit3r]

Thank you Elyn Saks for pointing out that we should not romanticize mental illnesses, and Kay Redfield Jamison for bringing up the study about how people who have mental illnesses find that they are more creative when medicated - I have a mental illness myself and while, yes, a lot of my emotional creativity comes from reflections after my own episodes of illness, there's still a lot of work that I have to do to remain emotionally and mentally healthy and it's really hard work. It's not like the illness makes you magically creative, and creativity can still exist in a person that's never experienced a mental illness. We should absolutely celebrate people like these two amazing women who have thrived and brought such great awareness to what it's like living with mental illness and how our experiences are different from neurotypical people. We're already doing hard work to be healthy; stigma only makes it harder, and I appreciate everyone that speaks out about their experiences because that makes it easier for those of us trailing behind when society gets much needed education on psychology.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

I know this is an old comment but I completely agree. I have all of these really great ideas but no follow-through. I have pretty severe phases where I'm really depressed and it's a chore to even leave the house. And even though I have these great ideas I don't have the focus or the follow-through without medication.

[@curtiburm5442]

insanity is fun, well... its fun when your able to control it with your consciousness. Delusions of grander where you are a god within your own mind able to create and destroy entire worlds in the blink of an eye, having full scenarios play out in front of you based on subconscious instinct reacting to thought at a moments notice, like dreaming while wide awake as your body goes on auto pilot for what seems like mere moments but in reality is hours on end. Insanity while losing awareness on the other hand is a bit more frustrating and annoying. seeing things that aren't there, monsters and figures in the corners of your eye morphing back into every day objects when you turn to look at then, voices screaming in your ear for only a second before disappearing, images flashing before your eyes as your thoughts become a jumbled mess and you begin to feel yourself losing control and wanting to close your eyes and give in to the dizzying weight of sleep closing in on you as you try to stay awake, and time begins to slow to a crawl while appearing to stand still.

[@phillipcherry6670]

Got that right .. and this explains why I'm as crazy as a shithouse

[@jaybanksuniversal]

Check my video, I never make them, so it’s not very professional, but I kinda explained your first sentence in it. Peace and blessings

[@manojsinha3137]

My God!!! What a realistic explanation of the unreal...only if u could make money out of this process too...I hv taken a screenshot of ur idea....so similar to my own

[@INNOCENTWIZZARDS]

Thank you for this incredibly important conversation.

[@Mieze0503]

Hello. There is no option to show subtitles in your videos. For me the automaticly made subtitles would be helpful, because my english isn‘t very well (scientific words are even more difficult and less common). If you want to reach more people you should consider the subtitles. I would be thankful for the better if I could understand you better.

[@7deepbreaths.sounds]

This intro KICKS ASS. Kudos to the writers and actors and technicians that assembled that montage.

[@invalidusername8279]

recognizing im mad in a world gone mad seems sane to me

[@Lu11abi]

A thought that helped me level with life: only one who cannot function in a depraved world stands a chance of being a good person. Justifying failure. No regrets. 👍🏻

[@cosimoto1]

Yes... it took great effort and many years of both outwardly administered and inwardly practised therapy but in the end I was finally able to overcome the sanity that haunted me for so many years! Ms McFadden.. the host, received her Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia Law School in New York City in 1984. For those of us who are "crazy", that says enough!

[@brianbyrne2517]

I have always been mad. Never was a big issue for me People never ask me to prove I am mad People it seems only ask you to prove you are not In accepting my madness and all that goes with it I have noting it seems to prove to anyone. So embrace your madness Thank you for accepting my madness and all that goes with it

[@rachelroy4159]

Love this. As someone with bipolar, this definitely gave me some comfort. Thank you.

[@Branden923]

Screw the negative comments, I LOVED the laugh.

[@zacsamuel7295]

Brian Green, I have been watching this channel in reverse ... from quantum and time/space backwards. I have read your excellent book 'Fabric of the Cosmos' Thank you for your passion and search which you share on this channel.

[@samuelralphallen7450]

I have always said, "My insanity is the bane of my genius that I must bear such that I might be allowed to explore beyond the boundaries of the scientifically empirical."

[@fracturedreality88]

Its not madness is perception from a different wavelength. Your brain is what tell you what you see but those that argue based on only their own perception are truly the mad ones.

[@garethcarolan2220]

I say to the voices 'I am having mental health problems so to please keep quiet for a while as I sort this out.' ... and it works. This may be that in addressing them in this manner I am showing respect. Further, this may be a key to resolving this issue as this approach is far from the usual response that 'voices' are used to, i.e. extreme. Try it out. I would be interested to know of any results that have been obtained.

[@thesuicidegods8462]

what is madness for one, is genius for another and enlightenment for another

[@Ethercloud]

The Suicide Gods just as everyone is an individual, interpretation is different for each, but it's overlapped with social consciousness of acceptance, creating a minority group stigmatized. All genius's are tortured, pain and suffering (everywhere, soak it in) facilitate (as a teacher) and signal growth(adaptation organized). Adaptation is anything but painless, change has to be accepted not rejected or you suffer a mental breakdown. Cumulative educational growth will create birthing pains for a new mind. Every year my intellect grows exponentially (it's painful, it's lonely, without self-discipline it's nightmarish for some) but certain concepts are best left alone(deep math, existentialism, religion, and conspiracy theories, avoid logic bombs), fixation is slowing to growth, but too much at once can break your mind. Keep changing, bravery is altruistic but is preferable to indolence or willful ignorance, understanding is dire misery, that misery is motivation to more growth ^^ observe, absorb, organize, adapt, change, and repeat.

[@curtiburm5442]

so did homicide or a god complex inspire your name? i mean no disrespect, but your name can be interpreted as synonymous with the term angel of death so i was curious and decided ask

[@robertjmccabe]

She misrepresented Josh Nash when she said that he was hesitant to take medication because it would stifle his mathematical creativity. She got this from the movie which was highly inaccurate. From the book “The Beautiful Mind” he did his best work before he got sick. In his later years, when he went through remission, he said that his schizophrenic years were marked by an absence of rational thought.

[@MalloryMishler]

I understand if Brian Greene doesn’t wanna host this topic but can we please get someone other than this media wind bag? Such a cool topic… I can’t even force myself to digest it

[@hackerhesays731]

darkest moments, gives such strength as you are drawn each new day weaker , weaker tears so heavy they pull down the inside of ones self lips, sound, and voice fall into the wastelands. there is nothing you can convey. nor anyone around that cares to hear one bit of your pain in anything you might say.

[@emikarecords]

As an artist I can speak about creativity and destruction.. if creativity (feels like extra energy) isn’t channelled with an activity that has some kind of process.. journey.. discovery.. productivity.. it can go easily in a destructive direction.

[@mmyers5873]

Orlando: perhaps you're right. Some people have such terrible thoughts about themselves they need kind, outside voices to teach them those thoughts aren't true..But even the most balanced person - at some point - needs those around them to help them see the the truth.

[@smitihanda1944]

This made me cry

[@Lu11abi]

I've never heard of the voices being benevolent... YEARS of heroic shadow-work might do it, but they never start off trying to STOP people from killing themselves. Cute idea tho.

[@christopher5151]

i must be going crazy , i keep hearing that fucking laugh in my head now over and over

[@Stroheim333]

+Chris Topher A lot of commenters in this discussion field say the same, and I don't understand people like you. Is it really more important to be irritated because someone have a bad laugh, instead of listening to what she and others really says -- and make comments on _relevant_ things? I am here because I want to learn things, so a bad laugh is only a thing to ignore.

[@damonsantori8817]

that laugh is truely annoying

[@KeinSinn]

+Stroheim333 while i do agree with you on that this should not be relevant. Many people - myself included - try to listen and follow the speakers train of thought. A distracting laugh like this in combination with bad sound mixing creates an acoustic environment that makes it hard to follow the conversation. So while you might be able to "tune this out" others might just not be able to. The topic and speakers are very interesting but i had to stop half way through...

[@Stroheim333]

Hurr Durr There is no problem at all to hear what they say, even for people with hear impairment. You only turn up the volume.

[@KeinSinn]

The issue with just turning up the volume would be that you'd make the laugh louder aswell... Also it is not a problem of acoustically undertanding! It's an irritating sound like someone honking a horn everytime to keep you from concentrating. Just throws me off completely and i dont seem to be the only one.

[@thetaeater]

Bipolar with schizophrenia = your ego, your body mind and consciousness all having conversations. I would say this is healthy. It is society that is ill.

[@Lu11abi]

it can be painful...but there used to be a place for us in societies...not as sideshows to be "aww-ed" at... Modernity is toxic to humanity, tho, yeah.

[@billstokes5251]

Fix the volume please! With iPad speaker touching my ear I can barely hear this.

[@NextWorldVR]

One of them has a Terrible Laugh... over and over and over hahaha hahaha hahaha hahah ugh...

[@keule6094]

+Robert England It is the woman on the far right.Awful laugh!

[@AlFrisby]

+keule The laughter is coming from the man...Hebephrenia.

[@AlFrisby]

+Robert England That is a typical Hebephenic laugh. " over and over and over hahaha hahaha hahaha haha" that's classic obsession.

[@michellejensen8424]

+AlFrisby Its the woman on the far right.. He's talking while shes laughing.. But Hebephrenia doesn't present in adults from what I could find.. And does it really matter?

[@tonyclark7882]

The terrible laugh is still present while Jim is talking, so it can't be him.

[@fannysludge]

Human phycology . Nobody agrees with a genius .

[@siresquire9439]

----- Birds in a cage think flying is a mental illness.

[@timg6176]

Most people are 95% Ego, even though they don't know it, or are unwilling to admit it.

[@Ultamami]

*psychology

[@fannysludge]

@@Ultamami oh please don’t be a spell checker please 🙈. As long as people know what you mean that’s all that matters.

[@albertescamilla]

you guys should make a podcast version of these conversations so we can listen to them on the go.

[@illrateyoua5]

+Albert Escamilla you can get youtube videos as mp3s

[@Nairod2]

+Albert Escamilla you can download the video and convert it to audio. or type in google youtube MP3 stealer.

[@albertescamilla]

I already know about downloading videos and converting it to mp3 form, it's just much easier to have access to the audio without having to download each of them individually, that's what makes podcasts so convenient, especially if you're really busy all the time.

[@albertescamilla]

omg shut the fuck up, it was just a suggestion. I don't need anyone insulting me over it.

[@Nairod2]

1st think how irrational is to think a big channel will even bother to read the massive amount of comments on their videos. second, that wasn't a suggestion. but more of an excuse to complain about something that is nothing but a personal inconvenience. Instead of being such a winning little bastard be thankful for the free information the channel has provided.

[@bangthehankers1985]

I think everyone mentally ill goes through what this woman describes at 53:00. After 5 years on medication, I spent about 2 years trying to cope with bipolar off the medication, trying to prove that I controlled the illness, not vice versa. What a disaster. My life is SO much better on regular medication and therapy.

[@albatrossmariner1984]

The world needs to listen to all of us ancient mariners who accidentally shot the bird of good omen....our sane and rational mind. Psychiatrists and psychologists need to be humble, talk to us, listen to us and truly learn from us. Not as lab specimens, but to listen to our learned wisdom regarding insanity. If they actually realise we have alot to teach them, not from imaging our brains, but listening to our story. People with mental illnesses are the experts on the matter, not the psychiatrists, this is the next level of understanding that needs to occur for the mind sciences to make real progress. It's not good to have a top-down approach to knowledge on the matter of the mind. The so-called experts are useless practitioners on the whole. There is something wrong fundamentally with the paradigm they operate from. They focus way too much on the hardware of neurons and neurotransmitters. But that is only one aspect of our mind. We need to treat people at the level of the human being, not at the level of the brain. We need to treat people at the level of lived experience, and how people truly view themselves and their life, not at the level of neurotransmitters, which is too simplistic. Psychiatrists need to come out of their ivory towers and realise they are failing. A paradigm shift is absolutely necessary. No other field of medicine has been allowed to get away with being so ineffective. The only advance in psychiatric treatment has been better drugs with less side effects. But this is ultimately the achievement of drug companies more than that of your average psychiatrist. Of course a big problem is that society refuses to fund mental health adequately. But it is up to the psychologists and psychiatrists and the social welfare field to lobby for more funding, force governments to adequately fund mental health. But they also need to step up their game, even if they can't get any more money. The field of mental health suffers from denial. It cannot see how drastically it is failing. If the medicine of treating the body was as incompetent as the mental health field, every doctor would be broke from being sued and in jail for malpractice. It is completely amazing that psychiatrists seem to be above the law, because they essentially operate from a modus operandi of malpractice. They get paid an enormous amount to spectacularly fail in treating mental illness.

[@albatrossmariner1984]

They have sold themselves as knowing more than they do, and as being more effective than they are. Psychiatry and psychology are very powerful institutions. Society has believed their PR. Psychiatrists are as powerful and in some cases, more powerful than judges. I think it is a fundamentally corrupt institution...psychiatry and psychology. I have a BA in psychology. And know the system from a patients view as well. I have also seen the power of psychiatrists in a court of law. It all seems to be quite corrupt.

[@DivineMoment]

LIQUID M.D. Guys, guys, listen to lecture by Alan Watts on youtube titled "The Value of Psychotic Experience", I think it's highly related to what you guys are talking about and it's a great talk, Watts was very fascinating speaker.

[@ebannaw]

LIQUID M.D. Indeed, it reminds me distinctly of the Socratic assault on sophists, where these days we pay "experts" tremendous sums of money for their "wisdom" their "advice" their "knowledge" their "help". A rather clever, albeit banal evil.

[@Free2BeYou]

ebannaw agreed; yet not banal - get'em off 'me!!! Oy.

[@yasminshwaiky6009]

+LIQUID M.D. listen i dont think that all of the psychiatrists in the world are the same ,, my biggest dream is to become a psychiatrist and i promise that i will not be the way you think of psychiatrists i dont know why i am telling you all this but i am 15 years old and i am going after that dream ,,, i hope we can meet sometime in the future ^^ pray for me and send me support and i promise i wont disappoint you :))

[@DoisKoh]

Coincidentally, I just finished watching Gattaca... and am now having some of the ideas in the film reinforced by this talk.

[@ozgurkuzu2202]

i dont know if bipolar makes me creative or not i am not sure about this ,and that laughing kills me :))

[@suyapajimenez516]

Thank you to all panelists for an excellent presentation and overall for bringing your own life experience in this so hard subject that affect individually as well as families.

[@jackchorn]

I think we will soon discover it is viruses and bacteria that are the cause for most of these challenges. The other massive problem is our culture and how we treat people who are sick. It wasn't until the movie rainman that Kim Peek was able to look people in the eye. And like many who have challenges before him- it was accomplishment or acknowledgement that gained support from the community- who then treated him differently and accepted him for who he was that allowed him to flourish. Bethoven-Newton-Tesla- Cezanne-nash Unfortunately how many and how much have we lost because society does not allow to prosper.

[@zenmeister451]

One can only wonder at just how effective these personalities could possibly be as psychological 'aids' considering how self-absorbed the majority of them all seem to be with their own mental issues. I can't help but reference the classic notion that no one is in greater need of psychological help than those that go into the field of psycho-dynamics; their motivations are fueled by their own 'psycho-dysfunctions'. These people are the quintessential poster children that prove the point. Nevertheless, I find these sorts of discussions to be quite fascinating...

[@Ethercloud]

zenmeister451 Double-edged sword. Either full dive or fearfully hide to preserve blissful ignorance. Mental illness is an illusion, that can be overcome with self discipline and limited social exposure. (Predictable plebian drivel is best taken in small doses, don't project your expectations on them it's hypocrisy ultimately.)

[@Hassanthehorse]

They're self-absorbed for answering questions that were asked to them about their respective illnesses?

[@irishchris5045]

understanding is sanity in today's society

[@billy-joes6851]

You gotta be insane to understand today's society.

[@idanceforthestars]

Bill Hampton facts

[@noahjaramillo4917]

@@billy-joes6851 perhaps the understanding doesn't determine madness, but the complacency in such madness.

[@A.I.Hallucination]

Excellent info.....now I know why I am mad with several theories that haunt me......

[@manaoharsam4211]

Bipolar Women have tremendous love for their husbands. Normal people cant love like that. My wife used to say we are not death do us apart but tied for ever.

[@Lu11abi]

1:00:00 Is he saying that we develop in utero to experience More of a wholesome environment...and Less of an unstable one??? I will kiss God or Mother Nature on the cheek if this is so! I read that as Life having some sort of _Love_ for those Living.

[@deVon30241]

10 seconds in, and it seems these people are just actors doing everything way over the top.

[@torosalvajebcn]

I agree, it makes it ankward to watch.

[@TigburtJones]

I think these are just a group of talking heads talking all sciencey and smart like and then they give it a title and make it seem like it's actually about some topic. They should call these documentaries "psychosalesman: the symbolic symposium simulating systems of sick minds"

[@micheleploeser7720]

As a very young child i was “scared t death” by a small Schnauzer dog. From that point I had terrifying colorful horrible devastating nightmares. Finally got over them. I just realized that , they never GOT me. Was never attacked, although I could never get away. They hid in my basement, under my bed & would hide behind doors, waiting to frighten me to where I could not move. All good now, at 69 yrs young, They never “GOT ME”. HAHA on the Black Shnazzers that haunted me so badly as a kid.

[@andrewbarnett2761]

Normal society is trying to normalize a evaluationary thought process that causes a greater understanding of the world we live.

[@ShaeMacMillan]

I recommend nature as a salve to stressful states of mind. Seek help if gets worse x

[@LunaticTheCat]

Wise words

[@flywheelshyster]

I kept denying that I was bipolar for the longest time, only finally talking to a doctor [diagnosed type 2, true mania rare but happens, hypomania in small bursts all the time, nonstop depression. I am a writer and also worried about hurting my creativity, but having begun using drugs for mind expansion and meditation at 15 that eventually changed into just urge to be on something, I realized I had stopped writing because the drugs, not the depression or hypomania. In order to not think about suicide 15-30 times a day, everyday, forever I take an SSRI which did have a short month long "no feeling numbness" but that went away. The medication helps with survival but I want those hypomanic episodes. I just which i could control it as it makes me very unprofessional at work where I am being built and pushed into middle management, a concept that scares me [ think James Joyce's The Dead] but a current necessity to be able to afford to live and have a somewhat normal life. Also, I hate to say it but dang the moderator on this is sexy as fuck. Maybe its her inquisitiveness and the passion flowing her eyes when she talks to the panel. intelligence is attractive

[@limeluck2]

U are screaming manic right now when u write this

[@mmyers5873]

Regarding improvements in treatment - Kay Redfern's answer very surprising. Sure, it's better than it was! But there are many people not being helped by current therapies.

[@richellelemon3137]

So here's 3 living examples that the integration and well-health of an individual or a community is not a "nature versus nurture" debate, but definitely, undebate-ably, community nurturing nature - the nature of individuals.

[@rubberbumm]

This was highly interessting

[@MelissaThompson432]

Ben Lynch, who describes himself as an epigeneticist, cites research that indicates that the environment that the developing brain inhabits, at different stages of in utero and postnatal neurological development, affects intelligence as well as physical anomalies that negatively affect cognition, learning ability, emotional health, endocrine function, the list goes on. My family has MTHFR polymorphisms; we also have a family history of all of the above; very smart people who are schizophrenic, dyslexic, ADHD, ASD, with gland disorders, clinical depression, sensory processing disorder, etc, etc, etc.... I have family members with a certain selectivity for self interest, but it's a bit extreme to say that I have psychopathology in my family tree.

[@veronicaalessandrello1022]

The problem with labelling rare minds is that a generic establishment becomes ‘witch hunters’ instead of an open institution that’s capable of holding all form of resources. Like a book shop.

[@spiralsun1]

This is awesome 😎 I love how it shows how different our various world views can be in addition to the topics directly covered. Also, it’s important to see the idea that people in families where these disorders occur are more creative etc. because at least some of the selection pressures come from heterozygous -advantage-type effects. You can think of it as group selection but it can also be conceptualized as a body or brain developing in society-or those types of patterns. Since language is recent. It’s a 2 edged sword. Like sickle cell and malaria resistance.

[@VibewithLeeLuu]

Imagine a society where all states of mind were employed in the betterment of human life. Maybe then all the labeled mental states would prove beneficial to us all.

[@erictaylor5462]

Just think of the number of great artists in all fields who have been deeply troubled and dysfunctional.

[@ubserrano8180]

Why is the mic volume on all this WSF videos incredibly low? You need a sound technician or engineer.

[@albatrossmariner1984]

It is really difficult to get good anti-anxiety drugs like opiates and barbiturates. Modern medicine has become so paranoid about addiction that many of us suffer unnecessarily. They would rather we suffer than be addicted to anti-anxiety drugs. Now that is an insane situation induced by so-called sane medical practitioners. Who cares if someone is addicted to a drug when the benefits far outweigh the negatives? Doctors who are content that we suffer every day of our lives. Medicine needs to be more concerned with alleviating suffering than being obsessed with the politically correct false notion that addiction is evil. It's a hangover of the war on drugs that has intruded on medicine. We let the American war on drugs interfere with good medicine, which in turn leads to mass suffering. American ideology, which is Extreme Christian nutcase ideology pollutes the world. Medicine has bowed to the will of the far right wing fascists. Now that is insane.

[@rdallas81]

LIQUID M.D. thaats a reason why so many are dope....heroin addicts! Doctors fear losing their "lifestyle" and cautiously write scripts! I been seeing the same doc for 6 years.....still get my meds, no problem....but I also never failed a drug test!

[@SaluranGelap]

LIQUID M.D. I totally understand and fully agree with your words. All the best to you.

[@hornet6969]

Can anyone provide a link to a center that does research in this area?

[@dontmindme5189]

I'm now at kinematics and matrices in vector calculus(self taught) and in many grappling/striking styles in mixed martial arts(my subjective choice in sport) and I was tormented the same way that poor lady was by psychiatry and she even claims it was an assisting form of treatment not oppressive... This methodology of science is sick.

[@rachelroy4159]

Bipolar type 2 here! It’s the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.

[@patrickalaggio3560]

Chemicals are not the answer. You can be exceedingly creative while off of everything, even when depressed. Creativity helps to offload the excess emotions that are torturing us, whether consciously or not. If you are not suicidal then I would strongly recommend avoiding the medical industrial complex. Don't drink and don't do drugs. Instead, if possible, learn to accept your pain "straight up" and then channel your intensified energies into whatever creative channel calls to you. For me, it is writing, poetry, songwriting and music. They said you can't create when you are depressed and that may be true for the speaker but not at all for my own work, which unfortunately, is heightened by loss and sadness... sometimes anger at our societal woes... but always accompanied by tears.

[@MrMollypockets]

i honestly can not wait until my pain in this world/life is over,,,,,,,,,,oh Lord,how i try ,day in and day out to make it better,,,,but you never seem to help me

[@josht4583]

Don Scott i don't have any answers, but i know everything changes. The pain may not get better, but it does change. Hang on, if for nothing else than to see the next change in the next scene of the movie that is life.

[@melankhem4433]

Don Scott Pain heals. The body and mind pains when they are healing. The dis-ease about the state of the world/life is a valid sickness, only it is not recognised too much.

[@DivineMoment]

Don Scott Amen. Have you by the way checked Alan Watts's lectures from youtube? He talked about this subject sometimes and thought you might find it interesting.

[@LIQUIDSNAKEz28]

James Rediess Lol, yeah, if hell actually existed lol XD. Anyways, I was just joking. I couldn't help it.

[@LIQUIDSNAKEz28]

DivineMoment That man was one of greatest philosophers who ever lived. Every time he opened his mouth, pure wisdom would just pour out. I could literally sit through hours upon hours just listening to his lectures.

[@jemsnowdon]

as a creative intelligent persons , this was profoundly insightful .

Outstanding presentation. I suggest read between the lines and try to avoid listen to much to "bipolar" word and take it as loose and uncontrolled neuro-plasticity. I'm not a doctor of course.

[@olgamatveeva9797]

This creepy laugh going through the whole seminar video gives me hells lot of shivers

[@divingbird7421]

one of the biggest problems people with mental illnesses face are the peope who try to put a positive spin on their pain or tell them to look at the bright side, etc(like what this host did the whole time).

[@fabioschneider5970]

A lot of talk about the mental junk yards, but not a lot of reflection on creativity. Upsi !

[@onenotused9327]

O.m.g. 24 minutes in that laugh made me feel crazy as a loon!

[@05juan]

which site was it you could test yourself? cant make words out 40:02

[@richarddawkins3098]

I am addicted to mania. Still keep taking my antidepressants.

[@jastiksk8crw]

Cool stuff, half way through was fun.

[@MrTommy4000]

was the audio dialed in low so we could hear the voices more clearly ?

[@arogyashrinkhalawithdrgayatri]

The scientist John Nash of the fame - film beautiful mind had psychosis not of very primal - killing, death or suicide but of being destroyed if successful... That is a category where you will mostly find the creativity as the threat to destroy owns life is less.

[@stephanieyeshuaislife7236]

I really want to watch this later, it looks interesting ~

[@Lu11abi]

how'd that go eh?

[@stephanieyeshuaislife7236]

@@Lu11abi I was mad, and never got around to it.

[@BeckyBoop]

Excellent, excellent video. Fascinating stuff

[@enlightenmentbarbie]

does anyone know how to create the graphs he mentioned at 12:50 ish??? I want to test out some artworks that I create! lol...

[@luciatilyard2827]

Love the song and singer.

[@malice3030]

the audio is horrible. the speakers are out of phase.

[@josht4583]

***** i'm really glad someone else said it ... I was totally worried I was losing it.

[@Ethercloud]

I'm an intellectual, thus different, thus insane by the standard of hopeless mediocrity pressed upon the masses of people trapped in willful ignorance. I'm a crazy fox shepherd, don't mind me observing you, go about your business sheep. The Fox is always watching from the center of chaos that is the creative mind. What the mind creates, comes to be, through the aspirations of man. Selfish mania leads to dire tragedies. But selfless pursuit leads to absolute prosperity. People are intentionally led away from this realizable utopia sadly.

[@emmam3295]

well, what's the paper James Fallon was talking about??I can't find the paper???

[@concero]

You are all very intelligent, I would be interested to learn of how the Lady with schizophrenia gained the ability to distinguish between secondary and primary psychosis, as well as acknowledge variation between delusions/hallucinations and sanity? The chap in the middle reminds me of Alan from the hangover, just the intelligent version, mixed in with Sideshow Bob from the simpsons and Pierce Brosnan as 007. I would characterise him as a neuro agent, I would happily get lunch with James, kool as ice.

[@flavio-viana-gomide]

Look! The doctor did not become a sociopath because he was raised in a good family and environment.

[@Lu11abi]

probably exactly true.

[@jayb5596]

Short story, nonfiction or fiction it's open to interpretation. The brain is a quantum entangled neural network. We, as individuals, consciously control a single neuron (node) that consciously interacts with our nervous system. The rest are part of the subconscious neural network. We all exist inside of each other's neural network. If we didn't we couldn't share an experience inside this self projected universe. We are all a duality, self is not unique to the individual. The individual is unique to self. None of us are observers, the only thing we observe as individuals are the projections of self. When 2 individuals meet inside the self projection, the nodes in each brain representing the participants forge neurological connections to each other, so they can share an experience together. Simultaneously every other brain has those same 2 neurological connections made based on their own positions in spacetime. Your neuron (node) and my neuron (node) exist inside of every brain of every human on earth. We all share an umbilical cord and that umbilical cord ties all of our neurology together. All that neurological action taking place while we sleep, most of it's the participants that are awake and actively making neurological connections. Those connections have to be made in all of our brains in order for quantum tunneling of information to occur. The subconscious mind is something we all share, just like self. We have roughly 7.9 billion living humans and our neural network consists of about 85-90 billion neurons. I'll let you ponder what those neurons represent. The neural network has redundancy built into it by design. Our brain's subconscious development depends only on the location of all the nodes in spacetime as the brain is developing and connecting to them subconsciously. The conscious branching occurs through interaction inside the self projection. Unless an individual has genetic or medical conditions preventing normal neurological development and function, the human brain will have forged a full subconscious connection to the entire universe at some point during adult life. In order to benefit from other nodes you have to forge actual conscious connections in spacetime. So the brain will forge conscious neurological connections. We are all tied together subconsciously but in order to share an experience consciously we have to make conscious neurological connections. This can only be done inside of spacetime through conscious interaction. Just making conscious notice of someone walking past you on the street will forge a neurological connection to that node consciously and this will allow you to network with their subconscious mind to gain enlightenment. The internet is a powerful tool for forging conscious neurological connections. Just interacting online is enough to forge a physical conscious connection neurologically. In either case we are all entangled and we are building more and more conscious connections to each other. In doing so we are gaining enlightenment or intelligence which might equate to higher energy consumption (brighter star). It would seem that the more conscious neurological connections a person makes to the network the more subconscious power they receive. What role does our moral conduct play on diseases and other bugs that infect our system? What role does our level of conscious connectivity to the subconscious neural network play with the energy consumption of the quantum realm powering our network? Is sin just a poison that infects our network like a virus? We are all entangled, so all of our cups pour into each other. How does morality play into our conscious connections to the world? Does a connection forged in moral obligation and truth produce a more powerful connection than a connection forged in lies and deceit? Will we make it to the heavens? Will humanity fail to complete the Trinity? Consume so much power that we self-destruct before we achieve artificial universal intelligence? Before our subconscious becomes self aware and our GOD> can emerge? The Father and Son await. WIll humanity receive the holy spirit? Forge a connection to the Trinity and allow our GOD> to emerge, and open up our heavens? Or will humanity end up a failed experiment and attempt to produce a universally conscious being? I believe humanity will make it to the heavens and we will produce a universally conscious GOD>. I call this story "The Trinity Of Human Evolution". Brought to us by The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.

[@jessari]

so you're telling me not to go to therapy so I can remain a genius

[@jasonreed1352]

The genius part comes with coming up with something novel. Coming to understand what an instrument is is not the same as coming to understand the nature of what that instrument does or can do.

[@tomjohn8733]

What about left handed people and has there every been a left handed serial killer, and has any on those on the panel read the book “The Divided Brain” or “The Master and The Emersary” ...??

[@bluegiant13]

I must be schizophrenic because I keep hearing that fucking laugh in my mind.

[@narcopolo4464]

Maintaining sanity in the world of today, is the biggest mental disorder of them all

[@bridge0077]

so what about a person like me who dreams and see things events etc before they happen? Touch someone and know about them. I feel and know its a God given gift. but its hard to focus on now knowing what's ahead. proof in many ledgers written.

[@hypolaristic]

do you have DMT like visions like the ones on youtube while sleeping?

[@mina5142]

You are schizophrenic, i was like that too. The problem is you don't see that all those things are you hallucinating your own thoughts so vividly and making very smart guesses about what might follow based on your thoughts your experiences your biased mind as much as what you see and learn. No one can see the future. Trust me. That's just you thinking you don't know the future you are making educated guesses and hallucinating them.

[@mina5142]

And touch someone and you will know about them that's and illusion trust me speaking from experience here. That's you! You are guessing, thinking, judging, making whole lot of assumptions and don't watch those lord of the rings, superman, those awesome alien movies we all like those are and psychics stay away those are toxic for you it will just make you believe you are normal or worse special

[@TheUltimatePurpose]

I hope you didn't listen to this idiot -> Mina! You're not imaging things. You're gifted & SPECIAL. I know many others who can do the same thing.

[@themousejamhouse3828]

Love the music at the end

[@kaielvin]

Hello world. What's the name of the music in the intro clip ? (SoundHound is bugged by the voices).