The voices in my head | Eleanor Longden

To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn't know how to help her. Longden tells the moving tale of her years-long journey back to mental health, and makes the case that it was through learning to listen to her voices that she was able to survive.
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[@AEther0238]

My teacher always said the best way to become a good psychologist was to become crazy and then cure yourself.

[@rainblaze.]

how's that working out for you?

[@AEther0238]

+idrathernot I don't wanna be a psychologist... To be fair.my teacher was a little... eccentric.

[@rainblaze.]

+Ethan McDonald yea a lot of people go into psychology in order as a way to try and, somehow "slay" their own demons.I have met more than a few who were more than just a little "eccentric". I'm really intrested though, how did your teachers eccentricety maniphest its self? sorry for my spelling, by the way, i have dyslexia

[@AEther0238]

idrathernot Oh, don't worry about it. He stood on top of desks a lot. Said things like "The best way to become a psychologist is to get crazy and then cure yourself." It wasn't a bad kind of eccentric, every student I know liked him. Perhaps the oddest thing was that he really liked his job. Which is odd because he teaches teenagers for a living and has a crap pay. But who can complain about somebody who smiles a lot?

[@noelkemmy1694]

+Ethan McDonald i did just that ;)

[@togussatakashi823]

I have schizo affective disorder, and when I recently went to my therapist and told him that I thought that I was incurable, that was when he showed me this video. Thank you TED and Eleanor for giving me hope.

[@antenbrink]

great therapist!

[@carolbrock5798]

Hello, I can relate to your comment about schizophrenia. Please listen to my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCqmatjhNeZosk Praying for you all, Carol

[@johnfarris6152]

It's the are me.

[@johncarter9399]

How are you now?

[@niroopotsav]

Wow. I’m so happy for you.

[@Amina-bv1jj]

She talks in such a beautiful and articulate manner

[@11UncleBooker22]

+Amy B Yah....for a crazy women.

[@spundrugyzone11111]

+Deadpool :O

[@Mf7d89]

yeah she seems okay for a schizophrenic, my aunt has disorganized speech and is incoherent

[@williamshakespeare4013]

She has a good sense of humor too, but of course it is not allowed to laugh at crazy person's jokes.

[@WORLDMAGIC5555]

Totally right,I could listen to her for hours.

[@pelatho]

"A Sane reaction to insane circumstances". "The important question in psychology shouldn't be "what's wrong with you?", but "what happened to you?"". I believe everyone is perfectly adjusted to their environment. The question is, what kind of environment shaped you? By asking that question, we can facilitate growth.

[@peaceandcheese]

Excellent point.

[@WateverWatever04]

Petter Thowsen +

[@ellieludlow27]

.

[@karlljungquist7388]

Yes, so what would be the environment where we humans would really live out our full potential?

[@SamirCCat]

I don't think everyone is perfectly adjusted to their environment, because sometimes a mental illness has heavy genetic components, and even though your life around you is pretty good you still suffer because of biological stuff going on in your brain. I'm bipolar and live with lots of support from family, a stabil financial situation and goals for my future, but what makes me better or worse is medication changes. Sometimes it's just brain chemistry, not environment.

[@MakingtheCase]

As someone who has heard voices since they were a child, I can agree with her. My voices were RARELY aggressive with me...except when I was 8 and my mom told me that hearing voices wasn't "normal". I had a huge mental battle with myself but it ended when my main voice, Charlie, told me that they weren't there to harm me and that I was hurting them and myself out of my own fear. After that, I stopped caring what people thought about my hearing voices. The voices are very encouraging, loving, supportive, and comforting to me. This is because I've built a friendship with them, which is (essentially) building a friendship with myself. In order to truly save yourself from your voices, you have to understand that they are YOU! They are every element of your being that is merely presented to you in a different way than other people. It's an instinctual security tactic the brain uses to help you understand what's at your deepest centre from an external point of view.

[@Kevinbmagill]

Are such voices really "always you"? I would agree if you say they don't come from outside your central nervous system, but is that all you? Don't things go on in our brains that we aren't involved in? Why couldn't that include some voices?

[@TheAnantaSesa]

+Kevin Magill; true point. Crafty manipulators do try to plant artificial desires into potential consumers' minds so they think it is their own desire to "do the dew" etc. Meanwhile we have a left brain that we speak from but the right has no voice...at least normally. What if those who hear another voice have somehow acquired a speech center in their right brain to vocalize traumas that were so intense that rewiring would take place? It's very similar to what happens to hemispherectomy survivors.

[@marieiqbal58]

Lovely comment

[@ashtenchambliss284]

Same here. What this and her experience sounds like to me is a complex dissociative disorder. I've always heard voices like that and my diagnosis changed my life. I don't think she ever had schizophrenia.

[@alexbratcher7184]

If that's what you have to tell yourself to cope then I'm glad it works for you, but those voices definitely aren't a part of your being. They are outside interferers.

[@lucasortiz537]

"I was diagnosed, drugged, and discarded" As someone with family members that have been through this, this really resonated with me.

[@bedsitbogie]

I like that she sees 'the voice' as a symptom, I like that Eleanor recognises that the voices are not the problem. She even pointed out the root causes of her own condition. There are many who are not able to put into words exactly how they feel, so they never get treated exactly. I like this TedTalk.

[@jamesshin4901]

Tony, I think you are mistaken. She sees the voice as experience, not as symptom. In that way, she was able to understand the source of the voice and determine that the voice was a reasonable and sane response to insane situations. Please correct me if I misunderstood.

[@dblrsdblrs3129]

I agree with you for the most part but the voices can be a problem when they ask her to do things like pour water on a persons head. They can push too hard at times and interfere in such a debilitating and seemingly unrelenting manner that it zapps you of a great deal of energy which compromises your ability to focus on what you are trying to accomplish.

[@h.e.a311]

the problem when all people you know speak altogether this is a disaster

[@adaptercrash]

I heard it in the dream and they just leave it on

[@rickpadgett405]

I think she is one of the bravest people I have ever heard speak.Her confidence and intelligence is outstanding.Wonderful!!

[@abibleandagun1975]

rick padgett Amen.

[@rickpadgett405]

A Bible and A Gun I don't need either one.

[@heprynn5184]

Give me both

[@sbdgrwnmrw6085]

she is without any doubt telling the truth... mid-may 2015 instead of hearing "she is leaving the room" in the third person i heard a bitchy girl's voice say to me: "oh, i don't have time for chit-chat".... like eleanor had said of her own first comment this first comment of mine was also directly referencing something that had just taken place not even 5 minutes ago... it was deliberate, unmistakebly clear, and there was no hesitation or confusion as to whether it was actually said or not... it was as decisively stated as if someone had been standing just 8 or 9 feet away from me right outside my bedroom window... life as i knew it, from that night to this very evening and unitl the day i either die or am no longer conscious of who i am, has never nor will ever be the same again... it is the ultimate form of therapy for those.... the voices laughed when at some point i realized what was going on and i said to them: "so this is like really, R-E-A-L-L-Y intense therapy, their response was in addityion to the laughter was: yup, we expect results, and we get them....

[@nadyaquinn7969]

rick padgett ikr

[@leslieannew3414]

Crying because this is giving me a lot of hope for my own life. Thank you thank you thank you

[@martaavlas7970]

Leslie Anne W how are you doing now? how are you? :)

[@johnfarris6152]

It's the are me.

[@carolbrock5798]

Leslie, I read your comment about Hearing Voices. I too have experienced voices in my ears and thoughts that are not mine. But I learned in the Christian Holy Bible that there is an invisible war on Earth involving evil demonic spirits/fallen angels who can speak into our ears all manner of thoughts. God tells us that after He had created the Heavens and the Earth, the first man Adam and his wife Eve, there was a great rebellion in Heaven by an angel named Lucifer. He wanted to be worshiped and served and to be a god. But The One True God will not share His glory with anyone. So God cast Lucifer out of Heaven and 1/3rd of the angels also rebelled against God. God cast them out of Heaven also. They are here on Earth causing so much suffering, oppression, suicide, wars, false religions and beliefs; and most importantly they want to keep us from a real relationship with our God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!! The Lord helped me in this battle against the schemes and strategies of the demons, and He can help anyone else who will believe God. Please listen to my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCqmatjhNeZosk Praying for you, with compassion, Carol

[@sasskvetch8617]

@@carolbrock5798 Belief in demonic forces is, unfortunately, a possible symptom of paranoid schizophrenia. Seek proper medical help.

[@carolbrock5798]

@@sasskvetch8617 Sir, I learned of the fallen Angel's in the Christian Holy Bible. God tells us that after He created the Heavens and the Earth, the first man Adam and his wife Eve, there was a great rebellion in Heaven by God's highest created angel named Lucifer. Lucifer wanted to be worshipped, served, and ultimately to be god himself!!!! Imagine that!! A created being wanting to be god. Well, the One True God will not share His glory with anyone; so God cast Lucifer out of Heaven and 1/3rd of the Angel's also rebelled. They also have been cast out of Heaven and are here on Earth causing so much trouble, sorrow, suicidal thoughts, wars, tempting humans to sin against our God and His Commandments. So, I highly recommend that you study the Holy Bible. Also, you can hear my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaDKmatjhNeZosk Also Chip Ingram the invisible war series on KZbin. Praying for you all, with compassion, Carol

[@shayalon]

I am a therapist who works with people living with voices and other similar issues. I can say that this video have changed lives. I show it to all of my clients who have this issue. Eleanor Longden does an amazing job of inspiring and creating hope. Changing how people view their voices has been a truly transforming experience for many of my clients.

[@mvvagner]

Good for you. You just might be one of the good ones.

[@MiningwithPudding]

"Togussa Takashi 3 years ago I have schizo affective disorder, and when I recently went to my therapist and told him that I thought that I was incurable, that was when he showed me this video. Thank you TED and Eleanor for giving me hope." Was that one of them?

[@shayalon]

It has been a while since I posted this. I just showed it to another client and decided i would comment again. I want to add a very important note: Please do not think that medication is unnecessary or bad. Medication very likely helped enable Eleanor to be clear headed enough to come to the life-changing realization she had. Through that realization, she was able to change the way she perceived the voices, and was able to change the way that psychosis affected her. She felt better about herself, her environment and her emotional experience. Because of this her symptoms decreased and she was able to gradually come off her medications. Please, if you do decide to stop taking medications because you have a similar experience to Longden, please do so with the assistance of a medication prescriber (psychiatrist or other prescriber) who can help you to make certain that the process goes smoothly and that any adjustments that need to be made are made. Sometimes we feel more ready than we may be...we will get there, but it may take a bit more work. It's worth it.

[@andriaflores8279]

I have been dealing with this since 2015...do ur clients talk to you about these voices attacking their dreams...this is something new for me after 4 yrs and it's been progressively increasing over the past month

[@informitas0117]

The voices are aggressive in their belief that the medications I have are in fact poison. If I take it they go berserk .

[@shanilemeow2942]

She's gonna help so many people with this. Bless her, a strong, great woman. Strive and fight. Love the life you got to be a part of.

[@xerofyme]

she fucking cured her own madness. the strength of human endeavor... anything is possible.

[@Antilluminati]

Raed Shahid its not a disease or affliction, kabir. its real

[@styxsun9896]

a sign of true intelligence is when someone masters their own mind

[@ChrisLesmerises]

No, her madness was an illusion created because of the pre-existing ideas regarding hearing voices. She overcame social conditioning. "Hearing" voices is all mental, in the same way that the sound a falling tree makes, is only vibration until or hits your ear drum, is converted into electric signals, and the "sound" only exists as a way your brain communicates it to your conscious. In other cultures, her voices would have been lauded as a gift, Nurtured, and she would have started hey career of healing people much sooner. This is an amazing story of hope!

[@nursheikh4624]

Chris Lesmerises please tell more. My psychologist brought me hear after questions I had. He told me about the cultures that would have done what you say. Please do share more.

[@ChrisLesmerises]

My journey began 33 years ago, my true healing began by deconstructing the "truths" I had been told by my upbringing into a meaningful path of understanding. I say to you, the ways of this world are death. Who are you? who is Nuru Sheikh? not the name. not the things you do. at the core, what makes you, YOU? I love the idea of trying to describe a tree by itself... because the air around it, the composition of the soil it's in, the symbiotic fungus living in the soil exchanging necessary nutrients, the ants that protect it from invaders... They are all necessary to the description on the tree. There is no tree, seperate from the living system it exists in. In The same way, imagining that you and I are separate from the rest of the you's and I's, is the root of all suffering.

[@ellock1998]

I don't hear voices, or anything like that. I have inner dialogue and thats it... which is basically every person on the planet. Nonetheless I found this very fascinating and interesting to watch. I am always fascinated by people who are different and want to learn how they think and what they feel, it allows me to understand them better and I can start to think in a more diverse and understanding way. I love to listen to people for that reason.

[@kelseywilder7518]

Hey I think this will interest you. I just discovered these videos called VLOGs I think it stands for video blogging? A lot of people will honestly talk about how they are feeling. Some of them are super insightful. You probably already know this but just incase you don't take a look.

[@ellock1998]

Kelsey Wilder That's awesome! I follow a few vloggers, but none like her. Do you have any in mind that are more or less along these lines. They don't have to have some sort of mental disorder, just really honest dialogue about what goes through their head. If you have any like that I would be super grateful if you could share. I have a few like the Vlogbrothers that are super fun to watch, but not always "deep" a few of their videos do go pretty deep however. If you haven't heard of them I would recommend it,

[@kelseywilder7518]

Nice! I will check out vlogbrothers! I don't find many vlogs that I like but I have one so far. I have trouble sleeping and so I watch ASMR artists. Which is how I stumbled upon vlogs in the first place. MinxLaura123 has 2 vlogs that were super interesting but are hidden among her many ASMR videos. The ones I loved were the topics of her addiction and how it drove people away.... and there is another video were she talks about how she fits into society. :)

[@ellock1998]

Kelsey Wilder Cool, I'll have to check her out when I get the chance! Definitely someone I will look into.

[@steffanjensen9]

to much buddsim...

[@AlRubyx]

I'm schizoaffective and (most of the time) have the voices very similar to the way she is describing, but most of them are rogue thoughts in my head. They kind of spiral out of control, overflow into my other senses on a bad day. My brain won't really make up sounds, but it will perceive many sounds to be threats. If I can't hear someone talking in the other room, I'll hear them whispering about me. Sometimes I think I know what people are thinking. I have some strange delusions as well that I'm not going to talk about. Even knowing they're stupid doesn't help. Life before college was extremely similar. This was really meaningful for me. Thank you.

[@jorgeanibal8834]

+Al Rubyx at times i hear voices as i'm slipping into sleep. When it startles me i know i cannot possibly have heard it yet canot distinguish it from actual sounds. I attribute it as being this way, i wonder if it is. For one we of course know that all thought is in language, and we know thought arises from the subconscious. We never take notice of this and we tend to attribute the fallacy of free will to it, but it is simply not the case. We do not decide upon what thoughts will come next. So how different are we i wonder, i submit that perhaps not a all that different at all, and in no way do i mean to understate your suffering of which i could not possibly imagine. I've in my own past have had some illness of my own and although very different, i too seeked patterns, agency and explanations that mislead me on a route nobody around me could relate to or understand and i didn't need to hear or see anything for this to happen. My point here is, i'm convinced we all have some degree of these mental experiences, i think they are necessarily a fundamental part of self awareness. Any way, thank you for sharing a little bit of your life experience, i wish you the very best-be well.

[@konstantingeist3587]

It's called hypnagogia, it happens to a lot of people, including me, this month there were 2 instances when I heard cool electronic music out of nowhere while trying to sleep

[@Dani161803]

As it's said in this video, voices are there because of past traumas that need heeling. Look for a therapist who works with EMDR (Eye movement desenzitisation and reprocessing), this technique is fast and very efficient to heal traumas.

[@AlRubyx]

Dani161803 That sounds uncomfortable.

[@jorgeanibal8834]

yeah, odd isn't it. It's not a problem for me, but if i'm predisposed by a bad emotional state i suppose it could be. what does that consist of Dani?

[@NanaR504]

I went through this many years ago, and it was my hurt 3 year old that was molested; I had pushed her away. Long years in the dark she looked and felt so terrible! How could she be me? Her voice finally broke through in the psychiatrist's office, saying "My daddy raped me." Then the Psychiatrist said, "Why don't you believe her?" I was shocked! I began to believe it and that was the END of all the craziness.Such trauma is behind the mental break. Parts of you split off to survive, but they are still YOU. For 20 years I raged at my father's ignorance.I went through the stages of grief. Before he died he asked me if a person could forgive their perpetrator. That morning I had seen a photo of him age 3 with his grandfather, an opium addict.I saw the demons around my innocent dad and knew he had a spiritual parasite that had infected him, causing him to do this to his own children. Jade Wahoo explains this. I forgave my dad right then as I knew he was also a victim. Forgiveness comes with understanding. It clears the evil.

[@babysun4893]

"You cannot humiliate the person who feels proud" " You cannot oppress the person who isn't afraid" I learn so much from this video. Thank you 💕. I think I get better insight of schizophrenia

[@calicat-mu6cw]

Baby Sun Cesar Chavez said it first

[@aaymathebest4705]

Can you telk me in this video the lady speaking ,Is she suffered from sczophernia?

[@NaNa-re3wc]

I am so glad I found this! I’ve had a similar experience. When I was 14 I started having severe mental health issues including psychotic symptoms. I had dealt with severe trauma for as long as I could remember anything and by the time I hit my late teens I’d been consistently diagnosed a multitude of times with severe BPD, rapid cycling bipolar disorder, dysthymia, PTSD, GAD, I also had an eating disorder and was a drug addict for 6 years and an alcoholic. I struggled with severe suicidal ideation since I was 9. During my own exploration I got into DBT then Buddhism then Taoism and psychoanalysis. I was on so many meds for 3 years, but I am 22 now and have been off of them and sober from drugs/alcohol for a year. For as long as I can remember I’ve had empathic abilities and have been strongly guided by my intuition. I believe those things were my compass towards internal healing. Now I plan to join the Marine Corps and then become a psychoanalyst! I am also currently writing my own poetry book on my experiences. I hope I can help others heal like I have.

[@nehamotwani6477]

Your journey is really courageous.

[@lacastesantosnoelmhickeepa1862]

I believe you will. Good Luck! - Strong, Smart, Brave Person!

[@situationroom3090]

I believe you can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@raic3283]

🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@somanathmeher9347]

Go strong dear

[@OrangeblossomCraftsCanada]

Eleanor, I know you probably won't see this but I'll say it anyways. When I was a kid I used to, and still do, see/sense/hear/etc things that weren't 'there'. One day I asked my old doctor if this stuff was bad or not. He said "As long as they don't tell you to do bad things, there's nothing wrong with it." In a ways, that was both the best & worst answer. For one, I didn't feel concerned by the voices/visions because afaik it was a common or accepted thing. Therefore they didn't spiral as easily into negativity because I wasn't as afraid or angry at them for making me 'different'. On the other side, this lead into never being taken seriously or getting help when they did turn bad (not always, just on the worst days). Because of this I completely missed out on getting help for a schizophrenia diagnosis, or even being able to relate with others affected with schizophrenia because to be accepted in their groups I had to suffer exactly like them. Thankfully, I had learned on my own how to keep the hallucinations in check (mostly), how to 'scold' them if they got out of line, and so on. I even draw them & ask for inspiration for my art. Lucid dreaming also helped a ton. I can meet these aspects of my personality, even play with or adventure with them in the dream world. I also want to say I personally believe CFS & other fatigue/stress-related illnesses are tied in with schizophrenia, as it ties into an over-stressed brain triggering the hypnagogic/hypnopompic & other dream states. Anywho, I just wanted to share. And if you ever read this (or anyone else who has similar outlook as me) please toss me a note!

[@bigstank7638]

+Orangeblossom how can i enter the dream world

[@OrangeblossomCraftsCanada]

poper Pooper The shortest answer I can give you: Keep a dream journal. Write in it immediately upon wakening. Even if you don't remember your dream, write the first feelings you have when you wake up. Do *not* skip a day. Stick to that as if it was one of the most important things in your life. Over time you will end up recalling so many dreams, and so many opportunities to change them, that you might forget what was like to NOT be in control of your dreams.

[@bigstank7638]

Orangeblossom thanks

[@tylersirko5959]

+poper Pooper I'm going to go a little bit more in depth in saying yes you do need a dream journal it is one of if not the most important part of lucid dreaming, however a dream journal alone isn't enough you also have to be on a good sleeping schedule and sleep about 8-12 hrs a day. After you have a good sleeping pattern and have written in your dream journal a fair amount begin rereading your dreams and find things that repeat in your dreams, those are called dream signs. I will give you an example of a dream sign: one of my dream signs is that i have very long hair. Sometimes when i'm dreaming i dream that i have long hair and because i know this whenever i dream that i have long hair i have a chance that i will lucid dream. so when you'r writing in your dream journal be VERY specific because the slightest detail can be a dream sign.

[@bigstank7638]

tyler sirko thanks i'm gonna try it but what if i forget my dream

[@inhobiswinecellar9571]

I've studied spirituality for about two years and have just a bit to say on the matter: Those voices in her head were perhaps sinister, conniving energies she was tapping into. When I was 12 I would hear them all the god damn time. Phrases that would urge me to self harm, or phrases depicting my loved ones in a terrible light. It was isolating and depressing but watching her speak on this made my own experiences feel so very valid. It was when I was 13, and I'll never forget this. It was Palm Sunday, and an angel appeared in my dream, lightly scolded me yet I woke up feeling much relieved. I refrained from western horror movies from a while, because there was a good voice in my head telling me "what you have the capacity to think, you have the capacity to feel is real". When you're ultra sensitive to energetic vibrations, I honestly do think it's good to tone down on flashy, paranormal movies like that. Here's my opinion, I don't believe in schizophrenia. I believe we all have access to higher spiritual beings. But, the pendulum always swings both ways and there are wonkier, lower vibrations to play around to. Now, Hollywood being Hollywood will always try to convince us that life is more dramatic than it appears. But in reality, low vibrational energies only have power if you give them power. As a preteen, I'd get intrusive thoughts urging me to do wonky things, like strangling my cat etc. I love my cat. I've had her since I was 13, now I'm 18 so you could imagine I recoiled at the thought. By the grace of God, and all other righteous and divine entities out there, I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, my family and I were never devout Catholics. I just went to a Catholic School because my parents believed the smaller class sizes were a good fit for me, that and we were fortunate enough to afford it. And I'll never forget this day at Wednesday mass. I was perhaps 11 or 12 years old, our beloved Priest is giving a preaching. He tells us directly, "Kids, it is so easy to become distracted by the devil, temptation is everywhere. But when you are tempted by the devil, you look them in the eye and you tell them to get lost. You yell at them to be gone because the Holy Savior is here to protect me." Now that Im older I realize he was probably referring to lust or drugs lol, but like I said, I'm not a devout Roman Catholic anymore. Yet those words and his conviction that day, the empowerment I felt because of it, never left my young impressionable soul. As a child, I'd also have recurring dreams of an evil doppelgänger, often times it'd just sneer at me. Now like I said, I'm 18, this past summer I went throggh the craziest leap on my life long spiritual journey. That all being said, there definitely are spiritual beings at play, but if I can instill anything to anyone facing someone similar, is how to weed the high vibrational from the low vibrational. High energetic beings are loving, secure, safe. You'll never feel pressured by them. All religions have this idea of the "small, gentle voice". That is God (or whoever you wanna believe in). They are so high vibe that they're seeped in patience in understanding. They will never appear to make you uncomfortable. They appear in a beautiful sunset, a butterfly flying in front of you, they plant a funny joke in mind for you to tell your friend. They are the friendly entity that helps you remember where you placed your lost AirPod, because they're secure and stable spirits. These are passive entities. Negative or as I call them "wonky" energies, are also just as prevalent. They're self harming and destructive thoughts. They're disturbing intrusive thoughts about your family and friends. But they are easy to control. They're not entirely bad though. We need the yang energy from this side of the universe. When someone is attacking us, I believe it is this aggressive side of our spiritual psyches telling us to react. So you see, neither one nor the other is entirely bad. I think one is just more passive, one is more proactive. If you have too much of one or the other the balance is lost. Always meditate. Get in touch with both your yin and yang energies. If your getting constant thoughts at harm towards yourself or others, scold them. Yes, they're spiritual but you are the one in control. And that's what the media distorts the most grossly. Always remember, if you ever feel intimidated by the strong presence of too much yang energy, banish them. Turn on a light, play a game, distract yourself, pray, play your favorite Kpop song...do something to uplift your spirit and the yin will balance out the yang. I could go on tbh, but this is the general gist. Yin energy wants to see you grow and succeed, yang energy is the catalyst. They balance one another out. As a kid and now more recently, I speak to spiritual entities, both in sleep and in waking. I've astral projected and have seen some funny stuff. I've been brought to tears by some small mental rendezvous. The only caveat of getting to play in the fields with too much high vibe energy, is that it also welcomes in space for their counterparts. But its a balancing act. The lower energy in a way, drags us back down to earth. It keeps our consciousnesses from drifting too far up. Anyways I've said enough. Just remember, balance your yin and yang energies, always be authentic, carry pure intentions, religion doesn't matter as much as we think it does, but all religions that foster purity of mind and spirit should be respected. You're safe as God is ever omniscient and loving.

[@karinak09]

“I would set boundaries with the voices and try to interact with them in a way that was assertive and respectful” Incredible. She’s amazing and this is also great advice for battling negative thoughts!

[@benjaminchang1287]

Tonnes of respect to this lady. She has gone through so fucking much and now that she could stand on the stage and talk in front of the crowd is just a miracle. She is the definition of a "strong" human.

[@amandac3658]

This was a phenomenal speech

[@onexxtwooothree]

Agreed!

[@psychosoma5049]

It really really was

[@Nani.101]

my boyfriend is currently in the hospital for the exact same thing, and with us having conflicting disorders this video has definitely helped me understand to an extent what he is going through

[@ashlijean7586]

I'm so sorry you to hear you guys are/were going through this! I hope things are on with both of you. Having conflicting disorders in a relationship can really be a roller coaster. (more so than just my own bipolar rollercoaster of moods) I feel for you and wish you both the best!! Never stop educating yourself about mental illness! & encouraging others as well. Be strong! Good luck!

[@itswhat3v3r]

Same here. He's my ex now but I still would like to help him.

[@aaymathebest4705]

@@ashlijean7586 hi,Is he suffered from sczophernia.

[@vattenflick]

I watch this video periodically, to remind myself not to "take an aggressive stance towards my own mind". Eleanor, I hope you know how many people you have helped, regardless of what we think or struggle with!

[@RIPCamiLee]

I could cry. This just made me feel so amazing and understood. I’ve heard voices since I was a child and I’ve always struggled to come to terms with them. I’ve been labeled insane, unstable, a schizo, among other things but it’s stuff like this that helps me remember what I truly am. Human.🖤

[@kattentissari3247]

There is no defects w one having f. ex schizofrenia. There's nothing wrong w them. Just features n experiences can be explained or found out what n why or how lead to this.

[@haleydodson7522]

Ive heard voices for as long as I can remember, from being a toddler thinking I worked for the FBI from a different universe and that someone from "my" timeline was after me. Up until the 5th grade I just stopped believing that. I do still think someone is after me I just cant shake that thought. I once told my friend and he called me crazy and stopped talking to me. the voices since then have multiplied and still haven't gone away. Some days they are louder than others. I havnt spoken about it since to anyone. Thank you for making me feel less alone :)

[@diverstalent]

'A sane reaction to an insane situation.' THANK YOU

[@llchase326]

Wow....my brother was diagnosed with borderline schizo affective disorder, I have about a bowl of disorders....OCD, PTSD, Bi-Polar Type 1....yeah we thought we were messed up. My brother passed away after battling addiction and Hep C. I have been hospitalized multiple times for Anxiety and Depression issues. I have heard voices, but it's the visions and dreams that have affected my brother and I the most. Watching this video has given me new hope and direction to help myself and others. Thank you Eleanor!!!

[@estherporat8678]

Best line ever "the important question in psychiatry should be not what's wrong with you, but what happened to you"♥️

[@jasminejohnstone1803]

Amazing quote love this ❤❤❤ iv suffered huge trauma I have bpd bi polor and ptsd I beat suicide twice ❤❤❤ we are fighters warriors my own mind has turned against me many times I still come out fighting ❤❤❤

[@mategrbavac9113]

She realized that voices had a meaning and were a natural response to traumas she had. I also have a similar story, I have an acquired nystagmus, a neurological disorder that I've battled for years. And than I had an enlightening realization that my my nystagmus was not my enemy, but rather my teacher. Since that day I realized that, almost all of its symptoms have withdrew. I am now a different, better person than I was before getting nystagmus.

[@carlogagliano8162]

Thank you. There are MANY of us that hear "voices" and hide that fact from the outside world

[@carolbrock5798]

Carlo, I read your comment about voices on KZbin. I too have experienced voices in my ears and thoughts that are not mine. I learned in the Christian Holy Bible that there is an invisible war on Earth involving very evil demonic Angel's who rebelled against God and they are here on Earth causing so much pain, suffering, suicide, wars, false religions and beliefs. Even the Lord Jesus Christ heard the voice of Satan and demons voices when He was here on Earth. See Matthew 4: 1-11. The Lord helped me in this battle against the schemes and strategies of the demons; and He can help anyone else who will believe God. Please listen to my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCqmatjhNeZosk Praying for you all, with compassion, Carol

[@UndeadFemboy]

Thank god! I’ve been hearing voices for about a year now and after looking into schizophrenia I couldn’t find anything that helped. Everywhere I looked I was told if it wasn’t extreme it wasn’t real. The voices don’t tell me to kill or harm. They just talk like I would. Some even remind me of things!

[@msjkramey]

"not 'what's wrong with you?' but 'what happened to you?' " Beautiful

[@sophiagrace2671]

"Don't mess with me, i've got a plastic fork, don'tcha know"

[@losreyesguerrero]

My cousin who struggled with this condition tragically ended life. For many years he struggled and fought the voices that told him to kill others and himself but finally succumbed to them😔

[@Danica_K.H.H.]

Sorry for your loss. Your cousin was a fighter and an incredibly strong person because he was fighting this condition.

[@crashtruthseeker9790]

I was shown this video before getting diagnosed with Schizophrenia, honestly didn’t relate to it at all and they finally undiagnosed me and I am off those horrible antipsychotic drugs, I’m feeling much better! Honestly Eleanor is such an inspiration. Luckily for me I can move forward in life knowing I don’t have mental health problems. I was just working hard on the farm, early mornings late nights and I’m made to see the GP by my Mum and I get diagnosed with psychosis, later updated to schizophrenia. Honestly I might of just needed a break from farm work and I’d be fine not a diagnosis of schizophrenia, they made me out to be delusional when I’m just exhausted from working hard. I’m glad I don’t have that diagnosis anymore and no longer need to be on medication.

[@penelopejoann]

What struck me was her statement that when she decided to thank the voice for telling her that her home was in danger, because in actuality it was bringing attention to her unrealized fear of her boundary violations having endured horrible traumatic events in the past. It sheds light on a huge piece of work for trauma survivors. I have had these voices too in the past and presently do because I am doing trauma work. I guess intuitively I knew the voices were in fact a part of me I just never before put them into this context. Very insightful. Thank you Eleanor Longden, or is it Dr. Eleanor Longden?

[@thefernfairy]

Because of this talk I realized that my social anxieties and mental health issues probably come from my unspoken fears and thus I can find a way to help myself and become a more functional adult. So thank you so much

[@davidutts]

Very inspiring. This is EVERYONES story - the heroes journey personified. No we don't all hear voices in our head but we all have something within us we try to hide and the more we do the more it grows. Yet, once we learn to love it and come to terms with it - it becomes our greatest gift to the world. Beautiful.

[@aanguiano6644]

I wish I had come across this when it came out years ago. I recently have gotten off my medications. I was diagnosed almost 20 yes ago and have struggled accepting the labels that fill up half the computer monitor at the clinic. 1 psychiatrist asked me if I had children, reluctantly i answered confused how having children would affect my treatment. It took me over 24 hours to process his "recommendation" to get a full Hysterectomy. The voices whirled all day all night. Until I heard so clearly with such authority and disgust. "You don't have children and the world needs to make sure you never do. We want to make sure you do not breed and spread your defective genes" Then I cried for 3 days." My mother taught me at a very early age to put filters on the things that came out of my mouth. Threats that continued sharing of my reality was going to put me in a straight jacket. I have episodes "psychosis". I had a friend with schizophrenia, may he RIP, he did everything he could to escape the voices, till he finally did via Overdose. We both had a history of sexual abuse, that family refused to acknowledge. My heart hurts for everyone struggling to understand what is happening to them, in a society that prefers to hand out benefit checks and send people home so as not make others uncomfortable with our "behavior". My company did everything they could to try to get me to quit. From black balling, lying to me and about me, even pressured me to waive my right to privacy. I'm glad I came across this I will pray that our society shifts, finds the compassion to embrace all of us that struggle to embrace ourselves.

[@Johnphilips1234]

What a well spoken, brave lady. Goes to show, schizophrenia is not a life sentence to misery and failure but can be at leastpartly resolved.

[@incandescentfuture7113]

she is so fluid and composed i've been in recovery for about a year and i couldn't speak like this if i was reading from a prompter i couldn't even speak this well when i wasn't sick this gives me alot of hope.

[@amandagalloway1112]

I was profoundly affected by this video. I wish my son could have seen this before he took his life last September. Thank you Eleanor for making a difference to others out there by giving them the hope my son had lost.

[@conantheseptuagenarian3824]

so sorry.

[@jenduck5520]

I’m so sorry for your loss 😢

[@AD-hh6dd]

@@jenduck5520 thank you

[@AD-hh6dd]

@@conantheseptuagenarian3824 thank you

[@indukumar7509]

You are a brave father. Your observations and braveness will help my suffering son. Namaste

[@sageyu7646]

i watched this video 6 years ago while i was still a high school student, this video truly saved my life. and now i am all fine with everything and resistance has improved quite a lot. thx

[@RekMone]

inspiring talk showing the danger 1) of alienanting oneself from oneself and 2) of labeling others.

[@peaceandcheese]

I never heard such a compassionate and thought provoking perspective with regards to being schizoaffective or schizophrenic. Really opened my eyes to some things. Then again, I don't know many people living with this illness who felt empowered and supported enough to speak frankly about it, even while stable. The stigma regarding mental illness in general is dehumanizing.

[@superjonz9958]

I always go back to this talk whenever I feel mentally distressed. 7 years ago and still very relevant

[@princeoftides4752]

Nine years in the Mental health system and this one Video has gave me more coping skills then anything I have ever experienced. I'm in the rehabilitation and reintegration phase and because of spiritual awakening I finally have the cognitive skills to move forward in a more stable manner, I need to get in touch with that group she is talking about. I was thinking there needs to be a virtual reality field of study that allows doctors to go through what you are going through and to hear the voices, they would be more in tune with what we are going through! On my way to a full Recovery, It was because of my computer lab teacher in the last facility that I was in that I learned of Ted Talks. These lesions need to be implemented in the system, too many are out there never get to recover because they weren't given the skills to!

[@itswhat3v3r]

Good for you. My ex is currently diagnosed with schizophrenia and I would like him to be involved with that organization as well.

[@opsendless8792]

Good luck with everything, Juan. You are clearly very insightful and intelligent.

[@dreamznaspiratons7064]

Updates??

[@NanaR504]

I had a Kundalini Awakening in the 70's when no one had a clue what that was. But I survived as I had a guru. He helped me so much because he too had been through it. I do NOT recommend anyone try Kundalini Yoga to activate this phenomena unless the teacher has fully experienced this also. I wrote a book about my experiences, and do NOT recommend anyone activating it. It is God's decision when you awaken. Let God.

[@badeekanteh2787]

Never been able to understand, talk less of explaining what I've been through, after having gone through the exact same experience. Never have I ever found an inspiration even after being 'cured' for year's. Words really can't express how grateful I am that someone has been able to express what I've always wanted to understand and be understood, and as well as taking action to help others in the same situation. God bless🙏🏾❤

[@Big2Planker]

“The voices were insights into solvable, emotional problems…”. This gives me so much hope as my 15-year old son is going through this with 4 voices that are tormenting him based upon what the outside stimulus is and how it’s being interpreted by distinct personalities. From those words forward, I’m comforted by the notion that the voices, with guidance from professionals and some modern medications to aid in sleep and anxiety (as light of doses as possible) can be analyzed to support positive mental health rather than destroy it.

[@thevoiceinyourhead7215]

Good on you that you understand how important it is to keep the medications low dosage if at all possible. I’ve had several friends that claim it had left lasting blows to their abilities to read, draw, sense pain and hunger, among other functions. And this is from the people that stopped taking said medications

[@CraftyOldGit]

"...important question in psychiatry shouldn't be 'what's wrong with you' but rather 'what's happened to you'". I have tears listening to that.

[@MWolfe-vu9qg]

I actually have these same kind of voices, but the most extreme occurrences for me are that I'll have an out of body experience-which can last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour-and the voices take over my actions and my personality. Feels weird to ask, but, anyone else?

[@lacastesantosnoelmhickeepa1862]

I saw somewhere that Meryl Streep experienced the out of body experience once where she saw her body being beat up.. it is another survival strategy - a sane reaction to insane circumstances (trauma).

[@annikag8819]

This is my first time hearing this. Thank you for your kindness and your braveness. I have been hearing voices since 2015 and been trying to deal it by myself ever since. I have tried first 2 months of medication, didn't dissipate those hostile voices, it created my cloudy thought, and fogginess.The voices were so horrible... I have lost my jobs, moved 5 times within a year, wrecked my relationships (thought that voices were from my neighbors ) and I was having the thought of ending it all together but with love from my mother I chose to fight. I stopped telling ppl about the voices I told them I was no longer hearing them and I changed all my environment, moved, and focus in healing myself... I finally overcame the voice naturally by just ignoring those voices and they are finally dissipating itself in 2018-2019 but occasionally I can still hear them. Thank you for opening my eyes and now I know that those voices were my insecure inner or my worst self critics that I can interpenetrate to help me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[@InnocentBoyV]

I have gone through that phase. The "voices" have been with me since childhood. In general they were fear orienting like "do this thing or someone will die". Never knew what it's called. Never realised it is a problem till I reached 14 yers if age and I read something about voices. I started fighting them, probably that's when things got really worse. After many years of trial and error. Finally I taught myself to be friendlier with them and with meditation and "Release technique" I can finally say I am not traumatised and they even help me many times. Although "they" are still there :)

[@arraikcruor6407]

I am really happy to hear things have gotten better. If you don't mind me asking, how did the voices help many times?

[@carolbrock5798]

Vishal, I read your comment about voices. I too have heard voices and experienced thoughts that are not mine. But I learned in the Christian Holy Bible that there are evil invisible fallen Angel's who rebelled against God, and God cast them out of Heaven. They are here on Earth causing so much pain, suffering, wars, false religions and beliefs, and most importantly they want to keep us from a real relationship with our God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!! The Lord helped me in this battle against the schemes and strategies of the demons; and He can help anyone else who will believe God. Please listen to my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCqmatjhNeZosk Praying for you, with compassion, Carol

[@WillVanKleev]

"Sane reaction to insane circumstances". You are amazing! thank you.

[@ArizonaWillful]

What a brilliant speaker. I am a crusty old fart who has never heard voices within, but her presentation made me feel such caring empathy for people I would have otherwise just considered crazy (lazy thinking). She is a bright light for these people and educates the rest of us.

[@ashahersi8599]

i am so inspired by her strength, just shows that anybody going through a hard time right now has the strength to get through it.

[@pamelatucker3504]

Not all are strong enough to make it through difficult times!

[@annemarieamarie5270]

I've been hearing voices 25 years to no availe had no relief from symptoms just my own persistence gets me through I will win

[@Prd64twl]

Hi Anne... Voice to skull: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJbRamyXebiFpck ☺

[@joselinema]

I heard that it could be parallel dimensions.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Many people talk about - the judging voice in the head and how it troubles and tortures them. I think that is - the voice of the society - the voice of our parents, teachers and priests. For about twenty years, kids have their parents, teachers and in some cases, priest judge them everyday and to say - what they are doing wrong, what they need to do instead and 'what bad thing going to happen if they don't do it'. After few years of continued daily reinforcement, this "critic" and "judging" and "fear" gets internalized.

[@evfan13]

***** Is she present 24/7? Is she able to observe everything you do?If she can, then I've got a message: Rin, you're awesome. You're awesome for helping ufufu out, and doubly awesome for doing so despite the fact that most people would say that you're a "symptom" of an "illness". :D

[@olivialucas2528]

TOA (Transmission of Awakening) For some people it isn't like this, my boyfriend's sister has schizophrenia, as well as other mental illnesses, she sees people that aren't there and when she was younger the voices told her to kill her mum. She is on a lot of medication that help now but she was hospitalised quiet a few years ago. Sadly they aren't always friendly.

[@Karma-zx8qe]

Olivia Lucas maybe thats just staight schizophrenia not cuz of trama, or maybe the mom was a cause of a lot of the trauma?? need to know the whole story/history

[@InternalMind]

Olivia Lucas How can someone have schizophrenia AND other mental illnesses... Schizophrenia itself has lots of different things going on... maybe you're confusing the symptoms of schizophrenia with "other mental illnesses"

[@clancycavnar2400]

+InternalMind schizophrenia does not block other mental illness. All symptoms are not covered by the schizophrenia diagnosis. If someone has a mood disorder and schizophrenia it is called schizoaffective disorder. Someone could be addicted to drugs and have schizophrenia. People could have a developmental disability with schizophrenia. Someone could have PTSD and schizophrenia. I am sure there are other ones I can't recall now

[@andybeans5790]

I hear voices occasionally, but I keep it to myself as in my experience neurotypical folks will ALWAYS act in their own fearful interests. I've learned to keep my own counsel.

[@jdoe27]

courtesy laughing is a dying art. Cmon ppl, some of her jokes were pretty funny and she's obviously been through a lot!!

[@junpi8562]

Is it possible they had trouble with her accent though? I had to concentrate to understand everything she said.

[@TheDundeeBiscuitLuvU]

I think maybe her delivery didn't make it clear enough that the audience were supposed to laugh, that combined with the overall somber tone of the talk, it's not surprising the audience decided to stay safe and not laugh

[@TheDundeeBiscuitLuvU]

I think maybe her delivery didn't make it clear enough that the audience were supposed to laugh, that combined with the overall somber tone of the talk, it's not surprising the audience decided to stay safe and not laugh

[@jonhenderson33]

I laugh at all people's corny jokes. The worst ones are the best because they are from such a genuine place

[@emilyanderson5039]

I think they did laugh. The audio from the video is just tuned in to her mic

[@hailun374]

Such a brilliant mind. Both her and Elyn Saks (another TED speaker about schizophrenia from an inner view) are my role models when it comes to social sobriety. They have held their shattered selves together, and thrived both in education and social life. They did not give up for one reason; when you have such an excellent mind, your mental characteristics stop being an illness and burden to you, and they become your brain fuel instead.

[@alannacorrea9740]

Hai Lun Same here but I have bipolar instead

[@sarahcohen3844]

At 19, I began hearing voices. I was and remain an isolated person. I was a a floozy at 19 but otherwise, went to class, walked around alone, ate food I liked, so everything (I didn't put on weight back then), and avoided parties. The voices were just people at those parties noticing things I did. They were even flattering, since nobody else noticed me. They noticed stuff I did. Having a strong rational side, I became afraid of the voices and told my mother, who took me to her physician. He looked at acne on my chin and told me I was fine. He did me a big favor, I thought when I first watched this TED talk years ago. The voices were benign, a kind company when I remained aloof, afraid of or disconnected from real people. But the voices faded with a few friends and things to do. I got a college degree in English. Didn't get meaningful work. Then another degree. More than a decade passed and I was unemployed or underemployed. There were many reasons for my protracted unemployment. But my problems weren't about voices. I barely heard them and as always, they remarked on something or another about or meaningful to me. I managed to connect to one man after all the people that passed through life, a connection of shared living and enjoyment at the presence of another person, and had two beautiful children. Myy husband enjoyed taking all the family's money and spending it on women I never met. A year after the devastating realization of one affair, and having been arrested for a scratch to my husband's arm on the night I found out. I decided that a coworker was stalking me. I knew he probably wasn't so never got him or myself in trouble at work. The Internet was comparatively new, and I thought the stalker posted remarks in what were called newsgroups before Facebook was a thing, and poetry sites. I thought he sent spam. Messages about his frame of mind in gibberish in spam emails. I had to stay with my husband because I didn't connect to actual people but him. I couldn't leave this cheat who'd take all the family's money if he "fell in love" with a woman. My husband was my only real relationship with anybody but my kids, and I talked to the stalker who wasn't anywhere near me. Love and threats came from the stalker. Flattery and insult. I reasoned out my life with the stalker who wasn't there. Early into the stalking, a psychiatrist told me I was psychotic and put me on Abilify, which made it difficult for me to walk from one end of Walmart to the next without sitting on the floor to rest several times. "I don't know if you invent everything you tell me," said the psychiatrist. I had young kids , a job and stuff to do, and couldn't accept the label or the medicine. I was the breadwinner between myself and my eventual exhusband. I left my job to write a book about this stalking. Was it stalking or was I crazy or did it matter? I ended up unemployed while my husband took off to be with a woman online, who slept with someone else the day after he met her in person. Even sane people are delusional. I raised the children while my ex avoided child support and went to Montana to live with a girl missing one of her legs and four of her fingers. Reading the last sentence makes me seem insane, but it was true. I had to go through the harrowing process of finding a job. But managed. My kids went to college three years ago and are doing tremendously well. I moved to New York and have lived alone for three years. The day the kids left, I was in agonizing pain. I had an incarcerated hernia that doctors didn't diagnose for a half a year. The pandemic had already begun when I went to the hospital for surgery that cost $7500 plus another $1600 for an alternative care doctor who didn't accept insure.. I was healthy and thin again. I could eat anything I wanted in an area famous for an abundance of foreign food. But the world had shut down, afraid of germs. I began having famous stalkers, one of which I thought lived across the street. It was flattering, company when I had none. I would hear Famous Stalker A sing in the night. I laughed at myself and my own witty banker while alone. In February, I began hearing voices.There was a mix of benign and threatening "discussions," and Famous Stalker A threatened to kill me, my children and exhusband over a period of three days. Sometimes he said he already killed my children and ex. I spent two days not eating or sleeping. I called my family at 4:30am lying in my bathtub to avoid being shot at through the window. Then one morning, Feb 25, Famous Stalker A said he poisoned the water in my apartment. I saw my fingers turn purple after I took a shower. Famous Stalker A told me to get a water bottle from a grocery store, and also told me not to drink anything. I walked outside. I saw a man in a black car pointing a gun at me. I've never looked at a real gun but I could see the bullet inside it. Famous Stalker A told me he took my book and what had been 15 years of work on and off went from more than 300 pages, to 115 pages to three pages. I went to the hospital and got an initial diagnosis of schizophrenia. I was out in seven days with risperidone, a medicine that makes thinking and speaking difficult. It also made me fearful and my jaw developed a shake. And that's only some of the side effects. It was difficult to urinate and I dozed so often, I felt a different kind of insanity. I was a reporter and it's illegal to fire someone for a disability, but my boss likes to be "right" and was afraid I would write stories that were "wrong." So he fired me. He only wanted to pay two a half months of severance for what amounts to potentially a lifetime without work. I'm still dealing with a legal proceeding. I thought the risperidone was as bad as hearing voices so I stopped taking it in May. I was depressed. I didn't know if I'd ever work again. I didn't know what good life had for me. I began taking an antidepressant, so I wouldn't hurt my thriving children by killing myself. A few weeks ago, I developed a clatter in my ear of notes and childhood songs, repeating endlessly in a loop. The voices returned. I'd hold conversations in my head with the multiple personalities of Famous Stalker A and sometimes, I couldn't focus on what my children were telling me. The voices would become threatening especially at night. The Sunday before last, the voices threatened to kill me or told me to kill myself all night long. I went to the hospital again. Once you're in, you can't easily get out. You have to take the medicine from the doctors, involve yourself in activities like coloring, spend weeks in a state of tedium until the doctors approve your release. It turned out the clattering in my ear was a type of tinnitus, a rare side effect of the antidepressant. I had already begun taking a new antipsychotic drug but I told the doctors it's hard to know why my life, from her eon out, is worthwhile. If life is a choice between horrible drugs and horrible voices, and I can't work or support myself, if I'm on disability and have to deal with poverty and the government's glitches, problems, delays and whimsy while I begin a difficult old age, who needs it? I left the hospital on two days ago, 10 days after I went in. I listened to the Hearing Voices Network yesterday. It was sad. Lives of isolation, meaninglessness and an impaired ability not only to work, but to form rational thoughts, one thing leading to the next in a way that resembles common sense. Thought itself fractured. I'm still trying to figure out if I can have a purpose and happiness. Who knows? Who knows if I'll be able to care for myself. I went from a youth of minimal, unobtrusive voices that nearly vanished in a year to where I am now. Part of the problem is that the doctors hurt as much as they help, and though some will admit this is true, they offer no alternatives.

[@psychosoma5049]

I have synaesthesia, transient paraesthesia, hyperphantasia, and a strong inner dialogue and hypnogoggic hallucinations, and this Ted talk literally changed and saved my life. she is incredible.

[@fatimac5253]

I’m not schizo but I have another disorder and my therapist suggested today that I watch this - really the best ted talk I’ve seen in a while. Really resonates with me

[@danielromero4741]

I got diagnosed with Schizophreniac 15 yrs ago... listening to her, makes me stronger..

[@johnfarris6152]

For me it's the are me trying to make me think that I'm hearing voices.

[@carolbrock5798]

Please listen to my story on KZbin at Hearing Voices: Real Help and Understanding kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaCqmatjhNeZosk Praying for you, Carol

[@theothercrypt]

"Not 'Whats wrong with you?' But rather, 'Whats happened to you?'" Incredibly powerful.

[@simonebittencourt8251]

Eleanor, what an extraordinary speech you gave! Your story is very touching and the way you turned your challenges into healing force very powerful. You are a remarkable lady! I will never forget you or your speech. Your presence, your words, the emotions inside them, your demeanor are outstanding. Bravo!!! I am very moved by you, deeply moved! I wish I could have met you. You are pure inspiration. I wish you the very best in life wherever place it takes you, whatever choice you make. Thank you for sharing your story and your amazing self!

[@JoyJunu]

The human mind is such an amazing thing. It, very explicitly, clued Eleanor in on what had gone very wrong early on in her life, and that the way in which she responded to those traumatic events was not enough considering how badly those events affected her. This means that no one is "insane" or "crazy". It means that everyone is human.

[@jayjosephk1ng]

The explanation she starts around 8:45 is absolutely incredible. This brings so much light and hope for those dealing with even the most stigmatized mental illnesses. Thank you for sharing!!

[@carfincap]

Brilliance comes with such pain. This is EXCELLENT.

[@carfincap]

She hits on voices confused on sexual trauma and abuse. I hope, that later, unbelievably brave speech, in the 2022, that what’s happened to us, men and woman, suppressing this bs gets the same attention ptsd combat victims get who hear voices and have paranoia. And they don’t get much! I love these men and woman’s stories as much as hers. But damn, survivors of all damage need compassion and autonomy and sovereignty… not pity. This is a magnificent tribute to all of us. Xo

[@amytayler83]

What a beautiful description of your experience. I love that you say, we should be asking what has happened to you as opposed to what is wrong with you. Thank you for sharing your story, it's so helpful to the mental health community.

[@matthewhenley783]

Eleanor is a bright and beautiful human being. She gives encouragement and hope. She is so resilient!

[@kayT101]

As someone recently diagnosed with DID(dissociative identity disorder) Seeing this talk about voices was amazing, my own voices are similar, they formed to get me through intense, long lasting trauma and I am so glad there are people like Eleanor speaking positively about voices.

[@leahs4555]

This made me cry. I hope I understand it earlier. Definitely will share with my patients and loved one

[@sageisnotaplant99]

I am going through/have went through very similar experiences as this woman and I am very glad that she shared her story. I feel a lot less alone

[@lopiklop]

It's very inspiring to hear that a patient became a researcher. We understand more than most and our obsessive nature can help us study in ways "normal people" never can.

[@barrylongden7]

I was drawn to this lecture because Eleanor has the same surname as myself. I too have heard voices but only to a small degree. When you hear a voice "inside your head" it is totally clear unlike what you hear someone else say to you.

[@amylousadventures7449]

From suffering voices myself for over 10 years now this video is amazing I love how open Eleanor is about her voices and I wish I could be that confident, this video really does help

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Some of us humans become greatly self-obsessed and we stop asking what can I do for others, in what way I can serve others, how can I help others. The extreme focus on self makes us either very proud, selfish, arrogant and cruel or it makes us very sensitive, very fragile, easily hurt, very self critical and unsatisfied. It makes us and those around us unhappy. Any true lasting solution appears fleeting as long as we are only focussed on ourselves. The moment we start venturing of our own self interests and our own likes and dislikes and start truly asking what can I do for others - the solution starts emerging.

[@turquoiseafro1520]

TOA (Transmission of Awakening) That is profoundly incorrect. The whole point of her talk is that understanding the self is the solution to healing the self and then ultimately others. Your perspective of dismissing the needs of the self is the root of the problem and also the perspective of abusers, who try to supplant the will of oneself to serve theirs.

[@contemdance14]

I really like her talk, she talks about her illness so descriptive, it helps me to understand what's it like for people with such illnesses

[@Eonnn84]

I used similar process she described to recover from schizophrenia, recognize it's aspect of yourself that you have to heal with compassion and care and set boundaries. Self-empowerment is key. The biggest thing for me was changing my mental attitude and schooling my thoughts (teaching my own mind how I want it to behave). I would eliminate any negative thinking through a process of dismissal and distraction. Like when a conversation starts going down hill and someone changes the subject, you can do this when you notice a negative thought. Dismiss the thought and don't buy into it, then change the subject matter. The medication can help short-term to stabilize but once stable enough needs to be slowly reduced and stopped. Similar to someone learning to walk again after an accident, they only need the frame or clutches to rebuild muscles, they wouldn't continue with the frame once confident they can walk without it, continuing to do so would hamper them and create more problems.

[@resilientjenn]

Love this commentary

[@juliehuntington7345]

Thank you for showing us another way...a way that works. For too long have we harmed those in need of help, rather than asking them "what happened to you..." We have so much to learn and when we listen with curiosity we create a caring society.

[@lildebz93]

THIS MEANS ALOT TO ME. I FELT THIS IN MY HEART AND SOUL.

[@MaddDraws]

She is such a great speaker. I love her story. :)

[@shirahime23]

I cried listening to this. It hit home. I might not have been in the same boat, having schizophrenia as she did, but having battled the lowest of lows during a major depressive episode triggered by intense bullying in the workplace only three years ago, hearing her mention that the symptoms that arise point to what needs our attention the most felt like such a balm to the soul and in that moment, I felt like the world was made right, that I had not been made to suffer for naught, that my body was trying to get me to listen so I could heal. After having got through that episode I cannot express how immensely moved I am, to find out that this was something I needed to hear, even after all the time that has passed. Thank you, Eleanor. Thank you for sharing your story and lending people like me the strength we need very badly. May more hear of you and their lives be better for it.

[@tcl5853]

Although I don’t know what it’s like to be schizophrenic or hear voices, I do know what it’s like when people are reaching out and doing the right thing and helping others.

[@HeavymetalHylian]

My doctor told me to ask the voices and presences what they want, but it’s terrifying because they seem evil. Coming across this and hearing the same advice makes me feel a little bit braver. I never thought about being empathetic towards them because it always seemed like they wanted to scare or hurt me, but maybe they’re just in pain and it’s becoming worse because I’m trying to shut them out.

[@themorningmist99]

Wow. Incredible story, and an even more incredible individual. Having lived in the nightmare realm known as schizophrenia, myself; I know from experience that recovery after falling into the abyss, while not an easy thing, is also not as impossible as some doctors make it out to be. Good on her for having recognized that. I took a different route than she did, but we both still got out on the other side of it.

[@maryhernandez9063]

This is the first time I have ever heard of a cure …you have given us so much hope …thank you Eleanor and God bless you .

[@wandayonder9772]

There is no cure, just management.

[@tulam5473]

I've been hearing voices of a group of people with different personalities that I was confused with whether it was coming from the apartment units I live with. I thought they were people in the building but apparently Im hearing vocies. Most of them are friendly, compassionate, and have been complimenting me haha. Theyre the bestest of friends. Theyre insightful, introspective, and helping me sort of out life issues, emotional interpretations, and giving me advices. Some of them are creepy, abusive, and evil. These voices have been complimenting and haunting me for the past 3 days. It has been fun and disturbing. Online research shows that this is happening to people during the pandemic, including people with no past mental issues and its their first time experiencing psychosis. I think Im okay, I got this figured out quickly and learning about this online is super helpful, especially this beautiful talk here!

[@thevoiceinyourhead7215]

thank you for being so kind and accepting of some of us, it’s a really nice experience to read about the cases where we can be perceived as not only more than symptoms in need to healing, but even as people and friends. take care, please.

[@MsYeiri]

I stood up right here at home to applaud!! What a great and inspirational journey! God bless you always!

[@Prd64twl]

Hi Yeiri... Voice to skull: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJbRamyXebiFpck

[@jaigi2]

Long ago Voice saved my life: During my college days on weekends I used to watch Russian tourists swim / float motionlessly in Lawson's Bay, Vizag, (India). Some of them would even swim out a km and stand on a sand bar there, in waist deep water. Being a skinny teenager I found it difficult to float so never tried it. Years later I revisited the beach, place was empty and I decided to go for it. Swam the km but could not find the sand bar; (probably because of high tide). I was tired and although the sea was calm, I was so fatigued (smoking had done it) that when I tried to float my body folded and was sinking. I didn't have an ounce of energy left to even think of swimming back. I remember looking at the beach, tiny figures of weekenders had arrived. As I pedaled my feet feebly trying to stay afloat (cool water, warm pleasant day) it crossed my mind that it was easy to let go and sink. I was that tired. Then I heard my father's voice say strongly in disgust ''chhah'. I turned over and swam like a machine back to the beach. Dragged myself to one of those fisherman's canoe and slept within. I remember through half closed eyes, a pretty girl like Eleanor peeking in / checking me out. Hope you guys can understand, I was too dead tired to respond.

[@vaniafrankhealer]

What a beautiful story and person. I remember being in school studying schizophrenia and the professor discussing that there are few treatments for this "disorder". This was only 10 years ago. I love that she's opening the conversation to think of "disorder" and the psyche's way of bringing itself back into order and balance. Our bodies do the same thing with "disease". Thank you for this video! Absolutely beautiful!

[@paulinaturek9536]

In April of 2016, my mother; a single mother of four kids, all under the age of 18, suffered multiple psychotic breakdowns due to a stress disorder. My sweet; stubborn mother was reduced hearing voices, seeing hallucinations,to a dazed, sedated, medicated state I had never seen before. My siblings and I were reduced to living with strangers for weeks at a time, miles away from home. I understand what it feels like to be your mum sleeping in her room, with family standing guard outside, fearful of the make-believe. I understand how stupid and dangerous the voices are and how vulnerable people have to be to follow through those demands. I understand mental health affects people in all walks of life, whether they're the one suffering or if they're watching someone suffering. My message to someone; anyone, out there is that I understand. It is a long battle, it'll take years and years to feel as though I have my mum is back and not this new, different person, but... we'll all get there.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

A true lasting solution appears fleeting as long as we are only focussed on ourselves. The moment we start venturing out of our own self interest and our own likes and dislikes and start truly asking what can I do for others - the solution starts emerging. Discovering life means realizing that I am born of others, I am born for others, I am born to serve. Asking the universe, the world, the nature, the God to serve us is the mental sickness. Fully realizing our symbiotic relationship with the universe and being fully ready and willing to serve it to the best of our abilities is the beginning of sanity. You hear voices - no problem - just go ahead and focus on serving to the best of your current abilities. You don't hear voices - no problem - just go ahead and focus on serving to the best of your current abilities. Make 'serving others' your prime focus and your 'personal' problems will automatically start decreasing in significance.

[@chinosEyeball7duh]

I came here bc I too hear voices, and I am at the worst place as of now. wanting to leave this darkness, I know I will. soon

[@Bombadillio]

Charlie'sEyeball7duh I hope you have found harmony with the voices

[@opsendless8792]

How are you doing? Hope things are better.

[@martaavlas7970]

Charlie'sEyeball7duh how are you doing now? I hope you're doing well and want you to know that I'm sending you positivity.

[@cristinepunla419]

You are not alone. This too shall pass. I also hear voices, managing it and coping it to be mild. Not to become serious.

[@Flymom45]

As a mother of a son diagnosed with schizophrenia, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your insight and encouraging words. I am interested in learning more of the inner voice movement.

[@emilythesongbird2306]

Thank you Eleanor for a courageous, compassionate, and wise look at this mental challenge that many face. Your insight about learning to listen to the symbolic interpretation of the voices rather than the literal is brilliant! Thank you for being a way shower for so many who struggle with these voices.