This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Through her own story, social activist Megan Shinnick points out the misconceptions and actual importance of depression, as well as the societal flaws responsible for the increase in the illness among teens. Perhaps the increased pressures put on students create the situation, while the majority of schools don't have the necessary resources to aid students who suffer depression or anxiety. Megan asks each of us to make a difference in the way society both views and deals with depression.

Jayne is founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation, providing peer support for those with depression and their loved ones too. Her campaign #WhatYouDontSee swept social media earlier this year as part of Depression Awareness Week and is still fuelling on-going conversations, inviting people to share the realities of living with depression and challenge the stigma surrounding it. Hear Jayne’s courageous account of how she gave up on giving up with the help of those brave enough to share their stories of truth and hope, something her important work now extends to others.

Jayne Hardy is the founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation. Losing most of her twenties to depression, at the height of her illness she was unable to work, leave the house or undertake the most basic acts of self care. Jayne founded Blurt to prevent others from feeling isolated as she had done. Having experienced the powerful connections that could be fostered via social media she deliberately focused Blurt’s activities online, providing interim support for those struggling with depression and challenging the stigma around mental health. Her most recent campaign #WhatYouDontSee trended on twitter for 4 hours on Monday 18th April as part of Depression Awareness Week. The hashtag has been used over 100,000 times on facebook and a Buzzfeed article about the campaign has been read over 750,000 times. #WhatYouDontSee also gained support from the Mental Health Shadow Minister Luciana Berger, MP Johnny Mercer, and celebrities including rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson.

Jessica Gimeno lives with bipolar disorder and wants to expand the discourse around mental health. It's not enough to just receive a diagnosis, she says, people have to learn to live with depression and other mental health issues. In her talk, she shares the techniques she's learned to help her get stuff done while depressed.

Jessica is a warrior who fights five illnesses daily: bipolar II, polycystic ovarian syndrome, asthma, psoriasis, and the neuromuscular autoimmune disease Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Jessica Gimeno was valedictorian of her class, winning more than 20 speech competitions. Motivated by a friend’s suicide, she spoke to hundreds of students about mental health stigma and helped thirty students get psychiatric help. In her free time, Jessica is a diehard New Kids on the Block fan who enjoys pilates, painting, and playing with her nieces and nephews.

Dr. Stephen Ilardi is a professor of clinical psychology and the author of The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs. He earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University in 1995, and has since served on the faculties of the University of Colorado and (presently) the University of Kansas. The author of over 40 professional articles on mental illness, Dr. Ilardi is a nationally recognized expert on depression. His work has been honored by the American Psychological Association's prestigious Blau Award for early career contributions to the field, and his research on the neuroscience of depression has been funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH).

Dr. Ilardi has also received several major teaching awards in recognition of his dynamic, engaging classroom presence. Recently, he was selected from a pool of over 2,000 instructors as the recipient of the school's highest instructional honor, the HOPE Award for teaching excellence. He also maintains an active clinical practice, and has treated several hundred depressed patients over the course of his career. Dr. Ilardi lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife, Maria and daughter, Abby.

NOTE FROM TED: Please consult with a mental health professional and do not look to this talk for medical advice as the intersection of mental health and nutrition is still an emerging field of study. We've flagged this talk for falling outside TEDx's curatorial guidelines because it oversimplifies interpretations of legitimate studies. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. In this critically important talk, clinical psychologist Julia Rucklidge explores a range of scientific research, including her own, showing the significant role played by nutrition in mental health or illness.

Julia J Rucklidge, PhD is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Originally from Toronto, she did her training in neurobiology (McGill) and Clinical Psychology (University of Calgary). Her interests in nutrition and mental illness grew out of her own research showing poor outcomes for children with significant psychiatric illness despite receiving conventional treatments for their conditions. For the last 6 years, she has been investigating the role of micronutrients in the expression of mental illness, specifically ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety and more recently, stress and PTSD associated with the Canterbury earthquakes.

"The biggest impact on your health is not with a blockbuster drug, it’s not with a new pioneering surgical technique, it’s with the simplest solution. It’s how we feed ourselves".

Dr Rupy Aujla is an NHS doctor who believes modern medicine is fundamentally missing a focus on nutritional medicine. Despite diet being an essential ingredient to our well-being, medical students in the UK often receive just a few hours training in nutrition.

Rupy's TEDx talk explores the medicinal effects of different ingredients and debunks some common 'diets', focusing on how we can make 'culinary medicine' rather than fad diets the default option.

Rupy founded ‘Culinary Medicine’ – a non-profit organisation - specifically to address this gap by teaching doctors and medical students the foundations of nutrition as well as teaching them how to cook.

In his role as clinical adviser to the Royal College of GP's and more recently being accepted as a fellow on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme – Rupy has big aspirations to bring the concept of 'Culinary Medicine' to the profession globally.

Recently Rupy and the Culinary Medicine team have successfully taught Year 3 University of Bristol Medical students as part of their undergraduate training and they're working with University College London to deliver a course to their students this year.

Rupy is equally passionate about sharing good nutritional advice and delicious healthy recipes with the general public via his company 'The Doctor's Kitchen'. He aims to inspire patients about the beauty of food and the amazing clinical research behind the ingredients he uses. He has two best-selling cookbooks - ‘The Doctor’s Kitchen’ and his second book 'Eat to Beat Illness' which was released in March 2019 and quickly became a Sunday Times Bestseller.

Why is sugar so bad? Why should we eat less sugar?

The intro to this Talk has been performed by the artists of Capitol Musical Theatre (http://www.teatr-capitol.pl/) Sugar is currently the most widespread and commonly consumed substance, found in almost every edible product in the world. What are the consequences of continuous sugar consumption? How addictive is sugar? How does it affect our minds and behavior? Marta Sochocka, an immunologist and author of several popular science publications about health, will share with you the untold story about sugar. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Mark Mattson is the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University. Mattson is one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Did you know that fasting can lead to physical, mental and spiritual enlightenment?

Key Words: Fasting, Diet, Food, Master Cleanse, Personal Growth

"Fasting is part of my regular diet of personal growth, and I recommend it for anyone that wants to reach their potential."

Phil Sanderson is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who invests, bloggs and tweets about entrepreneurship, technology, music and gaming. You can follow him on Twitter @SanFranciscoVC and www.SFVC.com

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Is depression, as most of us experience it, meaningless suffering? Dr. Lisa Miller presents research that lends meaning to the experience of depression and to our experience on planet Earth.

Dr. Lisa Miller is perhaps the world’s foremost expert in the relative study of psychology and spirituality. Dr. Miller is Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she founded and currently directs the Spirituality and Mind-Body Institute, to innovate, disseminate, and train healers in foundationally spiritual treatments. Dr. Miller solo-edited the Oxford University Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality (2012) and has published over seventy articles and chapters on spirituality in mental health and wellness. She has acted as Principle Investigator on several million dollars-worth of grants from corporate and family foundations as well as the National Institutes of Mental Health. Dr. Miller is Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the new APA publication, Spirituality in Clinical Practice, and also serves as associate editor of Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, the official journal of APA Division 36, Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, for which Dr. Miller has served as President and is now APA Council Representative. Dr. Miller has been elected to Fellow of the American Psychological Association and awarded the Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award. She is a graduate of Yale University, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Martin Seligman, Ph. D.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)