In a society that’s increasingly competitive and rapidly changing, it’s no wonder that anxiety affects nearly 7 million adults in the United States and it’s one of the most common mental health concerns among college students. While most of us experience stress and worry frequently within our lives, anxiety is characterized by persistent and excessive worry that can feel impossible to control and often affects a person’s ability to live their life to the fullest, interfering with relationships and academics, among many other facets of one’s life.
As someone who has been dealing with anxiety since I was still sporting pigtails, I know how hard it is to find your way out of the abyss of worry and fear once you’ve fallen into the cycle. And while everyone experiences anxiety in a unique way, I believe that we can reach out and support each other by sharing what works for us. So, I’ve compiled a list of TED Talks that have caused me to reflect profoundly, think differently, and feel a little bit better about my own anxiety.
Guy Winch: "How to Practice Emotional First Aid"
Don’t let the title of this talk scare you away; “emotional hygiene” is an odd choice of words, but Winch uses this phrase to explain how we pay more attention to to our physical health than our psychological and emotional health. With personal and insightful anecdotes in a lovely English accent, Winch provides an explanation for different types of anxiety and simple, yet powerful advice on how to combat the worry.
Alison Ledgerwood: "Getting Stuck in the Negatives and How to Get Unstuck"
Allison explains the science of the cycle of negative thinking in easy-to-understand practical terms and she believes that simply being aware of this cycle has the potential to change the way we look at our own lives and the way we treat other people.
Kelly McGonigal: "How to Make Stress your Friend"
This psychologist completely changed my perspective on stress. She speaks to a biological perspective of the body’s inherent reactions to stress and how we can control and use them to our advantage by just changing the way we think about stress.
Neil Hughes: "Walking on Custard: How Physics Helps Anxious Humans"
This guy will make you laugh with his profound artistry and personal anecdotes, and his unorthodox metaphor of anxiety as “walking on custard” is surprising insightful and moving. He offers an explanation for the cycle of anxiety, and more importantly strategies to overcome an anxious mind and turn the custard into solid ground.
