Eleanor Longden, speaking live at the TED@London Talent Search, explains how she has transformed her relationship with her voices and taken control of her life. In this powerful short clip, Eleanor explains how a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the view of voices as a symptom led her to take an ‘agressive stance’ against her own mind. Having found a way of making sense of her voices and their link to difficult life experiences, Eleanor found a way of living alongside them. She speaks about returning to psychiatry from the opposite side of the table, as a trainer, author and academic. Despite years in the psychiatric system, Eleanor went on to gain the highest BSc and MSc in psychology at her university. She eloquently demonstrates that voices can be a ‘sane reaction to insane circumstances’.
If you think Eleanor’s message is a powerful one, please rate and comment on her vide on the TED Talent Search Site. TED use this site to determine which speakers to invite to the TED 2013 conference and it would be wonderful to have someone from the Hearing Voices Network represented there. This is a message that would go some way to challenging the stigma still held in society about the experience of hearing voices.
To view Eleanor on the TED site, see: http://talentsearch.ted.com/video/Eleanor-Longden-Learning-from-t;TEDLondon
I am writing a novel about someone who hears voices. I read your chapter in ‘Experiencing Psychosis’ about your experience of being incarcerated for schizophrenia. It moved me to tears. I then listened to your talk here at TED. I wanted to say that your writing and words are profoundly moving and very important for mental health professionals to bear in mind. I am encouraged by the idea that there are psychotherapists out there who understand that respect for the individual’s reality have to lie at the heart of all processes of healing.
Thank you.
A courageous and inspiring talk for all voice listeners; I feel especially for the likes of me, who is also within pursuit of academic merit. A work of true genius. I wish to perceive of a more caring approach, from institutional professionals for example, toward those who speak of their accompanying voices. Hopefully, this will encourage that courage to those who want, and or need, to share their most difficult introductions with a helpful and willing listener, to continue to help break down the deeply encoded negative reactions and responses, and to finally turn toward an acknowledgement of the benefits of advanced discussion and dialogue.
Thank you so much for this brilliant, illuminating talk. I wish that every person working in mental health could watch this over and over until the lessons sink in and improve the way we treat people!