Mental Wellbeing

Playlist includes

• All it takes is 10 mindful minutes - When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in strange positions.)

• How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed  - Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin thinks there's a way to avoid making critical mistakes in stressful situations, when your thinking becomes clouded — the pre-mortem. "We all are going to fail now and then," he says. "The idea is to think ahead to what those failures might be."

• Don't suffer from your depression in silence - Having feelings isn't a sign of weakness -- they mean we're human, says producer and activist Nikki Webber Allen. Even after being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, Webber Allen felt too ashamed to tell anybody, keeping her condition a secret until a family tragedy revealed how others close to her were also suffering.

• How to Turn Stress Into an Advantage - In her book, The Upside of Stress, McGonigal asks, “If you could choose how stressful tomorrow will be, would you hope for a great deal of stress?” Our natural response is likely a resounding “No.” Yet, as McGonigal shows, a subtle shift in perspective around stress can be incredibly empowering. 

• This could be why you're depressed or anxious  - In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world -- as well as some exciting emerging solutions. "If you're depressed or anxious, you're not weak and you're not crazy -- you're a human being with unmet needs," Hari says.

• How to turn off work thoughts during your free time - Feeling burned out? You may be spending too much time ruminating about your job, says psychologist Guy Winch. Learn how to stop worrying about tomorrow's tasks or stewing over office tensions with three simple techniques aimed at helping you truly relax and recharge after work.

• From stress to resilience - Facing stress in our lives is an integral component of being more resilient, says Raphael Rose. In his research for NASA, Raphael finds that accepting and even welcoming stress helps us become more resilient, leading to a more meaningful, joyful, and socially connected life. 

• How to cope with anxiety - In her talk “How to cope with anxiety”, Olivia Remes of the University of Cambridge will share her vision on anxiety and will unravel ways to treat and manage this health disorder. Arguing that treatments such as psychotherapy and medication exist and often result in poor outcome and high rates of relapses, she will emphasise the importance of harnessing strength in ourselves as we modify our problem-coping mechanisms. 

• Living With High Functioning Anxiety - As a comedian and performer, Jordan Raskopolous does not suffer from stage fright, but away from the lights it’s a different story. In this compelling and funny talk, she shares her insights into what it is like to live with high functioning anxiety and how people like her can be perceived - to be both shy and loud at the same time. A talk many will relate to and one that offers strategies for dealing with it. 

Page updated 2023-04-17