Early-life trauma

You have heard and perhaps read that stressful experiences encountered early in life can have profound negative repercussions that can persist throughout the life span. This TED talk presented by Dr Nadine Burke Harris describes some of the effects of childhood trauma on later disease emergence.

The three secrets of resilient people

Lucy Hone | TEDxChristchurch

Multiple factors are fundamental in making a person more or less resilient in the face of stressors or illness. All this is good to know, but when a person with lived experience, especially one who is trained in teaching others about resilience, speaks out, it can be especially instructive. Lucy Hone does just this in this video clip. It is a powerful presentation.

The superpower of resilience

Sule Kutlay Gandur | TEDxBerlin

Here is yet another interesting video about how to gain resilience from a personal perspective. The ideas might not apply to everyone, but you will probably gain a fair bit on how to help yourself. Flexibility is the key.

Are we in control of our decisions?

Dan Ariely

This is just a terrific video. Dan Ariely is well known for his work dealing with decision-making and irrationality in this regard. This video will open your eyes and contradict several ideas that you had probably taken for granted.

Thinking, fast and slow

In this video you get a taste for the notion that we have different systems that control decision-making. The video is based on the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, which was outlined in Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow. Of course, this brief video clip does not say as much as the book, so those interested in the topic might want to read the book.

Trust

We know that trust is necessary to maintain social connections. If I trust someone, I will be more likely to attend to their opinions and follow their advice. There seem to be groups or individuals who we trust (e.g. health care practitioners) and others we do not (politicians). We also trust some people in some circumstances, but not in others. Onora O’Neill provides an absolutely fascinating TEDx talk dealing with trust, mistrust and distrust.

A rose by any other name … Placebo treatments

Placebo treatments can be very powerful although they vary across individuals and can likewise be influenced by the nature of the placebo treatment. Many of the regular drugs we take have their efficacy enhanced by the placebo component attributable to a placebo effect. These placebo effects, to a considerable effect, come about owing to the expectancies held regarding the treatment, together with the brain changes that go along with the expectancies. This brief clip from Mental_floss will give a great look inside the placebo effect.