Why we all need to practice emotional first aid

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This week on TED.com February 21, 2015

Talk of the week Guy Winch: Why we all need to practice emotional first aid 17:24 minutes · Filmed Nov 2014 · Posted Feb 2015 · TEDxLinnaeusUniversity We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don't we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don't have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies. Watch now »

Playlist of the week Words to live by (11 talks) These speakers offer beautiful, sweeping, simple life advice — the kind to tuck in the back of your mind and let inspire you onward. Watch » Total run time 2:40:58

More from TED.com Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris shares data that shows how the stress of abuse and neglect has effects that unfold across a lifetime. (For instance: Kids who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are, when they grow up, at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer.) A compelling plea for pediatric medicine to confront trauma, head-on. Watch » In some parts of the world, half of the women lack basic reading and writing skills. The reasons vary, but in many cases, literacy isn't valued by fathers, husbands, even mothers. Photographer and TED Fellow Laura Boushnak traveled to countries including Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia to meet the brave women -- schoolgirls, political activists, 60-year-old moms -- who are fighting the statistics and learning to read. Watch » "We will start inhabiting outer space," says Angelo Vermeulen, crew commander of a NASA-funded Mars simulation. "It might take 50 years or it might take 500 years, but it’s going to happen." In this charming talk, the TED Senior Fellow describes is work to make sure humans are prepared for life in deep space ... and shares a fascinating art project in which he challenged people worldwide to design homes we might live in there. Watch » Fifty-three years ago, James A. White Sr. joined the US Air Force. But as an African American man, he had to go to shocking lengths to find a place for his young family to live nearby. He tells this powerful story about the lived experience of racism -- and how it echoes today in the way he's had to teach his grandchildren to interact with police. Watch »

read more about ideas on ted.com Gallery: The fleeting beauty of ice caves » Astonishing landscapes carved into a glacier How data-driven mapping sees Ferguson » Surprising views of the divided city of St. Louis Gallery: When reading is an act of daring » Meet women who learn to read against all odds

Quote of the Week “ Loneliness won't just make you miserable, it will kill you. I'm not kidding. Chronic loneliness increases your likelihood of an early death by 14 percent. In fact, scientists have concluded that chronic loneliness poses as significant a risk for your longterm health and longevity as cigarette smoking. Now cigarette packs come with warnings saying, "This could kill you." But loneliness doesn't. And that's why it's so important that we prioritize our psychological health, that we practice emotional hygiene. Because you can't treat a psychological wound if you don't even know you're injured." Guy Winch Why we all need to practice emotional first aid

Join the Conversation Truth and dare? TED curator Chris Anderson and Kelly Stoetzel tell the story behind TED2015's theme » What our intern learned from watching every TED-Ed Lesson »

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