Ideas change everything

A tale of mental illness -- from the inside

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Elyn Saks |

TEDGlobal 2012

• June 2012

"Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" It's a question Elyn Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn't a joke. A legal scholar, in 2007 Saks came forward with her own story of schizophrenia, controlled by drugs and therapy but ever-present. In this powerful talk, she asks us to see people with mental illness clearly, honestly and compassionately.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

"Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" It's a question Elyn Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn't a joke. A legal scholar, in 2007 Saks came forward with her own story of schizophrenia, controlled by drugs and therapy but ever-present. In this powerful talk, she asks us to see people with mental illness clearly, honestly and compassionately.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

About the speaker

Mental health law scholar

See speaker profile

Elyn Saks asks bold questions about how society treats people with mental illness.

Learn more

The Center Cannot Hold

Elyn Saks | Hyperion (2008)

Elyn Saks - *The Center Cannot Hold*

The Saks Institute

Visit the organization's website to find out more about Elyn Saks and her team's research on the intersection of mental health law, policy and ethics.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.