Weve all heard of physical and mental health, but another important aspect to our overall health and wellbeing is social health. In fact, recently in the United States, the surgeon general revealed that social isolation and loneliness just topped obesity to claim second place as one of the top three killers in America.

Humans are highly social creatures, but that doesnt always mean that our social interactions are healthy. In this informative talk, Dr. Chelsea Shields, explains how our emotions can easily be high-jacked and then offers guidance on how to evaluate and level up our social health.

This presentation was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with only a limited live audience of cast and crew members. While applause has been added to the beginning and end of the video, all other aspects have intentionally remained as filmed to honor the struggle and loss experienced globally during 2020.

Wardrobe furnished by Tommaso Cardullo. Dr. Chelsea Shields is a bio-social anthropologist, placebo studies expert, and runs a local consulting business.

In her academic work, Dr. Shields focuses on the evolution and elicitation of the placebo effect outside medical contexts. She coined the concept of social susceptibility to talk about how and why our human bodies have evolved to react, adjust, and adapt to specific social rituals, relationships and communities. Her work also investigates the evolutionary mismatch of modern human hyper-sociality and the health implications of a global, digital, 24/7 social network.

In her professional work, Shields runs a research and strategy business that specializes in qualitative, quantitative, and ethnographic research as well as creative ideation, branding, and user-experience design.

Dr. Shields is also a TED Fellow, 3x TED speaker, and teaches speaker training that is focused on the 90% of communication we never talk about: the non-verbals! This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

NOTE FROM TED: While some viewers may find this talk helpful as a complementary approach, please do not look to this as a substitute for medical advice. This talk only represents the speakers personal views and understanding of touch and health which remains an ongoing field of research. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf

Judith Ashton talks about the negative effects of touch deprivation on peoples wellbeing especially during times of isolation. Positive touch is vital for healthy function and beneficial for the immune system. At a time when everyone is missing aspects of touch that we took for granted, we can can find ways to cope at such times. Judith Ashton has been working with massage and touch for the last 40 years. Her main interest being the emotional effects of touch as a powerful healing tool. She has a wealth of experience in this area and has trained many nurses and carers both here and abroad .She has worked with many cancer support services and people at the end of life.She is also a psychotherapist,funeral celebrant and teacher of meditation. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

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In a time when beauty is defined by supermodels, success is defined by wealth, and fame is deified by how many followers you have on social media, Lizzie Velasquez asks the question how do you define yourself? Once labeled, «The Worlds Ugliest Woman,» Lizzie decided to turn things around and create her own definitions of what she defines as beauty and happiness.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Dr Cole who is a Postdoctoral Scholar, Autism and Developmental Disorders Researcher at Stanford University presents new treatments that have the potential to treat psychiatric conditions quickly and without side-effects. Most treatments for psychiatric conditions affect the whole brain (e.g. medications). These treatments don’t work very well and have side-effects. The new treatments Dr Cole presents, only treat the areas of the brain that are functioning differently in someone with a psychiatric condition. These new treatments have the potential to be better and act quicker than existing treatments.

Dr. Eleanor Cole is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University and Director of the rTMS lab at the Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute in California, USA. Dr. Cole completed her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging at The University of York in the UK. Her research is focused on developing and optimizing novel transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatments for psychiatric conditions including depression. Alongside her research, Dr. Cole has run an award-winning campaign supporting the mental health of students, run peer support groups for adults with ASD and currently volunteers as a counsellor for a crisis helpline. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

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Josh Kaufman is the author of the #1 international bestseller, The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business, as well as the upcoming book The First 20 Hours: Mastering the Toughest Part of Learning Anything. Josh specializes in teaching people from all walks of life how to master practical knowledge and skills. In his talk, he shares how having his first child inspired him to approach learning in a whole new way.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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Chris Lonsdale is Managing Director of Chris Lonsdale

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Nick talks about the importance of parenting in early childhood and its significance in overcoming hopelessness. Willpower is a driving force for making our big dreams come true, but if we dont get a miracle in life, we can always be a miracle to someone else.

Nick Vujicic was born in Australia to a Serbian immigrant family, with a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. Most of his childhood he struggled with depression, and after a suicide attempt he decided to concentrate on what he did have instead on what he didnt. He realized that his life story inspires many people.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Cole Bennett came up with the idea for Lyrical Lemonade while still in High School. Through his talk, he walks through what it took to grow Lyrical Lemonade into what it is today along with how he navigated the music world. His talk emphasizes why having a passion for what you do can change the game and bring you success no matter the obstacle. As CEO of Lyrical Lemonade, Cole Bennett has produced some of hip hop’s most viewed videos. Entrepreneur Cole Bennett is not afraid to confront risks to move ideas and creative expression forward. Growing up in Plano IL, Cole enjoyed bringing ideas to life. Whether, creating comics or making skits with friends, he always loved to create. At 17 years old and a senior in high school, Cole produced his first music video. Discovering this deep passion, he founded Lyrical Lemonade while still in high school. After graduation, Cole moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University and further chase his dreams for Lyrical Lemonade. Cole’s dreams quickly became an undeniable reality that led him to dropout of college. His imprint, Lyrical Lemonade, is now a multi-faceted company that specializes in visual content, live events, high demand merchandise and more. At the age of 22, Cole has now directed over 300 music videos for some of the most influential artists that have amassed over 2.8 billion views. Cole has been featured in major publications such as Rolling Stone, Forbes, XXL, and Billboard Magazine. As the Summer approaches, Bennett is exploring another adventure — preparing to enter the beverage business with his very own lemonade. The lemonade launch is just in time for the second annual Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash, a hip hop music festival expected to bring together 20,000 people in Douglas Park, Chicago. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Whacky colour changes, magic disappearing water, blowing up dustbins, clouds of steam, thunder air explosions. Are you ready to fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ‘explosive’ journey?

In his talk, Andrew aims to promote chemistry as the science of remarkable changes, which are often overlooked yet so important in our everyday life. And he does it brilliantly by performing an incredible series of 25 experiments in 15 minutes, totally amazing the audience (who rewards him with a long and deserved standing ovation)!

Andrew Z. Szydło is an internationally acclaimed chemistry teacher. But he’s definitely not the typical chemistry teacher you would expect…

He holds a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from UCL, and is an expert on the history of alchemy (his 1994 book ‘Water Which Does Not Wet Hands’ is considered to be the standard reference work on the Polish alchemist Michael Sendivogius.)

But his polymath spirit extends further: he’s a violin, bugle and accordion player, as well as a professional photographer. Throughout the years Andrew has wowed audiences all around the world with his pyrotechnical approach to teaching and demonstrating chemical sciences on stage and has appeared many times on TV. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Currently, there are more than 64 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, above 44 recoveries and almost 1.5 million deaths. The pandemic is surging in the U.S. and Europe. However, sub-Saharan African countries are responding better to COVID-19. This has confounded scientists and thought leaders. The answer lies in Africa’s experience responding to different infectious disease outbreaks simultaneously and investments in epidemic preparedness. In this talk, Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofor shares his experience leading EpiAFRIC’s evaluation of African Union’s response to the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Lessons learnt from that response led to the establishment of the African Centres for Disease Control to coordinate efforts across the continent and also increased investments in epidemic preparedness by member states. He draws examples from the work of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to show that epidemic preparedness is more cost-effective and makes more business sense than waiting to just respond to an infectious disease outbreak. He shares lessons from Nigeria’s COVID-19 response and how they should guide future epidemic preparedness. He urges western nations to learn from Africa’s and Asia’s COVID-19 response. He reminds all that a future pandemic is inevitable. Therefore, the time to prepare is now. A graduate of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is a Senior New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity at George Washington University.
Hes the CEO of EpiAFRIC and Director, Policy and Advocacy at Nigeria Health Watch. Since 2018, the #PreventEpidemicsNaija project has been advocating for increased budgetary allocation for epidemic preparedness in Nigeria.
As a thought Leader in Global Health, Ifeanyi has written over 68 opinion pieces with a global reach — his piece titled, “Why an Ebola Vaccine is Not Enough” has appeared in 18 publications in 16 countries; and published in 8 languages; appeared in over 4.3 million print copies; been seen over 36,000 times on Project Syndicate social media channels. In March 2020, Ifeanyi spoke at “Exploring Media Ecosystems Conference” at the Samberg Center of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was recognized by Onalytica to be among Coronavirus Top 100 healthcare professionals globally. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx