Eleanor Longden was just like any other university student that is consumed by class, work and relationships. That is until she began hearing a voice inside her head.
At first it was neutral and unobtrusive, a quiet voice that narrated her actions. But increasingly it grew louder and more aggressive, dictating her behavior and disrupting her natural train of thought.
Longden was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized, before being essentially discarded by a mental health system that was unsure of how to help her.
So instead Longden began to help herself, listening to and interpreting the voices she once battled in order to learn and grow from them.
Eleanor Longden is a doctoral psychology researcher and she’s chronicled her journey towards understanding herself and the voices in her new TED e-book, “Learning from the Voices in My Head.” She joins The Takeaway today to discuss her experience in treatments and the ways she has worked toward recovery.
Watch Longden’s TED Talk below.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!