LGBT Youth Switch It Up Project Preview

How does hatred feel, sound, and look? Qualitative, creative experiences of homophobia and transphobia are expressed on cards in this video made for LGBTTQI2S youth in Ontario, Canada. A mental health and social problem that causes more mental health issues for its victims. Videos like this one help to spread awareness and acceptance of all people as equally human. A preview of the Switch It Up project for LGBT Youth Line. [Apologies: I didn't realize this video is geoblocked outside Canada due to music copyright. Sorry!]

Remember

A moving story about Alzheimer’s, beautifully illustrated with charcoal drawings, set to a jazz song written and performed by a woman whose mother succumbed to the disease. An entry advocating brain research in the 2012 Neuro Film Festival sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology, this video is an early favourite (watch all the entries in this playlist). But there’s still time to enter – submit until January 31.

The Brush, the Pen, and Recovery

A documentary about a group of artists who have schizophrenia working out of Cottage Studio, an art studio program for mental health consumers in Hamilton, ON. People discuss their past and present experiences with schizophrenia, and how creating art improves their lives. Art professionals from a nearby commercial gallery join the studio to mount an exhibit. Finally, the artists reflect on what recovery, and art, means to them. “Painting makes me feel like I don’t have to hide,” says one. Click here or on the image above to view the video.

Whats Goin On…

Mixed with the evocative music of Sia’s “Breathe Me,” an eighth grader creatively shares his story of bullying, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts, ending on a touching and hopeful note. Jonah Mowry’s video was recorded last August when he was worried about returning to school, but recently went viral and celebrities from Lady Gaga to Perez Hilton to Jane Lynch have been expressing love and support for the 14 year old gay youth.

Possible Worlds: Hearing Voices or Uninvited Guests

Art video featuring performance poetry and imagery about modern living and madness. Winner of the 2011 reTHiNK Possible Worlds award, with the theme “We are all human beings navigating the maze of life.” reTHiNK Possible Worlds was a series of multimedia performance art shows developed to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental ‘illness’ in Auckland, New Zealand. It incorporated a video contest and the best submissions, including the above, were featured at the shows at Galatos during Mental Health Awareness Week.

Iain McGilchrist: The Divided Brain

Psychiatrist McGilchist debunks myths of split brain functioning and explains how the left and right hemispheres of the brain always work together, yet still have different specializations. He posits that their strengths (and physical size) have evolved with the demands of modern life, and that although the left hemisphere may be useful for more concrete tasks, the right brain is equally valuable, ending with this quote from Albert Einstein: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant but has forgotten the gift.” A cool illustrated RSA Animate video, created with an audio clip from a longer lecture on western civilization and the divided brain available here. Hat tip: an excellent blog post by Lapidarium notes.

A Brief Introduction to the Default Mode Network

Good animation, narration, and music (by Ehma, available for free) in this short but comprehensive description of the brain’s default mode network. Made for the 2010 Society for Neuroscience People’s Choice Awards Contest, it’s an excellent entry and an enriching way to spend two minutes.

RSA Animate – Language as a Window into Human Nature

How the mind turns language into meaning. The voice of linguist Steven Pinker in a wonderfully animated clip from a longer lecture, available here.

A is for Autism

Award-winning short film combining animated drawings by children with autism, with narration describing what it’s like to experience an autism spectrum disorder from the perspective of people who do. Compelling and fascinating views presented in a creative and fresh way. Intimate and engaging. Highly recommended.

Child Psychologist

A cute, short, comedy skit portraying a five year old psychotherapist in a session with her frustrated middle-aged client.