Connecting to Madness by Jim van Os at TEDxMaastricht (Full Transcript)

Jim van Os

Full text of Dutch professor of psychiatry and epidemiology, Jim van Os on Connecting to Madness at TEDxMaastricht conference.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here: Connecting to Madness by Jim van Os at TEDxMaastricht

TRANSCRIPT:

Actually, the main selection criterion for the TED Talk is that you have to be slightly crazy. And I distinctly remember that I wanted to say something important about it, but I’m getting a little confused because, you sir, I saw you touching your glasses just now. Whilst at the same time, the lady over there was distinctly scratching her nose. I saw you… And there is something going on between the two of you, some sort of communication. And I distinctly get an impression that you want to ruin my TED Talk. Is that true?

So, maybe some of you start to worry a little bit about my mental health. And maybe after my TED Talk you want to take me to the local hospital for a psychiatric assessment.

Now, let’s imagine, I tell the psychiatrist that apart from these delusional thoughts I’m also hearing voices. And that I haven’t been functioning very well for the last six months. By telling this, I will meet, likely, criteria for one of these, so called “schizo” diagnoses. Let’s say I meet criteria for schizophrenia, which is the prototypical diagnostic formulation for madness.