In this courageous talk, Sam Cohen - a high school sophomore - implores us to treat mental illnesses as the illnesses that they are, and to move forward as a culture in an accepting and nurturing way in treating these illnesses. In her talk, she explores what it means to be mentally ill in our society.

Sam Cohen is a high school sophomore finishing up her first year here at SRDS. She is an avid photographer, having graduated a four-week photography program at the New York Film Academy and hopes to one day use her photographs to make a difference in the world. More than anything else, she loves dogs. Here today at TEDxYouth@SRDS, Sam will discuss the stigma surrounding mental illness, and what each of us can do to change things for the better.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx