Director of the National Institute for Mental Health Thomas Insel gives a TED Talk on the new domain criteria research direction, and how an important first step is to reframe mental illness as brain disorders.

By doing so, diverse fields like psychology, cognitive science, molecular neuroscience, genetics, psychiatry, and more can work together toward a new understanding of the mind.

A Zen Buddhist monk guides us through the brief mindfulness meditation “Pebble for your Pocket.”

Based on the teachings of the famous Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, poet, and human rights activist Thich Nhat Hanh, a follower who lives with him in the Plum Village monastery demonstrates the gentle, relaxing, and illuminating practice. An HD version of the video is available for purchase on a full length DVD, “Mindful Living Every Day.”

Mindfulness is a skill which has been extensively studied, validated, and adapted to Western psychology, with elements integrated into Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. Although you can find great resources (including free audio downloads and online videos) at sites such as the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, this video features the roots of the practice in Buddhism.

To keep up with the latest applications of mindfulness in psychology, follow PsychCentral’s excellent blogs Mindfulness & Psychotherapy, and 360 Degrees of Mindful Living.

New research from the University of Rochester reveals that not all stress is bad for us, and sometimes it can even be helpful, in the video “Why Some Stress Can Actually Be Good for You.”

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Jamieson explains that when we think all stress is negative we interpret any sign of it (like butterflies in the stomach before public speaking) as being harmful.

“But those feelings just mean that our body is preparing to address a demanding situation,” says Jamieson. “The body is marshaling resources, pumping more blood to our major muscle groups and delivering more oxygen to our brains.” Stress is helping us prepare for battle, whether fighting off a threat or facing an intimidating social situation.

These feelings can become useful when we re-frame the experience and re-interpret the feelings. In an experiment, when participants with Social Anxiety Disorder viewed their symptoms as a coping tool, they were able to reduce reactions in the body.

For details about the study and its findings, watch the video and read the (paywalled) article “Changing the Conceptualization of Stress in Social Anxiety Disorder: Affective and Physiological Consequences,” Jamieson et al, Clinical Psychological Science, April 8, 2013.

Yoga teacher and authentic living expert Amy Patee demonstrates a simple yoga posture (asana) and two breathing exercises that help reduce anxiety.

Patee used yoga in her personal journey recovering from anorexia and depression, and now shares her knowledge through offline yoga instruction and free online resources like a YouTube channel and ebooks. In this short video, she shows viewers how to do an easy yoga posture, explaining its benefits and what to do if you experience physical discomfort. She also discusses belly breathing and straw breathing, two techniques that help calm tension and anxiety.

Yoga has proven to be beneficial for a number of mental illnesses, but the esteemed Yoga Journal warns in an excellent article that practicing yoga can lead to unexpected pitfalls for certain conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder, and yoga should be used to complement professional mental health help rather than replace it in case issues arise during yoga practice.  However, skills like the ones in this video can easily be integrated into your personal mental health toolkit.

Big Daddy Taz performs standup comedy about mental health in the “Bipolar Buddha Set,” onstage at CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival’s “The Best Medicine” series in 2006.

He’s introduced by Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys, who cracks a bipolar joke of his own.

Funny and insightful, it reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously and look for the humour in life.

Popular behavioural economist Dan Ariely explains how people can be dishonest and honest at the same time. Rationalization and small actions lead people to accept themselves as good people and feed their ego gratification, even while they may commit small acts of dishonesty.

Ariely explains through the results of science experiments and social psychology, big cheaters and crimes are far less common than we might think – it’s the cumulative effect of many small acts of cheating that really cost our society.

This is a fascinating and fun-to-watch animated excerpt from a lecture, one of the entertaining and informative RSA Animate series.

Learn more in his recent book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty,” and check out this interview with Ariely on the same subject.

A cute and educational animated short film about “Psychology and Advertising.” Using images and style from the 1950s, the cartoon character “Little Timmy” learns lessons about direct and indirect messages, the psychology of colours, and more.

Sweet, funny, clever, and you’ll likely have fun while learning a few things about how marketers persuade you to buy products.

Spoken word artist Shane Koyczan gives a live performance of “To This Day” in a TED Talk. Accompanied by a violinist, as well as the crowdsourced animation from the viral video (with 7.5 million views and counting), Shane also gives a longer introduction with more talk about bullying and growing up.

Rousing, touching, funny and sad, this is a beautiful performance that received a standing ovation. Transcript available in nine languages.

Click here to see more about Koyczan and the original To This Day Project about recovery from bullying.

A woman talks about her experiences with being suicidal in “You want to die,” with the important message that it gets better, and links to get help. She describes several situations with suicidal thoughts, being affected by a parent’s suicide plans, and talks about how she made it through and is now thriving. A powerful video with an authentic voice.

Melissa C. Water also has a YouTube channel with with over 10,000 subscribers featuring videos about mental health topics including Tourette’s syndrome, OCD, self-harm, and eating disorders.

Helpful, moving, and inspiring.

Solome Tibebu, creator of the web site Anxiety In Teens, gives a TEDx Talk about her experiences with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and panic attacks. As a youth (not that she’s old now, in her early twenties) she felt alone and had difficulty reaching out for help, but once she accessed professional care was able to work on managing the disorder and living a healthier life.

She created Anxiety for Teens because when she was a teen looking for information and community, she was unable to find anything appropriate online that provided both information and community. Now a popular and valuable resource, the site provides information on anxiety, inspiration and tips on how to cope, and peer support in a forum. It’s a fantastic site and a great addition to mental health sites for youth.