A new plan for anxious feelings: escape the custard! | Neil Hughes | TEDxLeamingtonSpa

Comedian, author, and physicist Neil Hughes lived with anxiety for years before he had a strange realisation: anxiety is just like custard! This surprising pudding-based insight led to a new approach to his mental health.

In this talk, he uses physics, humour, and poorly-drawn doodles to share this new way of thinking about mind management, including practical suggestions for improving mental habits.
He also explains the hidden links between fluid dynamics, custard, and emotions, and how these links might help to build a more peaceful life. This amusing and enlightening talk will help you identify the ‘custard traps' in your mind and start plotting your escape.

Neil Hughes is a comedian, anxiety sufferer and the author of ‘Walking on Custard & the Meaning of Life’, a unique combination of autobiographical confessions, humorous fantasy fiction, and a ‘how-to’ for living less anxiously and more happily. As well as speaking about mental health, he is currently working on developing a comedy show, writing his first novel and perfecting the art of the pasta bake.

[lolaprus]

Do you guys feel really weird at a moment (for me it last no longer than one minute) when the fear is gone? I don't know how to explain it, but sometimes I feel like I was worrying so much, that when the anxiety is gone, I'm feeling uncomfortable and I feel the need to find something to worry about...

[Stich_heree]

sitting at work watching this and crying. I wish I had someone to talk to about my anxiety. My family doesn't get it...they usually tell me to get over it. And I try! but fail miserably.

[alyssawashington]

I've been having paralyzingly debilitating anxiety for a decade now, and it's gotten so much worse since my friend was murdered a month ago. I'm in the loop from the first thing I wake up in the morning to when I reluctantly fall asleep at night. I'm constantly afraid that I'm not taking deep enough breaths or breathing enough in general. So I end up overdoing it and feeling like gonna pass out which only makes it worse. It makes me feel a bit better to hear these confirmations that I'm not alone in this terrifying experience.

[TheCSynnott]

I don't normally comment on YouTube, but this video was just too good! Thanks for making me laugh and putting a difficult topic into a situation which everyone can understand and connect with. I am also impressed that he stayed calm and cool under pressure with his slideshow errors. Bravo!

[mikaelabassick]

From now on, when I’m having a bit of a rough day with anxiety I’m going to stop calling it anxiety attacks I’m going to say “I’m stuck in custard”

[blackbirdatnight]

Neil - I'm nearly through reading your book, and after working on myself for over a decade, I can say it's one of the best summaries of lots of different coping tools that I've ever read - and it's really funny too - Douglas Adams would be proud. I'm glad I found your work and I'm going to work on many of your suggestions. Thank you!

[kingh]

I was having an anxiety attack before going to sleep, came across this video and I feel calmer now. He is right about anxiety tiring us out, especially if you have physical problems as well. Main thing is to take awareness of your thought patters, and try to change your personality every single day. You will feel better at the end of day knowung you've put in the effort

[Suitssupply]

greatest talk I have seen on TED so far...and I have seen almost a cheers from India

[debrakelly]

Neil, thank you for sharing this metaphor. The more people that openly share personal experiences of mental illnesses, the less stigma they will carry. This is the first time that I've heard someone explain what I have been feeling my entire life so perfectly. I'm beginning to understand that people are patterns. One of my patterns (or cycles) is: Anxiety - Illness -Depression. It's exhausting. The exciting thing is that I can see that pattern. Now the challenge is to break it...

[BrighamYen]

insightful! I really liked the part where he said that when you're triggered by something that makes you anxious, that's the time where you do something different like drink a glass of water, meditate, etc to get your brain to associate that trigger with something more positive!

[PaulaJoW]

Well done. It's refreshing to hear someone speak honestly and naturally. Healthcare professionals have tools, but the average person has the experience. I think we all want to relate and not feel like we're the only ones with a problem.

[kengele]

Thanks you ! Very inspiring :)
Anxiety is almost never talked about in our society, mental diseases like depression are barely talked about freely but anxiety is way too often underrated. Like you said, we are all struggling at some point with our own custard trap, putting on a "daily happy" mask making it pretty impossible to detect the pain people have to bear everyday. We need more talks like this to uncover the veil and learn to help each other reaching a more solid ground like you said.
Thanks again, I needed to hear that today ;)

[ollivanajas]

A wonderful talk on a truly life-draining and tragic problem. Thank you Neil.

[luckysuzful]

I feel as if I've been in a custard mine-field for the last year or so. Now I feel I have tools to deal with my intense anxiety and stop living in fear every day. I honestly felt my shoulders come down from my ears and my body relax somewhat just listening to your talk. I look forward to checking out your website. I can't thank you enough!

[tforkbeard]

Funny and excellent. My anxiety is mostly based in physical sensations, too.

[Eggplanet]

I'm a hypochondriac and I fear death & I hate living this way. It's very exhausting & im only 20 yo. This helped!

[AlanCostaPlus]

Great talk, Neil. Dealing with mental health seems to be a lone fight, sometimes. Happy to know that you talk about it openly and share your experience with others. That is brave.

[roughryder]

I've watched a lot of these Anxiety videos on TedTalks and this is easily one my favourites. Great work Neil.

[clairehorn]

Within the first 2 minutes you perfectly captured and articulated my 12 year old son’s life with anxiety! Thank you for such a great video.

[juliachesters]

Thank you Neil looking forward to reading your book, " Walking on Custard & The Meaning of Life". 🙂🌸