In this talk, Dr. Katia Moritz tells us how extreme experiences can teach us so much about ourselves and how to deal with everyday challenges. She starts her presentation with a shocking story about a mother's love and her search for answers after being accused of having murdered her four children. She introduces us to Alex, his family, and herself, a board-certified psychologist. What is it to be Undiagnosed? Through their stories, Dr. Moritz explores the universal human need for connection and how those with undiagnosed conditions often feel isolated, disconnected, and misunderstood, although their suffering may hold the keys to the future of medicine. Today, information is being lost by the medical system, which doesn't have a procedure to collect and store the information from when an Undiagnosed patient dies. Opportunities for new discoveries, finding new illnesses, and new possibilities for treatments are being missed.
In her journey as an undiagnosed patient, Dr. Moritz learned that she could only navigate the uncertainties and challenges of living without answers through advocacy and community building, which led her to a bigger purpose. To live a better life, we´ll have to change our search for the WHY, replace that with a COMMA AND, learn to embrace uncertainty, build resilience, and, most importantly, find hope.
E. Katia Moritz, Ph.D., ABPP, is a licensed psychologist in Florida, Utah, New York, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is also Board-Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology, the Chief Clinical Officer, and the founder of Neurobehavioral Institute (NBI) and NBI Ranch in South Florida. Dr. Moritz specializes in the treatment of severe anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, autism, and related disorders. She is the creator and co-director of the award-winning documentary Undiagnosed: The Future of Medicine. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx