NOTE FROM TED: Therapies discussed in this talk remain an ongoing field of study. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

How do we overcome our fears? Contrary to popular belief, Lily Martin says you can’t. At a young age, she had to face one of her worst fears: needles. Rather than overcoming her fear, Lily learned how to cope with it by hacking her amygdala. In this TED Talk, she explains how you can, too. Lily Martin is a sophomore at Saint Andrew’s School. She is a driven student who especially enjoys learning about chemistry, artificial intelligence, and the stock market. Lily gave this talk in hopes of helping others gain a better understanding of the scientific aspects of why we have fears and what we can do to cope with them. 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