Ep. 52 Art, Hope, and Ending the Shame Around Mental Health (Vasu Tolia, MD)
- Neil Parekh
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Vasu Tolia joins us on the next episode of "Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health" to talk about the challenges she faced in finding her footing after retiring from her medical career. As she writes in her blog post, “Beyond being a doctor, teacher, mentor, mother, and friend, what was left? There were days when I felt invisible, unmoored, and unsure of my place. In hindsight, that restlessness and emptiness may have had some features of subtle depression, though I never sought formal help or had a formal diagnosis.”
Watch Ep. 52, “Art, Hope, and Ending the Shame Around Mental Health” on Thursday, July 9 at 7pm ET / 6pm CT. Dawn Neuburg is my co-host.
Watch the live show or recording on this website or watch and comment on social media: Facebook* | Twitter** | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram**
*Facebook will delete the video in about 30 days (approx. August 8). **We won't know the exact urls for Twitter and Instagram until we go live. For now these links go to the main pages on my Twitter and Instagram.
Dr. Tolia will share how she used art to pull herself out of the void. Her art also gave her a way to serve several charities that are important to her, including No Shame On U, Lift Up the Vulnerable, and the Ted Lindsay Foundation.
In her words, she creates work connected to “healing, women’s empowerment, dignity, resilience, and the natural world.” She describes her art as featuring women who are role models on canvas, “Women who are seen, strong, tender, complex, and becoming. This is my way of encouraging women who have felt subdued.” Click through to her blog post to see some of her artwork.
I actually call her Vasu Auntie. She is married to one of my Mom’s cousins. She’s from Detroit, so I didn’t grow up with her per se, but we did see each other at family gatherings and early in my career, when I worked with a doctors organization, I used to see her and my uncle at conferences and when I went to Detroit for events.
I’m particularly proud that she will be a guest on our show because very few people in my parents’ generation are comfortable talking about mental health. I think it shows a lot of courage for her to share her story.
Programming Notes
Eva Green, an experienced foster mom and advocate, joined us June 23 to discuss the challenges, realities, and opportunities to better support parents and kids in the foster care system.
Click here to watch the replay.
Background
Dawn and I launched this twice a month show (usually the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month) in order to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Thank you for being part of our community.
We are proud to be in Year 3 of the show. If you are interested in being a guest on the show or know someone who might be interested, please let us know. We’re looking for people who would be willing to share their story, advocates and people who work in the field of mental health.
We hope you can watch the show and share your own thoughts in the comments.
Resources / Relevant Links
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline
800-950-6264 Or text "HelpLine" to 6264; nami.org
Mental Health America Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org; mhanational.org Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-HOPE (4673); rainn.org
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