Posts by Paolina Milana
(Ep 22) Mental Health in The Family: Author Marin Sardy Shares Insights
World Mental Health Day is on October 10. Every year, this day raises awareness of mental health issues, and this year, in particular, the theme of “Make mental health for all a global priority” couldn’t be more on point. Mental health in the family and mental health as a society is suffering more than ever.…
Read More(Ep 21) Self-love and Being Unapologetically Ourselves: Filmmaker Uga Carlini Inspires with “Angeliena”
On Friday, October 8, 2021, multi-award winning filmmaker Uga Carlini‘s fiction feature “Angeliena” premieres on Netflix. It’s a story about self-love and being ‘good enough’ and having dreams and caring for one another. It has characters you’ll hiss at and the ones you’ll cheer on. THIS is the kind of story – the madness to…
Read More(Ep 20) Mental Health and Writing Therapy: From the Inside Out
On Thursday, September 1, 2021, the book, “Blueprint for a Book: Build Your Novel from the Inside Out” by Jennie Nash publishes. What a treat it was to chat with Jennie who has been my book coach and mentor for years and who has been instrumental in my own books getting written and published. Jennie…
Read MoreWhen Mother’s Day Is Hard
I’ve babysat in my youth and am the aunt who bakes. I’ve been called “piccola mamma” (little mother) by my papà when I took on the role my mentally ill mamma couldn’t. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for kids in foster care and as a team leader in the workplace, my mothering and…
Read More(Ep 19) Caregiving for Mental Illness: SiriusXM Doctor Radio Show
On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, I joined in as a guest on one of SiriusXM’s radio programs to talk about caregiving for mental illness. DOCTOR RADIO included this segment on caregiving for mental illness, and its host Dr. Michael Aronoff interviewed me. Dr. Aronoff MD is Attending Psychiatrist on the Senior Staff of Lenox Hill…
Read MoreWorld Mental Health Day Time Out
In observance of World Mental Health Day today, you’re invited to take a time out and, yes, take a mental health day from all the crazy of our present day. All throughout history, humans have endured a lot of scary times. Health crises, wars, civil unrest, natural disasters, and more have played out on the…
Read MoreChallenges of Aging and Its Lessons
Dismissed, discarded, devalued, discouraged: The injustices, inequities, and challenges of aging are very real. Body image and identity – especially in women over the age of 50 – are negatively skewed with every birthday we celebrate (or keep secret). Add to that the isolation and loneliness that this pandemic has delivered with its social distancing…
Read More3 Ways to Deal with Failure
We all fail. It’s a fact of life. If we’re not failing at something, we’re not really living. Failure demands that we take risks, stretching ourselves beyond those “sure things.” It also requires us to learn how to deal with failure. Learning how to deal with failure doesn’t come easily to most of us. When…
Read More(Ep 18) Mental Health Awareness Month: The Madness That’s Making Us Crazy
Warning: This is a bit of a RANT. It’s my own mental health awareness month melting pot of everything from feeling enraged, sadness, disgust, hysterical: So many feelings swirling within me – Madness within due to the madness of our circumstances. We’ve always been a screwed up society. Humans are flawed. Our mental health is…
Read MoreYour Mental Health Matters: Stop Pretending You’re Fine
As caregiver to my mom and sister, both of whom were diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, I got good at pretending I was fine. From the outside looking in, I played the role of someone who had it all together. On the rare occasion when somebody would ask me, “Are you okay?” or “What’s the matter?”…
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