Shit Times aka Lightning propaganda machine
Knows Sinkies are suckers for such news
Appeals to their base instincts such as jealousy
Also makes those quality candidates
Think twice about joining Opposition parties
New Yorkers and other enlightened citizens elsewhere
Don't give a shit about such irrelevant stuff
Bill de Blasio won by a landslide though his daughter
Has far bigger problems than a fight about schoolboys
In an unusual and moving Christmas Eve video, the college-age daughter of New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is revealing for the first time her struggle with alcohol, drugs and depression — and is urging others in need to get help.
“I’ve had depression, clinical depression, for my entire adolescence and so that’s been something that I’ve always dealt with — or [have] not known how to deal with,” Chiara de Blasio, 19, says in the nearly five-minute video released Tuesday by her father’s transition office. “It made it easier, the more I drank or did drugs, to share some common ground with people that I wouldn’t have.”
The turning point for her, Chiara says, was when her therapist referred her to an outpatient treatment center in New York City where she could work in group therapy sessions with other patients her age. She credits her parents and that treatment program for her sobriety.
“[G]etting sober is always a positive thing. And it’s not easy; by no means is it easy,” says Chiara, who often joined her father on the campaign trail. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s so worth it. Removing substances from my life, it’s opened so many doors for me. I was actually able to participate in my dad’s campaign and that was the greatest thing ever.”
The video comes just days ahead of Bill de Blasio’s Jan. 1 inauguration. In a written statement, de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane, said the holiday season is a time when those facing depression and substance abuse struggle the most.
“As parents, our instinct has been to protect our daughter and privately help her through a deeply personal struggle,” the couple said. “But not only has Chiara committed to her own health, she is also committed to helping young people everywhere who face similar challenges.”
“I think if you look at this video it speaks to a whole set of challenges that we face in our society, that families face all the time. And she speaks to it with incredible courage and clarity and with a voice that I think really suggests an incredible wisdom for someone who’s only 19 years old,” Bill de Blasio told reporters in an unannounced press conference outside of the family’s Park Slope home, according to Capital New York.
Underlying Chiara’s video is the call to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health issues to encourage treatment.
“I wanted to speak out because people are suffering from this disease and dying from this disease every day, and we really can’t do anything as a society to help those people until we start talking about it,” Chiara said. “A lot of people still fail to acknowledge that it’s a disease. We’re not providing enough treatment. We’re not making it an open enough environment for discussion.”
The video also caught the attention of the Obama Administration and on Tuesday White House Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske commended Chiara for encouraging an open discussion of mental health and substance abuse.
“Today, Chiara demonstrated tremendous bravery in speaking out about her recovery, and I applaud her and the entire de Blasio family for addressing this important public health issue,” Kerlikowske said in a statement.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/bill-de-blasio-daughter-reveals-drug-alcohol-abuse-101511.html