Chiara de Blasio opens up about her "miserable" struggles with mental illness and addiction

JENNIFER FERMINO

Chiara de Blasio released a deeply personal essay on her struggles with mental illness and addiction Tuesday, saying she was born an addict and spent years of her life "miserable" - despite the best efforts of her close-knit and loving family.

Mayor De Blasio's only daughter, who is being honored today by the Department of Health and Human Services for speaking out on her issues, said she works every day on her recovery.

"My current daily routine begins with waking up anxious, my chest pinched tight as I try to shake the sleep off of my heavy eyelids ... It is remarkable how I’ve learned to change my natural state, as every morning I awaken a nervous and depressed wreck, before slowly putting myself back together again," she wrote on the website XOJane.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/chiara-de-blasio-opens-miserable-adolescence-blog-entry-1.1781465#ixzz30yugersW