Addiction

Hi, my name is Christina Marie Leonard! I'm here because I have been living with interstitial cystitis, depression and anxiety since I was twelve years old, which led to battling with addiction in my teens and twenties. As I've gotten older, I have found solutions through support groups, outside help and medication that works for me, and I especially have found that connecting with others in these communities through art, humor and storytelling is so important to me. I am an actress, comedian and filmmaker and I am currently in pre-production for a film about the connection between addiction, depression and chronic illness that I'm telling through a horror-comedy lens. We are currently fundraising on Seed&Spark and I'm looking to connect with other individuals that will be able to relate to this story. I initially had trouble talking about these subjects and my personal experiences with them, especially with IC, but over the past two years I finally started to open up about the condition through a one-person show I wrote called "Bathroom Diaries" about my personal story with IC, addiction and mental health. My mission for the short film as well as the one person show, is to decrease the stigma for addiction, chronic illnesses and mental health conditions and to bring people together to hopefully feel less alone. I have attached the project page if you'd like to check it out and possibly connect! seedandspark.com/fund/sick-and-tired

#MightyTogether #InterstitialCystitis #Depression #Anxiety #ChronicIllness #Addiction

This one speaks for itself. 🌻
#Addiction #AnorexiaNervosa #Agoraphobia #Anxiety #ADHD #BingeEatingDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BipolarDisorder #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #CeliacDisease #Depression #Epilepsy #KidneyDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Cancers #Prematurity #Grief #Lupus #Migraine #Schizophrenia #SleepApnea #SocialAnxietyDisorder #SensoryProcessingDisorder #ChildLoss #AutonomicDysfunction #PTSD #POTS #Trauma #Hemophilia #SjogrensSyndrome #RestlessLegsSyndrome #BackPain #Endometriosis #InterstitialCystitis #HearingLoss #Deafness #SuicidalThoughts #Selfcare #Selfharm #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #JointHypermobilitySyndrome #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS

This one's for my People Pleasers, but all of us could learn something from this, I think!
#Addiction #AnorexiaNervosa #Anxiety #Agoraphobia #Autism #ADHD #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BipolarDisorder #CeliacDisease #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #Depression #Epilepsy #EatingDisorders #KidneyDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Cancers #Grief #Lupus #HemiplegicMigraine #SensoryProcessingDisorder #SocialAnxietyDisorder #ChildLoss #AutonomicDysfunction #PTSD #Trauma #Suicide #SjogrensSyndrome #RestlessLegsSyndrome #BackPain #Endometriosis #InterstitialCystitis #HearingLoss #Deafness #Schizophrenia #Selfharm #Selfcare #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #JointHypermobilitySyndrome

“A Diagnosis Isn’t an Explanation” is a personal exploration of mental illness, identity, addiction, perception and the struggle to understand oneself.

Drawing on lived experience, the book examines the difference between receiving a diagnosis and truly understanding the person living with it. It explores the internal battles that can remain invisible to others, the misunderstandings that arise when behaviour is viewed without context, and the ongoing search for an explanation that goes beyond a medical label.

This is not a clinical textbook or a polished account written with the benefit of perfect hindsight. It is an honest, sometimes uncomfortable expression of one person’s experiences and attempts to make sense of them.

The writing is presented largely as it emerged, preserving its imperfections and individuality rather than reshaping it to meet conventional expectations.

Ultimately, this book is about being human behind the diagnosis, questioning what we think we understand about ourselves and others, and recognising that naming a condition is not the same as understanding a person.

My Memoir of Life

#MightyTogether #Depression #Anxiety #ADHD #MentalHealth

This one hit me in the gut! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
#Addiction #Anorexia #Agoraphobia #Anxiety #AutismSpectrumDisorder #ADHD #BingeEatingDisorder #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #BorderlinePersonalityDisorderBPD #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #CeliacDisease #Depression #Epilepsy #KidneyDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Cancers #Grief #Lupus #Migraine #SensoryProcessingDisorder #ChildLoss #AutonomicDysfunction #POTS #PTSD #Trauma #Suicide #Trauma #Hemophilia #SjogrensSyndrome #RestlessLegsSyndrome #BackPain #Endometriosis #InterstitialCystitis #HearingLoss #Deafness #Selfcare #Selfharm #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #JointHypermobilitySyndrome #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #SensoryProcessingDisorder

Tell us in th n comments below three things you're thankful for!
#Addiction #AnorexiaNervosa #Anxiety #Agoraphobia #AutismSpectrumDisorder #ADHD #BingeEatingDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #CeliacDisease #Depression #Epilepsy #EatingDisorders #KidneyDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Cancers #Grief #Lupus #HemiplegicMigraine #SocialAnxiety #SleepApnea #SensoryProcessingDisorder #ChildLoss #AutonomicDysfunction #PTSD #POTS #Suicide #Trauma #Hemophilia #SjogrensSyndrome #RestlessLegsSyndrome #BackPain #Endometriosis #InterstitialCystitis #HearingLoss #Deafness #SuicidalThoughts #Selfcare #Selfharm #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #JointHypermobilitySyndrome #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #SensoryProcessingDisorder