Politics
Mayor de Blasio’s Daughter, Chiara, Reveals How She Overcame Addiction and Depression, Calling it a ‘Miracle’
This Sept. 7, 2013 photo shows Democratic mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio, right, and his daughter Chiara, during a campaign rally in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Chiara de Blasio has opened up about her history battling substance abuse and depression in a four minute video released by de Blasio’s Transition team. Chiara admitted she drank alcohol and smoked marijuana to deal with clinical depression and anxiety but is now sober after getting treatment in a local outpatient clinic .(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
OXON HILL, Md. (NY Daily News) — As her father ran for mayor last spring, Chiara de Blasio was “overpowered” by depression and addiction, and “life didn’t seem worthwhile,” she said Tuesday.
“One year later, here I am, and that is nothing other than a miracle,” she said.
The comments – at a ceremony here for National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day – marked the first time Mayor de Blasio’s daughter has spoken publicly about her struggles since revealing in a video on Christmas Eve that she underwent treatment for depression and abusing alcohol and pot.
She flew in from college in California to accept an award from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for speaking out about her experiences.
The 19-year-old received a standing ovation from the more than 1,000 mental health professionals in the audience as she walked on stage.
