“I am a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. I serve on New York City’s Crisis Intervention Panel, where police officers are trained on de-escalation techniques and crisis communication skills. I advise the Mayor’s Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System. I am also managing mental health conditions: bipolar disorder, severe anxiety and PTSD with suicidal ideations.”

Then, she asks this powerful question:

“How do you make sense of a successful working person who is also managing mental health conditions?”

With this question, Christina quickly engages her audiences and goes on to share her personal story: growing up in an abusive environment that exacerbated her conditions, combating bullying and discrimination, and ultimately finding the strength to discover that ongoing recovery was possible … with the right combination of medication, therapy, support and healthy life choices.

A member of The Stability Network, Christina uses exercises from a Living Proof Advocacy workshop to help her focus her story on her goal.

“People need to know the pain and hurt—but they need to know what’s possible moving forward,” says Christina. “I don’t want anybody to suffer the way I did. So I ask others to join me in imagining a day when people can share their diagnoses without fear of retaliation or discrimination. Because mental health conditions are just that … health conditions.” Learn more.