Avery Nix is in long-term recovery from substance use disorder. Being in recovery means he is a proud father to his 7-year-old daughter and son who is almost 2 years old, and a loving fiancé who shares a similar vision for their life together. He serves his local community in several different capacities, as well as the state of Georgia at large, but his heart and soul rests in advocating for people in self-discovery and seeking long-term recovery.
He grew up in Clermont, Georgia, just north of Gainesville. In high school, Avery played football, wrestled, and ran track. He acquired many followers during these years and left an impact on his community. This began laying the groundwork for his journey to personal recovery and his career in the field of addiction recovery. Today, Avery finds himself advocating for high school athletes that struggle with substance use disorder. He has spoken on many different platforms, both nationally and locally, including WebMD, local newspapers and podcasts. Avery also arranges an annual flag football event to raise awareness for all pathways to recovery.
Avery has 5 years in continuous recovery. In that time, he has helped pilot and launch peer recovery coaching, with the GA Council on Substance Abuse, in the emergency departments of Northeast GA Medical Center. As of late September 2018, he took a position working with adolescents as the Director of Marketing and Clinical Outreach for Eagle Overlook Recovery for Adolescents.
He continues to spread as much hope and awareness as possible for those in recovery or seeking recovery from substance use disorder and mental illness. His priority is to support those who need it most.
Bobi Conn was born in Morehead, Kentucky, and raised in a nearby holler, where she developed a deep connection with the land and her Appalachian roots. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Berea College, the first school in the American South to integrate racially and to teach men and women in the same classrooms. Bobi’s debut memoir, In the Shadow of the Valley, explores the beauty and struggle of life in Appalachia, with a deep love for this unique landscape and its complex people. In addition to writing, Bobi loves being in the woods, attempting to grow a garden, and spending time with her incredible children.
Dan Peres is the author of As Needed for Pain. He was editor in chief of Details for fifteen years, starting in 2000, when the title relaunched under his leadership. During his tenure, the magazine won many awards, including two National Magazine Awards. Before taking the editorship of Details, Dan spent nine years at W magazine, overseeing bureaus in Paris, London, and Milan. While in college, he worked as a copy boy at the New York Times and later as a research assistant at Esquire. He is the author of Details Men’s Style Manual. He lives in New York and has three sons.
At the age of 19 years old, Seth became severely addicted to heroin and other hard drugs. After three years and nine overdoses he decided he was going to get clean. After kicking this habit cold, he addressed the underlying emotional issues that spurred the addiction and never used again. That was 22 years ago. Seth Leaf Pruzansky was born with the ability to interpret profound wisdom from his soul. Throughout the course of his life he has learned how to masterfully articulate this knowing in a way that benefits those who are looking for real answers to the big questions in life.
Seth has spent countless hours in meditation since he was a child, including a “forced” and extended meditation retreat in federal prison. He has faced and survived severe opiate addiction, childhood bullying, chronic illness, financial collapse, and so many other hardships, eventually going on to thrive.
He has taken the development of his inner state and applied it successfully to the world at large through “conscious-preneurship.”
Co-owner/founder of Tourmaline Spring-the highest quality most ethically produced bottled water on earth. www.tourmalinespring.com
Co-owner/founder of the certified organic raw food snack company Living Nutz www.livingnutz.com
A soon to be published author of the book “The Fight to Enlight” and Editor of a blog dedicated to transforming human consciousness www.imawakenowwhat.com
Cecilia McGough is a mental health activist, writer, media consultant, and radio astronomer. Cecilia also happens to have schizophrenia but does not let it define her. Cecilia is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Students With Schizophrenia and creator for the I Am Not A Monster: Schizophrenia project. As a TEDx speaker and Special Books By Special Kids interviewee, Cecilia’s videos have been viewed over 20 million times over multiple platforms across the globe. Cecilia is an UNLEASH talent who traveled to Denmark in August of 2017 to be an active voice towards attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and making sure people with psychosis are represented. Cecilia has been selected as the keynote speaker for the Schizophrenia International Research Society 2020 Congress to take place in Florence, Italy. At the age of 17, Cecilia co-discovered PSR J1930-1852 leading to opportunities such as helping represent the United States in the International Space Olympics in Russia and also being a Virginia Aerospace Science And Technology Scholar through the NASA Langley Research Center. In addition, Cecilia has been protesting and giving a voice for the psychosis community in the gun violence debate since 2018 by marching alongside 200,000 people in Washington D.C. for the March For Our Lives movement.
Lauren Freedman is an entrepreneur, voice actor, writer and activist who lives in Los Angeles.
Originally from NYC, she’s seen her fair share of “Top Docs” and was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and sleep disorders in 2017. This sparked her interest in the invisible illness community and her fellow “Spoonies”, with whom she wishes to commune and share information, inspiration, and comfort while advocating for greater awareness among friends, family, coworkers, and society at large. Lauren graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with a BA (Hons) in Acting in 2008, and has worked extensively in fashion to pay the bills. She’s a longtime student of the School of Hard Knocks and What’s-A-Matta-U. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
WHAT IS UNINVISIBLE?
An award-winning podcast about invisible conditions and chronic invisible illness, featuring interviews with survivors, their loved ones, advocates, and experts in varied healing modalities, from medical to holistic. Hosted by Lauren Freedman, a voice actor, writer, and activist, who lives with Hashimoto’s disease and sleep disorders, Uninvisible uncovers real stories of survival and humanity – complete with laughter. In truth and with candor, we offer solutions – and challenge the world to change. Winner, Best in Show: Podcast – WEGO Health Awards 2019.
Hi, we’re Em and Kate, sisters behind the wellness blog Two Being Healthy. While to the outside world we appear as healthy, active young adults, in reality we both suffer from invisible and chronic illnesses. Our health complications really began when we were each diagnosed with SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) at age 17. We have since been diagnosed with multiple other chronic illnesses, including, but not limited to, POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), MCAD (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) and Chronic Migraines.
Over the past 10+ years, we have discovered all the ups and downs of living with a variety of autoimmune and autonomic issues. At first, it was very difficult to cope, but we have now adapted to our realities and are able to live our lives fully. Throughout our journey we have learned that if something is inhibiting our health, all avenues towards improvement should be explored and, in doing so, we have gained a passion for wellness and nutrition.
Our blog, Two Being Healthy, deals with managing invisible and chronic illness in a positive manner. It was created with the intention of sharing our health journey, including products we have found beneficial, tips we have gained along the way, documenting of new discoveries, and interviews with professionals in related fields. It’s inspired by our own experiences and is a true passion project for us. Two Being Healthy focuses on a proactive approach aimed towards healing and helping the body. We strive to be advocates of invisible illness and to change the perception of what “sick” looks like!
After a lifetime of ignoring and repressing symptoms, Sara-Jayne sought professional help for her scumbag brain in 2013 and was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The first few years after her diagnosis were tumultuous, but eventually her natural stubbornness reared its head and she began to talk openly about her mental health struggles. In 2017, she began publicly blogging about living with mental illnesses on Instagram (@sarajayne.poletti).
If you have any questions for Sara-Jayne—or if you want to sign up for her quirky mental health newsletter—please email talktosjp@gmail.com.
Michelle Hammer is an NYC native with Schizophrenia. She was featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018. Michelle has also been featured in Mashable, The Daily Mail, Stylist, and Buzzfeed to name a few. Michelle was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at 22, after a misdiagnosis of Bipolar at age 18. At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents, and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community. In May 2015, she founded the company Schizophrenic.NYC, which is a clothing line with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health. Learn more about Michelle at Schizophrenic.NYC
Alison Seponara, MS, LPC is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice located in Pennsylvania. Alison specializes in anxiety disorders with woman and special needs children while utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based techniques to provide the best quality of care. Along with her private practice, you can find Alison on Instagram @theanxietyhealer and where she posts daily anxiety healing tips and tricks while sharing her vulnerabilities related to her own anxiety, mental health struggles, & love life. Alison’s mission is to help those from around the world feel less alone in their anxiety and offer awareness and education in mental health. Alison also offers coaching services to other mental health & wellness entrepreneurs. Alison provides her expertise to help build and monetize their social media presence by helping to create an effective and compelling brand.