Alkie. Waster. General pain-in-the-bum. Those were among the things you could quite reasonably have called me in the past. Role model? No, not really. But if you buy this week's Woman's Own, you will find me in the magazine's regular Role Model section.

I was kindly nominated by drug and alcohol charity DiversityInCare as a role model to others - for being a fighter, overcoming my issues and speaking out about my recovery from addiction and mental health issues in an attempt to give hope to others.

In the January 14th 2013 issue, Angela Edmondson, CEO of DiversityInCare, shares my story of how I overcame addiction, Borderline Personality Disorder, bulimia, social phobia and self-harm, and went on to help others and support her charity with its brilliant work helping vulnerable addicts.

It's a really good read and I hope it will help to break the stigma that still exists against people who are battling addiction and other mental health problems. And of course, give other people hope that it is possible to recover and rebuild an amazing life after addiction.

The magazine is out on 6th January so grab your copy now.

Special thanks to freelance journalist and writer Rachel Toal for making the publication of the story possible.

This December grab yourself a copy of Rapport magazine, where you can read my contribtion to an article on 10 Top Tips for World Mental Health Day.

While the article is geared towards people who work in the therapeutic field, and how they can keep their own minds and bodies healthy while helping others, the advice will be useful for anyone who wants to keep on top of their mental wellbeing.

I mention Mindfulness, maintaining balance and good ways to make sure that stress does not get on top of you.

Many thanks to Eve Menezes Cunningham for writing the article, which I hope will help many people ensure they are in the best position to stay healthy while helping others.

You can get a copy of Rapport magazine here. Happy reading!

I am delighted to announce that I have accepted an invitation to become a member of the Board of Trustees for DiversityInCare Ltd.

DiversityInCare is a charity which works with people who wish to overcome a wide range of issues associated with drug and or alcohol abuse. The charity provides services for Ex-offenders, Domestic Violence, Vulnerable families, Drug Addiction, Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health issues across London.

It's a great charity, has an amazing success rate with vulnerable clients and is supported by Russell Brand and Judge Nicholas Crichton at the Family Drug and Alcohol Court.

In my new role, I hope to bring my own experience of living with addiction and its associated issues as well as my experience working with people with multiple issues within my own service. I also hope the charity will benefit from my experience being at the frontline of other drug and alcohol servicies, and their day to day running, as well as my work achieving positive outcomes for clients, partners and commissioners.

If you'd like to meet me or the other trustees and find out what DiversityInCare is all about, do come to our Christmas Dinner at Cinnamon Kitchen on December 16th. Your ticket will help to support vulnerable young women, who want to turn their lives around, and their children. It will be a lot of fun and there will be a chance to win some amazing prizes as well as supporting a great cause.

I don't know how, but Mark Leigh managed to get a world exclusive out of me when I spoke to him for an interview with addiction recovery website in-recovery.com recently. Not only that but he got me to agree to write a few words of inspiration to help those who may be struggling with addiction at the moment. Of course, I am grateful to be able to help others and was
more than happy to oblige.

If you'd like to check out my interview with Mark, have a listen here. There may or may not be breaking news about new books I am planning (shhhh!) and ways to stop boredom ruining your recovery. You can also read my message to fellow addicts here.

In-recovery.com is a website designed to raise awareness of addiction and recovery and well worth a look if you think you might have a problem. Big thanks to Mark for all his hard work and dedication to the cause.