My name is Laurie Pinard, and I live with mental illness.
Laurie Pinard is a 44-year-old woman who has fought her way back to health from the edge of darkness and despair. She lost everything she had, and she nearly lost her life. Laurie now dedicates her life to giving hope to anyone who suffers from mental illness with the message that it is possible to get well and lead a fulfilling, productive life.
Throughout young adulthood, Laurie struggled to understand the dramatic highs and lows of her emotions, and it was not until her early forties that she received the correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder. She sought help in the form of psychiatry, nutritional supplements, exercise and diet because medications never worked for her. Through this multifaceted support system, Laurie found a strength and resolve she never knew she had. It was a new found sense of hope that pushed Laurie to finally share her story with the world in 2011. Today, Laurie shares her story on Holy Hormones Honey! Tune in live at 9 am PT on October 3rd or on demand anytime.
Guest Bio
Laurie is an exercise enthusiast and running instructor living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 2012, Laurie was chosen as one of five individuals representing Canadians in the Faces Campaign by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. This national campaign highlights awareness about mental health issues. Laurie then became a spokesperson for Bell Mediaâs Letâs Talk Campaign in 2013 to educate the country on reducing stigma surrounding mental illness. Laurie has appeared in every national newspaper publication in Canada and on national television to talk about her story and encourage others to take ownership of their illness and seek the help they need. Laurie represents self-determination, resiliency, and hope; she speaks nationally about her story of battling back from mental illness and lets people know it is possible to reach recovery and live a healthy, fulfilling life.
Leslie Carol Botha
Leslie Carol Botha, host of Holy Hormones on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel, is a Womenâs Health Educator and Internationally Recognized Expert on Womenâs Hormones and Behaviors. She is the co-author of the highly acclaimed Understanding Your Mind, Mood, and Hormone Cycle, the first in a menstrual health education series that provides women with the education they never received about how their hormone cycle affects not only their minds, and moods, but their personal and professional relationships and their overall health and happiness.
Botha is a member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, and an advisory board member for the Cycles Research Institute. In 2006, Botha received the Edward R. Dewey Award for her pioneering research on how womenâs hormonal fluctuations affect their behaviors. The award was bequeathed by the Foundation for the Study of Cycles.
Her research is also featured in The World According to Cycles- How Recurring Forces Can Predict the Future and Change Your Life by Samuel A. Schreiner, Jr., published by Skyhorse Publishing, New York City. Schreiner has noted that Botha is âone of the most prominent twenty-first century natural cycle thinkers.â
Botha has been a radio broadcast journalist for over 30 years. Her message is loud and clear: it is time for women to reclaim their health, and her passion and drive is to provide information to assist women in making informed choices about their health and well-being.
