'We have a public health crisis. A huge public health crisis'

Journalist, editor, author and social policy advocate Ann Dowsett Johnston is an alcoholic.

But more importantly, she is a person in long-term recovery.

The best-selling author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol told the crowd gathered at Algoma's Water Tower Inn Sunday afternoon that changing the language reduces the stigma associated with addiction, an important step in opening the conversation about the issue.

Drink was listed by the Washington Post as one of the top five non-fiction books of 2013.

That was the good news, Dowsett Johnston said during her address.

"The bad news was, I outed myself as an alcoholic. And not just an alcoholic, but the poster girl for modern alcoholism. By that I mean professional, high-functioning, absolutely well educated, and a mess. And that's what I told the world," she explained.

She grew up in Copper Cliff just outside Sudbury and spent 30 years as a respected journalist before her struggle with alcohol came to a head.

Since quietly stepping away from her professional career and seeking treatment in the United States, Dowsett Johnston has been sober for seven years.

"First-year sobriety in our society… is sheer hell," she said. "We live in an alcogenic culture when you walk into the most social environments, the first thing you're going to get asked is: 'Red or white?'"

Cultures across the globe are seeing the gender gap in terms of alcohol consumption closing at an alarming rate.

In some cases, women are at par with men.

Drink explores the reasons women, now more than ever, are turning to the bottle.

"I think that alcohol has become the number one modern woman's steroid enabling her to do the heavy lifting in a really complex world. We've seen this revolution unfold for the last 50 years, saying: 'Women can have everything'," Dowsett Johnston said.

"We have been told that we have to be perfect at work, perfect at home, perfectly thin, perfect mothers, perfect in every way. And by the way, if you're a woman, you've got to do that all by your mid-30s. We're asking why women are drinking heavily? Guys don't have that kind of deadline."

And since women are 40 percent more likely to suffer from depression, she believes women turn to alcohol to self-medicate.

Marketing is also a major factor, she said, as women became a prime target for spirit companies in the mid-90s when they found that one gender was not keeping up with the other.

Consumer products like Skinny Girl Vodka, Girls Night Out wine, fruit flavoured vodka and rum, and the like are directly marketed towards women.

Most importantly, however, society needs to understand that addiction is, at its core, is a mental health issue.

"We know all about the dangers of trans fats. We know all about the dangers of tanning beds. But we don't talk about this. And we don't talk about it because it is difficult," she said. "I know, for instance, that we have a full room today. But we should have double this room."

"I'm saying we need a national conversation. We have a public health crisis. A huge public health crisis."

Ann Dowsett Johnston's visit to Sault Ste. Marie Sunday afternoon was presented by Breton House in conjunction with the United Way of Sault Ste. Marie and District campaign.

For the past 30 years, Breton House has serviced the Sault and area as a substance abuse rehabilitation centre for women, offering services such as art therapy, group counselling, life skills training, and anger management.

A New Link, an out-patient counselling service offered by Breton House, is a harm reduction program for pregnant and parenting women.

"In as much as our agency exists to serve women who suffer from addiction, we also have a responsibility to raise awareness and educate the community about addiction and its impact on the lives of women and their families," Mickey Naccarato, executive director of Breton House stated during Sunday's introduction. "Today, we are embracing that responsibility by bringing you a presenter who can speak to the issue as someone who has a deep personal knowledge of the illness and of the struggle to overcome it."

To learn more about Breton House and its initiatives, please click here.

For more information about Ann Dowsett Johnston, please click here.

(PHOTO: Ann Dowsett Johnston at Algoma's Water Tower Inn in support of Breton House on Sunday, October 25, 2015. Donna Hopper/SooToday)