Gortin singer opens up about her addiction

Tyrone singer and social media influencer, Janet Devlin has spoken about her battle with alcoholism and mental health struggles.

The Gortin woman says most people who are at the mercy of addiction need is “safe space” to talk about their difficulties.

Janet came home to Northern Ireland to support ASCERT’s latest campaign, ‘Rethink Your Drink’, which encourages people to think about their relationship with alcohol and consider whether it is time for a change.

Gary McMichael, chief executive of ASCERT, set up the charity in 1998 as a response to concerns around drug problems within the community. Over the past 25 years, the charity has grown to become one of the most prominent regional service providers in Northern Ireland, delivering a range of alcohol and drug prevention, intervention, training and awareness services to people of all ages.

“Being able to talk about these things, before they become problematic is really important since alcohol issues and mental health issues often go hand in hand,” said Gary. “We need to encourage everyone within the community to be able to be more comfortable and open – to talk about what’s going on for them, and for them to know that there are support services available to help whenever they need it.”

In an interview with Gary, Janet explained her initial experience with alcohol was a positive one as it helped her overcome her shyness, a phenomenon many young people experience.

However, it eventually took a destructive turn.

She explained, “I didn’t get drunk for the first time until I was almost at the end of 16. I wasn’t the biggest fan of alcohol but I was a very shy kid and it gave me this magical elixir that would allow me to talk to people, to dance and to socialise all of these things I couldn’t do sober.

“I had a positive feeling towards this thing that could help me out in situations that I couldn’t do on my own.”

By her own admission, the former X-Factor contestant’s drinking started to get more insidious when she was living on her own at 17 in a city [London] where she didn’t know anybody, had no friends or personal relationships.

“I couldn’t fly home every weekend to see my friends and my family so my semblance of normality was to drink in this apartment on my own, stick on a playlist, have a sing-song have a dance and it made me feel a little bit normal, and nobody thought it was weird, because they were like ‘oh well she’s just doing what everyone her age is doing’.”

‘turned darker’

Janet’s relationship with alcohol “turned darker” as she turned 18-years-old and had access to buying alcohol.

Combined with several negative turns of events in her personal and professional life, she admitted to relying on alcohol to cope.

“I just started relying on alcohol even more and I don’t know where it fully engulfed me but very quickly through not being able to sleep, because I had insomnia at the time, I was using alcohol to go to sleep and then I was using alcohol to be social,” she said.

“I always had this thing in my head like ‘when it starts being a problem I’ll stop’ but of course it’s not that easy when you’re an addict.”

Gary said ASCERT are delighted to have Janet on board as her story can inspire other people to reach out if they feel they need support and to help empower them to ask for help when they need it.

He said, “Janet has been very open, honest and inspirational about what she has gone through personally and the challenges she’s faced with her addiction and mental health issues.

“Her experiences will relate to so many people because they demonstrate how quickly things can spiral out of control due to pressures going on in people’s lives, whatever the circumstances may be, and the message Janet expresses with such honesty is that no matter how dark and difficult things are, there is always hope and always help to deal with those problems and get your life back on track.”

Speaking of the work ASCERT are doing, Janet said encouraging people to speak out has to be “a top priority.”

She added, “The issue of alcoholism and the root cause of it transcends gender, race, wealth or where you are on the socio-economic platform. It (alcohol) doesn’t discriminate, but it’s hard to be vulnerable and open up, especially from men. I get messages from men all the time telling me they can’t talk to their friends or others about their issues.

“Organisations like ASCERT are perfect because you can speak to someone confidentially and they will provide you with the support you need.”

If you would like support from ASCERT go to ascert.biz or call 0800 254 5123.