Inspirational event: Ice climber Margo Talbot shares her journey through addiction

The inspirational writer and climber Margo Talbot is a fixture on the B.C. alpine and ice climbing scene. The B.C. resident has many first ascents on ice routes and was the main contributor to Waterfall Ice Climbs in the Canadian Rockies. Talbot is a competitive climber, a sponsored mountain athlete and guides for Chicks with Picks and runs adventure guiding company The Glitter Girls.

Rewind back Talbot’s life 20 years and you’ll find a radically different story. Talbot was mired in substance addiction and depression for decades after formative childhood trauma. She had withdrawn from society and ultimately hit rock bottom when she was jailed for drug offences. Climbing was her way out.

Talbot has chronicled her recovery journey and philosophy in All That Glitters: A Climbers Journey through Addiction and Depression, a redemptive exploration of her journey back from the brink through to the fulfillment of her dreams. (continues below)

Ice climber and author Margo Talbot: Photo contributed by Margo Talbot

Talbot will present at the Revelstoke Library on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. The Revelstoke Mountaineer‘s Aaron Orlando put together this interview with Margo ahead of her presentation:

Revelstoke Mountaineer: People sometimes say their passion activity – be it ice climbing, mountain biking, meditation, dirt biking, whatever – is a life saver. It literally saved them from a death spiral. Why do you think people feel that way?

Margo Talbot: First off, it gave them something to hold on to, something with which to mould meaning into their lives when all else failed. And the reason these types of sports can do that is because of the quality of presence they demand from the participant. These sports demand that you come into the present moment where you achieve that feeling of flow where you are beyond yourself, and connected to something larger than you previously knew. The etymology of the word “ecstasy” is “to stand outside oneself.” In this state the pain of the past disappears along with anxiety for the future. I realize that meditation is not a sport, but can be included here because it offers the participant the very same things, so much so that physical activities could be called “moving meditation.”

RM: Lots of Revelstoke residents chose this community because of their passion for outdoor life. What do you observe when you see people uprooting their lives to connect with activities that were once conceived of as hobbies?

MT: What I see are people who are rearranging their priorities. We are programmed by our society to chase a certain kind of life, but there are people who tune into themselves and realize that that is not how they want to live. These people are driven to find a deeper meaning, a more satisfying lifestyle, or both. There are also people whose nervous systems are not wired to handle hectic city life, and they prefer to live in small communities that still possess all of the infrastructure necessary for a high quality of life. The most exciting thing I see about the future of these mountain towns is that with current technological advances you can attract an entrepreneurial base that once required a large population to support.

Where are your views on the spectrum of contemporary understanding of depression, anxiety and addiction? Can you distill your view for us?

The mental health system is broken, and rehab centres have a dismal success rate. This is because they focus on the symptoms of mental illness and addiction, not their root causes. And the root cause is prolonged stress from traumatic events that our bodies were never designed to live through.

What directions do you think we as a society need to go in with our understanding of depression, anxiety and addiction?

We need to face the reality that mental illness and addiction are social problems, not individual ones. And so we need to look at those social problems, which can be summed up as childhood trauma in the form of abuse, neglect and domestic violence. There are other stresses that can precipitate these conditions, but this is by far the most widespread cause. We also need to look at our society in general, which in many ways is emotionally and spiritually toxic. This creates a sort of low-grade, long-term stress that can drive subtler forms of mental illness and addiction, both of which are far more widespread than people realize.

What innovative forms of addressing mental health and addiction issues excite you?

It is big business and relies on the same thing most businesses do: the status quo. It will take nothing short of a shift in consciousness to move the current mental health/addiction model into a more effective one. To this end I do see some exciting trends developing. Many studies have come out that link exercise with reduced levels of depression and anxiety. Adventure therapy is becoming more widespread and accepted across North America. And you see more books and articles than ever before about high profile sports and entertainment stars who make the connection between their family history and their struggles with addiction and mental illness.

What’s your advice for someone contemplating a healing journey?

Take responsibility for your own healing. Do not fall into the trap of seeing yourself as a victim, not because it is wrong but because that attitude with disempower you and short-circuit your healing process. Gather information and get help from professionals, but use these as signposts and suggestions, because ultimately the blueprint for your own healing is inside of you.

Margot Talbot presents at the Revelstoke Library at the Revelstoke Community Centre on Thursday, February 19 at 7 p.m. 

Margo Talbot will discuss her book  All that Glitters:  A Climber’s Journey through Addiction and Depression at Feb. 19 presentation at the Revelstoke Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library at the Revelstoke Community Centre. Image contributed by Margo Talbot