Demi Lovato Says Her Most Significant Learning Was That Her Mental Health Issues Were Not Part of Her Identity

Demi Lovato, 31, attended an event at the Center For Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian’s annual benefit where she spoke about her mental health struggles.

She discussed with Dr. Charlie Shaffer about her mental health challenges when she was admitted to inpatient treatment programs five times.

The singer says that she felt defeated every single time she was admitted to the treatment programs. The ‘Heart Attack’ singer was devoid of all hope.

Things began to change, however, when she started to put in the work whether it was her own work, event, or talking to the members of her treatment team and building relationships with them.

She began enjoying the little things in life. “And that was something that was so foreign to me before because I was so used to, so used to not seeing hope”, she said.

Lovato knew that something was seriously wrong with her, when she got admitted for the fifth time. She definitely “felt different”!

 “It felt like I had hit rock bottom, and I just knew what I needed to do, which was to live a life in recovery”, she explained.

“And I think I had hit another low, and I was like, 'what am I doing wrong?' I felt defeated. But then, when all of the key parts started to fit into place like a perfect puzzle, I started to find the light again.”

“I also needed the right medication. I think for me medication has helped me tremendously. It's helped so many people tremendously,” continued Lovato.

The most significant lesson she learned from her experiences was that her mental health issues were not her identity. Over the years, her deteriorating mental health seemed to become a part of her personal identity. She had to put in a lot of effort to separate both with the help of treatment.

Numerous documentaries have been created based on Demi’s life, her drug abuse, mental health problems and eating disorder. Lovato never shied away from openly discussing her challenges with the public and media.

The famous singer who is the recipient of numerous accolades such as MTV Video Music Award, 14 Teen Choice Awards, 5 People’s Choice and so on, has published a self help memoir ‘Staying Strong 365 Days A Year’. Her songs often reflect the experiences of her life’s journey and she’s glad that her documentaries tell her story truthfully. The singer says that she’s continuing to grow and continuing to learn.