Demi Lovato has never been shy about talking about mental health.
In early 2018, the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer reflected on suicidal thoughts she had as a child.
“I have experienced things that I have not talked about and that I don't know if I ever will talk about,” Lovato said in an interview on Dr. Phil. “But at seven, I knew that if I were to take my own life that the pain would end.”
Lovato admitted she lived with dark thoughts throughout her life.
“It came back when I was bullied, it came back several times when I was struggling with depression—my bipolar disorder," she said. "I turned to cutting and there was a while there where my mom was afraid to wake me up in the mornings because she didn't know if she opened the door if I would be alive or not because every time I cut it got deeper and deeper.”
The interview aired during Lovato’s Tell Me You Love Me World Tour. At every stop she offered fans opportunities to talk about mental health with specialists.
“It's important that I use my voice for more than just singing and I just know how important it is to use my platform to help others and to share my story in hopes it inspires people to either get into recovery or better themselves,” she told Good Morning America at the time.
“Whatever it is, I just want people to know they're not alone and I'm here for them. Mental health affects so many people and we need to take the stigma away from it.”
Two days after her the last show on the North American leg of the tour, Lovato was rushed to hospital after suffering a near-fatal drug overdose at her California home.
Lovato stepped out of the spotlight and focused on her mental health.
Last September, the pop star – who previously complained of dealing with body shaming – posted an unedited photo of herself in a swimsuit on Instagram.
“I want this new chapter in my life to be about being authentic to who I am rather than trying to meet someone else’s standards,” Lovato wrote in the caption. “So here’s me, unashamed, unafraid and proud to own a body that has fought through so much.”
Speaking at an event hosted by Teen Vogue last November, Lovato said she had taken fitness to a “very unhealthy extreme” which led her “down a darker path.”
She added: “I don't always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don't sit there and dwell on it. I also don't lie to myself … I don't have to lie to myself and tell myself I have an amazing body. All I have to say is ‘I'm healthy.’”
Lovato urged her fans – and everyone else – to live authentically.
“If you're trying to be someone you're not, or you're trying to please other people, it's not going to work out in the long run," she said. "If you want to dye your hair purple, dye your hair purple. If you want to love someone of the same sex, love someone of the same sex. Be yourself and don't be afraid of what people think.”
Lovato showed her vulnerability at this year’s Grammy Awards, where she performed an emotional ballad she reportedly wrote only days before her 2018 overdose.
“I used to crave the world's attention / I think I cried too many times / I just need some more affection / Anything to get me by,” she sang. “Anyone, please send me anyone / Lord, is there anyone? / I need someone.”
Lovato is one music star who can easily get behind Bell Let’s Talk Day.
“The more you talk about mental illness, the less of a taboo it becomes,” Lovato told American Way in 2017. “As a pop star, I can say, ‘Hey, I’ve got bipolar disorder — it’s nothing that anyone can be ashamed of.’
“It’s not something where you see a therapist once or you see your psychiatrist once, it’s something you maintain to make sure that you want to live with mental illness. You have to take care of yourself.”
If you or someone you know needs help, click here for resources.
Bell Let’s Talk is an initiative of Bell Media, parent company of this website.