A former child star, she survived an overdose, a long-lasting eating disorder, and recently revealed she was a victim of rape as a teenager. Today, she’s one of the leading voices fighting against mental health stigma.
This is the story of Demi Lovato.
This is the story of Demi Lovato.
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00:00I told myself when I was younger, you know, use your voice when you become the singer
00:05that you want to be.
00:06Use your voice for so much more than just music.
00:08Speak to your generation and hopefully make as much of a difference as you can in society.
00:30The person I think that's most impacting me today is my mom.
00:40We've gotten really close over the past couple months and her strength just continues to
00:45inspire me every single day.
00:55He was abusive.
00:59He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person.
01:18We found lots of fun things with one, two, three, four sides.
01:29No seven or eight year old can fully comprehend what life is going to come with being on television.
01:43No child can comprehend that.
01:45No adult can comprehend that.
01:47And then you add social media, which came about when I was about 15, millions of people
01:53comment about your body, about the way you look, your skin, your talent, who you're dating,
01:59who you're friends with, who you're feuding with.
02:02And you're just like, can I be a teenager like, nope.
02:14In the process of getting to where we are, that's when you really have to know who you
02:19are and you have to have thick skin and really, you know, just a strong family to back you
02:24up.
02:25And, you know, we're who we are because of what we've been through.
02:44There was an incident that happened in South America, and that was kind of my rock bottom.
02:49And I basically, when that happened, my family was like, you need to go get help.
02:55And I didn't want to, but at the same time I knew it was best for me, so I went.
02:59And that's when I went, and that's when people were like, you know, you need to get help.
03:03But before then, I don't think people realized the severity of the problems and the issues that I had.
03:14This experience has been so incredible.
03:17It's been such an honor to sit next to icons and geniuses in this music industry.
03:22So I'm very thankful and it's still very exciting to me.
03:38He wasn't able to function very well in society.
03:42So that happens to a lot of people.
03:56When I started to raise awareness around mental health, my goal was to simplify the conversation
04:00and to break down the barriers that are placed around it.
04:12The more that you're vocal for yourself, and also others, the more that people can help you.
04:28All of my guy friends when I was younger were gay, and it was just something that was natural.
04:32And it wasn't really accepted in the South, in Texas.
04:39And I watched how people would treat them, and also I'm just a firm believer in being yourself
04:45and accepting yourself for who you are, and loving yourself.
05:09I feel like you can use things to cope in life, and music has been a huge coping mechanism for me.
05:17It's been very therapeutic for me, but there's only so much that music can do
05:21before you have to take responsibility and you have to take the initiative to get the help that you need.
05:39I had three strokes. I had a heart attack.
05:43My doctors said that I had five to ten more minutes.
05:54All of this is great, and it's beautiful, and I'm lucky, and I'm blessed, and I'm grateful.
06:01But I've learned that clearly, if all of this made you happy, I wouldn't have ended up where I did.
06:10My success does not measure my happiness.
06:14And so when I think about what makes me happy today, I think about my family.
06:19I think about my friends. I think about my team.
06:23I think about people, connections, soul connections.
06:26Meaningful relationships.
06:27Meaningful relationships, exactly.