American singer and songwriter, Demi Lovato recently during an upcoming episode of the podcast 'Yeah No, I'm Not Okay', opened up about why she turned to drugs when she was struggling with her mental health. According to E! News, in the upcoming episode of Diane Guerrero's podcast, the first thing she talked about was regarding the misinformed idea that "if people are using drugs or if they are dealing with an eating disorder or self-harm that they want to die."
Explaining how her addictions stopped her from dying, she said, "In the same way it almost killed me, it saved my life at times because there were times that I dealt with suicidal ideations. And had I gone forward with that in that moment, instead of another destructive coping mechanism, I wouldn't be here to tell my story."
The 28-year-old star then said after seeking treatment she's come to believe that, "I turned to those coping mechanisms because I genuinely was in so much pain that I didn't want to die and I didn't know what else to do." She added, "I did the best that I could at times, and now that I have other tools and other resources, I know how else to deal and how else to cope so I don't have to resort to those behaviours again."
Demi has always been open about her past experiences for a multitude of reasons, but her primary motivation is to let others know "we all struggle." During her teens, she didn't understand how common mental health issues were until she was older and a celebrity. Recalling her past Demi said, "I would look at people in the media and I would just compare myself, not feel good enough, not feel thin enough, and wonder how it was that these people were living lives that seemed so perfect but yet I was in so much pain. And when I got into the spotlight, I was like, 'Oh, it's not perfect here, nobody has a perfect life, it just looks that way.'"
As per E! News, Demi concluded that she doesn't try to present a certain image of herself anymore, nor does she try to fit a mold. Instead, the 'Sorry Not Sorry' singer said that she's dedicated to being "the person that I most identify within my life today."
-ANI