Demi Lovato Finds ‘Hope’ After Mental Health Sessions

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Singer Demi Lovato said she found “hope” again after five inpatient mental health treatments.

She opened up about the experience during a discussion with Dr. Charlie Shaffer on Monday at The Center For Youth Mental Health at New York-Presbyterian’s annual benefit, according to People.

“I have been to inpatient treatment five times, and it has something that every single time I walked back into a treatment center, I felt defeated,” Lovato, 31, said. “And I know that experience firsthand, but I think the glimmer of hope was when I started putting in the work and I started to, whether it was work, a program, or talk to my treatment team and build relationships there.

“I think the glimmer of hope started to change when I started to find joy in 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.”

Lovato said she noticed a shift after her fifth inpatient mental health treatment.

“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. And that was something that I pushed off for so long,” she said.

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

Getting treatment, Lovato added, helped her to realize that her mental health is not her “identity.”

“It wasn’t until I went into treatment for the first time that I realized this isn’t who I am. It’s just a part of what makes me me, meaning my struggles have shaped me into the pottery that you see today, but it’s never become my identity since then,” she said. “It’s just become something about me that makes me a little interesting, I guess you could say,” she said, noting that she’s “grateful for the things that I’ve been through and what I’ve overcome.”