Demi Lovato Celebrates Four Years Of Sobriety
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Demi Lovato has always been candid about her struggles with addiction and eating disorders. In the past, she has spoken out to the media about her insecurities and the ups and down of her recovery from substance abuse, bipolar disorder, and bulimia. Fortunately, these days the singer has something to feel proud of: her four years of sobriety.
The singer recently took to Twitter and wrote:
“This last year I experienced so much life and too much death…but I made it through… Sober. #4Years #GodsWill.”
Personally, I remember watching Demi Lovato as a Disney star both on the television show “Sonny with a Chance,” and mega-hit movie “Camp Rock” that featured the Jonas Brothers. From the outside, Lovato always had a huge smile on her face. She glowed with radiance. No one would have ever guessed that behind that smile was a young woman struggling to find who she was.
The public scrutiny worsened Lovato’s struggles. For a while, it seemed as though Lovato was spiraling out of control. Now, the pop star radiates confidence. She recently released an album with the message of having confidence and learning to love who you are.
Over the course of her sobriety, Lovato has praised her longtime boyfriend, That ‘70s Show actor Wilmer Valderrama, with being a huge influence on her recovery.
“He’ll never take credit for a lot of my sobriety and my recovery, but I guarantee it, I wouldn’t be alive without him today,” she told HuffPost Live last May.
She also credits receiving treatment for bipolar disorder for aiding her in the recovery process. Early in her recovery, Demi Lovato was diagnosed with bipolar depression which she has said in the past was a life changing discovery.
“I was dealing with bipolar depression and didn’t know what was wrong with me,” she told HuffPost Live. “Little did I know, there was a chemical imbalance in my brain. Because I didn’t tell people what I need, I ended up self-medicating and coping with very unhealthy behaviors.”
Understanding your mental health is a huge component of the recovery process. It is this exact reason that many treatment facilities focus on dual diagnoses. Addiction is a disease and more often than not, mental disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety issues play a factor in the addiction. Treating the addiction and not the psychological illness can hinder a person’s progress in recovery.
Lovato admitted that during the height of her drug use, she would sneak drugs on airplanes and could not go more than 30 minutes without cocaine. She confessed to filling Sprite bottles with vodka in the morning and throwing up on the way back to her sober living residence in Los Angeles.
“I think at 19 years old, I had a moment where I was like, ‘Oh my God…that is alcoholic behavior,’” Lovato told Access Hollywood in December 2013. “It was, ‘Wow, I’m one of those people…I gotta get my shit together.’”
It is wonderful to see Lovato joining the list of celebrities that have managed to overcome their addictions and mental illnesses despite being in the spotlight. She is now going to be a woman known for her accomplishments and not her setbacks.
Often, in recovery, we focus so much on everyday challenges that we lose sight of all we have overcome. Take time to be grateful for how far you have come in your sobriety today. And if you are struggling, we are here to help. If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please do not wait. Call toll-free 1-800-777-9588.
Author: Shernide Delva