How Demi Lovato Found ‘Hope’ Following 5 In-Patient Mental Health Treatments

During a discussion with Dr. Charlie Shaffer, Anna Wintour’s son, on Monday night at The Center For Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian‘s annual benefit, the 31-year-old singer got candid about how her relationship with herself has evolved after five in-patient mental health treatments — and how putting in the work made all the difference.

“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, who has been candid about both her mental health struggles and her sobriety journey over the years, said.

She continued, “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.”

Things really started to change, Lovato said, when she started to “find joy” in the little things in life again.

“And that was something that was so foreign to me before because I was so used to, so used to not seeing hope,” Lovato explained.

After the fifth inpatient treatment, things “definitely felt different,” sparking a change in her that made the Camp Rock alum realize she didn’t live a “life in recovery.”

“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 shared.

Lovato continued, “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.”

And through getting treatment Lovato learned another important lesson: 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,” adding that she’s “grateful for the things that I’ve been through and what I’ve overcome.”

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.