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Indy100 Staff
Mar 19, 2018
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International pop superstar Demi Lovato celebrated six years of sobriety on Friday by sharing a heartfelt message with her fans.
The 25-year-old singer has struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse from an early age and eventually checked herself into rehab in 2010.
Her struggles and redemptions were was documented in the YouTube documentary Simply Complicated.
However, he own determination and self-belief helped her to overcome those problems and as she performed on stage at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, she was reminded of her achievement by her friend and tour mate DJ Khaled.
Speaking alongside Demi, Khaled told the huge audience just how proud and inspired he was by how she has repaired her life. TIME quotes him as saying:
Every time I see you I say, ‘Man, this is a strong queen.'
What you’ve overcome through trials and tribulations, through dark clouds, you found the sunshine, and now the sun is shining on you forever.
You inspire me.Â
He, along with fellow tour mate Kehlani, encouraged the crowd to sing a version of 'happy birthday' to Demi to commemorate the occasion.
Moved to tears, Demi sat down at a piano and explained to her fans how she managed to turn her life around.
Daily Dot quotes her as saying:
Yesterday, six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at 9 in the morning, throwing up in the car.
And I just remembered thinking, ‘This is no longer cute. This is no longer fun. And I’m just like my dad.'
So I took a look at my life, and I said, ‘Something has to change, something has to change, I’ve got to get sober,’ so I did.
I made changes in my life, and the reason I became so open about my story is because I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help, and I want you to know that’s OK.
As well as struggling with substance problems, Demi has also admitted that she has been dealing with depression, eating disorders and bipolar disorder.
She concluded her speech by highlighting that mental illnesses shouldn't be stigmatised by society and thanked her fans for their support.
Mental health is something that we all need to talk about, and we need to take the stigma away from it.
So let’s raise the awareness, let’s let everybody know it’s OK to have a mental illness, it’s OK to have an addiction problem.
I’m bipolar, like, whatever! I take care of myself. And I can never say ‘Thank you’ enough to you guys for the support that you’ve given me over the years, and you’ve forgiven me for my mistakes.
Thank you for being a part of saving my life. I love you guys.
You can see footage from her speech in the video below.
If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support:
HT Time
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