That’s why everyone including me love her so much; she is not just a popstar but she uses her platform to talk about complicated, real issues. Demi has been very vocal about her journey with bipolar disorder as well as her drug addiction, cutting and eating disorder. She talks about going to rehab and receiving treatment for her cocaine addiction, alcoholism and her eating disorder. Now just turning six years sober recently Demi is an advocate for mental health and has partnered with Mike Bayer to open Cast Centers located in West Hollywood, California. Cast Centers is an outlet for people who want to find help for themselves where they can improve, expand and enhance their life experiences.
I was fortunate enough to be able to go to her concert in Minneapolis, MN on her 2018 “Tell Me You Love Me Tour” where she had the room in its feels the whole night. About an hour before the concert, Lovato and Bayer bring a mini therapy session called “Cast on Tour” for her fans based off Cast Centers, which is free to attend if you have a concert ticket to the show. It raises awareness to promote cultural and social changes to de-stigmatize mental health issues. This event allows people, usually other celebrity friends of Demi’s, to come and talk about their journey and life experiences that they have struggled with. I was lucky enough to hear Demi’s mother, Diana De La Garza speak about her own journey and struggles with divorce, abuse, depression and her eating disorder.
Lovato doesn’t just speak about mental health issues, but acts on them. In 2015 she took her advocacy one step further to Capitol Hill, where she urged policy makers to place a larger priority on mental health. “We need better mental health care in America. We need more reform. It’s very important that gets done so our communities and our country can grow and thrive,” Lovato told The Huffington Post. “There’s such torment with these issues, which I’ve personally dealt with as well. I hope my involvement just helps someone with mental illness in some way.”
There are at least four songs I can name that Demi has written that have a bigger meaning than just love stories: Skyscraper, Warrior, Confident and Sorry Not Sorry. She not only sings about recovery of a mental illness, but recovery from being bullied. She has spoken on being bullied when she was younger because of her weight and started developing social anxiety where she didn’t trust other girls her age. She now uses the way she looks at food and exercise to help her build self-esteem.
Although it's easy to get caught up in the physical results of working out, Lovato said she's actually a fan of how the endorphins released during exercise help her mental well-being. “It’s knowing how great I’m going to feel after—it helps me throughout the day,” she told People Magazine. Demi has been known to show off her curves on Instagram, but also regularly posts #nomakeupmondays and #freshfacefridays where she feels the most confident in her own skin. “I know I’m doing everything I can to take care of myself. If there’s something about my body that I don’t like, I remind myself that it doesn’t define who I am,” Lovato added. “The more you tell yourself that you’re beautiful, the more you start to believe it.”
Lovato has not held back about speaking up about what she believes in and recently marched on Washington alongside other celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian in the March for Our Lives. She also performed Skyscraper to the audience where she shouted “MSD Strong” after her performance. She is proud of this next generation who are coming together to fight for something they believe in, she posted on Instagram. Lovato has also been an advocate for the LGBTQA+ community where she was awarded the Vanguard Award at GLAAD Media Awards in 2016. The award honors those who further GLAAD’s mission of ensuring that stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are heard through media outlets. She sings “Cool for the Summer” which is allegedly about a relationship with woman and when asked about it, she says all of her songs are based off real experiences. In her recent documentary “Simply Complicated” she reveals she is attracted to both men and women and that it’s about human connection not gender. It’s important for Lovato to be a voice for a variety of people with the platform she has and to use her voice for people who don’t or are afraid to use theirs.
Do you ever get sad that you aren’t Demi Lovato? Because me too. She is changing the way the world views mental health and related topics that are important for people to learn about. These problems are real and she knows she needs to use her voice for more than just singing. She is a true hero for young people and living proof that recovery if possible.
