Demi Lovato helps others through channeling overdose pain into powerful songs

Today, Demi Lovato celebrates her 30th birthday (August 20, 2022). Also, Holy Fvck is out. She’s come a long way since her days as a clean-cut Disney Channel star appearing in Sonny with a Chance and the Camp Rock movies.

She’s faced her fair share of demons as well, battling drug addiction, an eating disorder, and suffering a near-fatal drug overdose in 2018. She had three strokes, a heart attack, and was close to losing her life.

She’s been incredibly open about the tragic events that have left her with lasting consequences, turning her struggles into powerful music with telling lyrics that will no doubt have helped countless people with their own issues.

Demi’s early career

Demi began her acting career way back in 2002 when she was cast on Barney & Friends when she was around 10 years old.

In 2007, she starred as As the Bell Rings in her first Disney Channel appearance. She then went on to star alongside the Jonas Brothers in the Camp Rock movies, her own series Sonny with a Chance, along with other original movies for the channel.

She’s also acted on Glee and Will & Grace, been a judge on The X Factor, and appeared on numerous other shows.

There’s no denying her star power, but sadly her career hasn’t always been plain sailing.

Demi’s overdose ordeal

In 2018, Demi almost lost her life after suffering a drug overdose, later documenting exactly what had happened in her harrowing documentary Dancing with the Devil – also the name of her seventh studio album.

Demi expressed her hope that the doc would encourage others to confront their demons before the release.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she said: “I talk about a lot. The world has been so loving and accepting of me telling my story and just, there’s been so much love and support.

“What’s great is we live in a time when nobody’s perfect, and we’re not gonna get role models by watching people not make mistakes.

“We are going to meet and learn from our role models who have overcome their deepest darkest struggles. I wanted to show everyone – first I wanted to set the record straight.”

Demi also stated that the reports were wrong at the time and that she would share the truth.

She also added: “I just wanted to tell the world, ‘Hey, this is what happened, this is how I got through it, and hopefully this can help you too’.

“Because this journey has been such a wild ride but I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to share it with the world.”

Demi stated that she was back on her sobriety after Demi had said. “proud” of the person she’d become.

She shared her storyPeople: “Everything had to happen in order for me to learn the lessons that I learned. It was a painful journey, and I look back and sometimes I get sad when I think of the pain that I had to endure to overcome what I have, but I don’t regret anything.

“I’m so proud of the person I am today. And I’m so proud that people get to see it in this documentary and I couldn’t be more grateful that I had someone by my side.”

She also added: “I wanted to reveal it all for my fans and say this is who I am and this is where I’m at today and this is the journey that got me here, and if it helps you, then I hope that it can because that was ultimately my purpose in putting this out.”

Demi’s powerful lyrics

Demi has dealt with her addiction and overdose, as well her eating disorder and death of her father through powerful and emotive lyrics. With her music becoming more personal over the years, her music has become increasingly personal.

Just days before her overdose, she wrote the tear-jerking song Anyone. The lyrics speak volumes about her feelings at that time.

She sings: “Anyone, please send me anyone / Lord, is there anyone? / I need someone, oh / Anyone, please send me anyone / Lord, is there anyone? / I need someone”.

Demi’s song Dancing with the Devil details how she fell off the wagon after convincing herself that she could drink and use drugs in moderation, something she speaks openly about in her documentary.

She’d been sober for six years before her overdose.

She sings: “It’s just a little red wine, I’ll be fine / Not like I wanna do this every night / I’ve been good, don’t I deserve it? / I think I earned it, feels like it’s worth it / In my mind, mind”.

It can be used to: “It’s just a little white line, I’ll be fine / But soon that little white line is a little glass pipe / Tin foil remedy almost got the best of me / I keep praying I don’t reach the end of my lifetime”.

Demi also shares in her documentary that her eating disorder led her to eat only melon cakes for years.

She sings Melon Cake. “And now I’m saying / No more melon cakes on birthdays / No more barricades in doorways / Finally get to do things my way

“You could find me / Starving for attention most days / Amongst others things, god help me / Finally get to do things my way”.

Hopefully she’s tucking into a much tastier cake today on her 30th!

Demi’s late father Patrick also struggled with addiction.

In her documentary she spoke about him: “We had an estranged relationship, so we weren’t close and growing up my whole life I longed for that relationship with him, and then I resented him because he was an addict and an alcoholic and was abusive to my mom.

“And so I cut him out because I felt like it was causing more harm than good to have him in my life.

“His death was very complicated because we don’t actually know the exact day that he died.

“All we know is that by the time he was found his body was too decomposed to have an open casket. He had been laying there, I think for about a week and a half before anybody found him and during that was Father’s Day so every summer now that rolls around, I spend that kind of thinking, ‘Was today the day that my dad died? Is it tomorrow?’ And then also knowing that by the time Father’s Day rolls around like he was just laying there rotting.

“That was the fear I always had for him, that he would end up alone, and he did, he died alone.”

In her song Father she sings: “Father, I’m gonna say thank you / Even if I’m still hurt / Oh, I’m gonna say bless you / I wanna mean those words

“Always wished you the best / I, I prayed for your peace / Even if you started this / This whole war in me”.

In ICU (Madison’s Lullabye), Demi sings about her wish to protect her little sister Madison De La Garza (known for her role in Desperate Housewives).

The documentary features Demi’s distressing moment in hospital. Madison asked her who it was.

The song goes: “I didn’t want those innocent eyes / To watch me fall from grace / Tried to protect you / I want to direct you / To keep you from my mistakes”.

Demi talks about her addiction once again in Skin of my Teeth, a song taken from her new album.

She said: “Demi leaves rehab again / When is this s**t gonna end / Sounds like the voice in my head / I can’t believe I’m not dead

“I’m alive by the skin of my teeth / I survived but it got harder to breathe / Asking why doesn’t make it easier / Go easier on me / God damn it I just wanna be free / But I can’t ’cause it’s a f**king disease”.

Demi, we are grateful.

Many of Demi’s fans have taken to social media to thank her for helping them through difficult times.

One tweeted: “you’ve helped me through so much @ddlovato and it’s a forever thing now”.

She was told by another today: “happy birthday to my favourite artist ever your music has helped me through so much and i’m so unbelieveably proud of you @ddlovato have the best birthday ever”.

A third copy was also penned “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEMI thank you, because without knowing it you saved my life, your music helped me to fight and keep going”.

Another writer wrote: “Happy Birthday @ddlovato you’re an inspiration to so many people. Thank you for being the light in our lives. You deserve all the happiness in the world. You’ve helped me so much..in ways I can’t explain. Enjoy your day! Love you so much.”

If you’ve been affected by this story you can contact American Addiction Centers on (877) 686-7688 or Talk To Frank on 0300 123 6600 in the UK.

You or someone you know may need support. There are many UK-based helplines for eating disorders. Beat can be contacted at 0808 801 0677 while Mind’s contact number is 0300 123 3393. If you live in the USA, call NEDA at 800 931-2237.

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