UPDATE: As many of you have already heard, Demi Lovato was transported to an LA hospital in the early afternoon of July 24, 2018 when she was found unresponsive due to an apparent drug overdose.  It is not yet known what drugs caused the overdose; sources close to Demi say it was not heroin as previously noted. Her friends administered Narcan to reverse the overdose, and she is currently stable according to sources.  Her family is with her. 

It’s really strange. Earlier, a friend mentioned that I hadn’t posted a blog in a while, and I decided I was going to write a post about Demi (this was before I heard the news of her hospitalization). Her recent single, Sober, was so raw and emotional, and I had been wanting to write some sort of open letter to her since hearing it.  If you haven’t heard it, listen to it here.

Demi has had a long, gruesome battle with her mental health and substance abuse.  She opened up about her struggles and past battles in her YouTube documentary, Simply Complicated. I really recommend watching it and learning more about her story.

My thoughts are a bit scrambled, so bare with me.

Upon hearing the news about her earlier today, my heart immediately sunk.  Demi is someone so many of us idolized while growing up.  Camp Rock was (ok, is) one of my favorite movies- and that’s the movie that really made her a star.  She’s beautiful, talented, and successful-  but addiction is a debilitating disease that doesn’t discriminate.

In her song, she apologizes to her parents and friends for relapsing.  Apparently, she released the single and made her relapse public with hopes to stay on track in getting sober again.   You can legitimately hear the sadness and broken-ness (is that a word?) in her words as she sings them.  How many times have we done something to disappoint our parents or loved ones?  We’ve all been there-in different extremes and circumstances- and facing it never gets easier.  She mentions this happening because she was lonely, which I know we can all relate to.  We all have a vice, and when you start feeling alone, it’s easy to go back to it.  Sure, it isn’t drugs or alcohol for all of us, but it can be anything. A bad habit. A partying bender. An ex. We’re lonely, feeling down, and we go back to something that we know will gives us some sort of high, when in reality we know it’s toxic.

I guess I just wanna tell Demi that we know.  We know she’s sorry and some of us even know what she’s going through.  As a nursing student, I see so many patients with substance abuse disorders and mental health illnesses and it’s such a real, scary thing.  It isn’t something to judge people for.  In fact, a lot of victims don’t seek help because of the surrounding stigma and fear of being judged or ridiculed.  Why do we do this?  If someone comes asking for help because they’re sick, we immediately help them. When someone mentions being depressed, we tell them that it’s just a “phase” or downplay how they feel.  Treating these disorders with that attitude doesn’t help anyone, especially the individual suffering.

Demi, I know you aren’t going to read this, but we are here for you.  Your fans are here for you, and you don’t need to apologize.  You’re struggling from a disease that’s bigger than you.  It’s bigger than all of us.  We’re praying for you and know you’ll overcome this.  You’ve given us every reason to believe so.  I can’t imagine the pressure you’ve had to deal with all these years, and if anything, we’re sorry for placing that pressure on you.  Your strength to fight your illnesses inspires people across the world to keep going themselves and continue fighting.  I don’t know you personally (I think we’d be great friends though), but you seem like a beautiful soul- inside and out.  We’re here to support you through whatever help you decide to seek.  Forever, we love you.

Nicki

The featured image was taken from Demi’s Instagram account, found here