In her six years of sobriety, Demi Lovato has been very transparent about her mental health and has championed mental health awareness. During her concert this weekend at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, which came days after her March 15 anniversary of getting sober, Lovato made an impassioned speech to the audience that has us feeling very emotional. Billboard reports what Lovato shared with the crowd.
"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 remember thinking, 'This is no longer cute. This is no longer fun. And I'm just like my dad.' [Lovato's father, who she has said was abusive and struggled with mental health issues, died of cancer in 2013.]
So I took a look at my life and I said, '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 that's okay. 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 okay to have a mental illness, it's okay 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."
Queen of mental health awareness! We seriously love Demi for being such a positive icon.
