'That is the most triggering thing that you could possibly write about somebody with an eating disorder.'
Demi Lovato tries not to read stories about herself anymore. In a new interview with Paper magazine, the 28-year-old singer recalls a "triggering" 2018 story that called her morbidly obese, which she says made her want to "give up" on her sobriety.
"I think it was right after I got out of rehab in 2018. I saw an article somewhere that said I was morbidly obese. And that is the most triggering thing that you could possibly write about somebody with an eating disorder," she says. "That sucked, and I wanted to quit, I wanted to use, wanted to give up."
"And then I just realized that if I don't look at those things then they can't affect me. So, I stopped looking and I just really try not to look at anything negative," she adds.
Despite the negativity out there, Lovato still wants to be open about her life. "I think the positives outweigh the negatives," she reasons. "I think that if they didn't, I wouldn't be doing this."
Lovato has been open with her fans about her recovery from an eating disorder, and gets candid about addiction and her near-fatal 2018 overdose in her new docuseries, Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil. Her honesty makes fans feel less alone, which Lovato admits comes with a lot of pressure.
"It's draining, yes, and it's hard," she tells Paper of fans opening up to her about their own struggles. "There's reasons why my meet and greets have gotten a lot shorter over the years. More than a handful of people would tell you each time, 'You saved my life,' or they would show me the cuts on their wrists. I know that they mean well, I know that they are confiding in me because they have no one else. But it does take a lot."
Still, the former Disney star says sharing her story -- and struggles -- is worth it. "I don't ever want to be living in fear," she says. "And I feel like the best way to not do that is by living my truth."
See more on Lovato in the video below.
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