Demi Lovato clears misconceptions related to her struggle with drug abuse

Vocal powerhouse Demi Lovato has shed light on her past struggles with substance abuse.

Setting the record straight about some of the misconceptions that have been going rife about her experience with drug abuse, the singer spoke on Diane Guerrero’s podcast Yeah No, I’m Not Okay.

She spoke about the misconception that that "if people are using drugs or if they are dealing with an eating disorder or self-harm that they want to die."

Lovato said that she believes her drug addiction “stopped her from dying.”

"In the same way it almost killed me, it saved my life at times, because there were times that I dealt with suicidal ideations. And had I gone forward with that in that moment, instead of another destructive coping mechanism, I wouldn't be here to tell my story."

She added that after getting treated, she now believes "I turned to those coping mechanisms because I genuinely was in so much pain that I didn't want to die and I didn't know what else to do."

"I did the best that I could at times and now that I have other tools and other resources, I know how else to deal and how else to cope so I don't have to resort to those behaviors again,” she added.

She further explained how as a teenager, she wasn’t familiar with the idea of mental health.

She said: "I would look at people in the media and I would just compare myself, not feel good enough, not feel thin enough, and wonder how it was that these people were living lives that seemed so perfect but yet I was in so much pain. And when I got into the spotlight, I was like, 'Oh, it's not perfect here, nobody has a perfect life, it just looks that way.'"

"If I can break that facade for Hollywood—sorry, Hollywood—someone's gotta do it because we're presenting unrealistic expectations to people by only presenting our best selves at all times,” she added.