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December 6, 2018

The Treacherous Cycle that is Addiction: The Demi Lovato Story

At the tender age of twenty-five, Demetria “Demi” Lovato has gone through more than most people will in their entire life. Many people face their fair share of difficulties, but Demi is different. She has not had a break since she was five years old. Her father was an addict and he left the family before Demi was five. At five, Demi was diagnosed with depression and it is something she has never been able to fully shake.1 Demi found an outlet for her aching heart in music. Her family realized quickly that she was talented beyond belief, and that she could really be someone. At seven, Demi landed a part in the children’s television series Barney and Friends, and the rest is history.2

“Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato in the Jonas Brothers Live in Concert” | 1 September 2010 | Paige Kaitlyn Concerts | Wikimedia Commons

She did not stop at Barney and Friends. She knew she was destined for more, and she worked every single day to ensure she got that. The Disney Channel proved to be her next big break, and it was Disney that really ignited a fire that never stopped. From her first show, “As the Bell Rings,” to the “Camp Rock” phenomena, and finally, to “Sonny with a Chance,” The Disney Channel seemingly brought Demi nothing but success.3 However, when you look below the surface, her Disney successes may have been the same thing that sent her spiraling downward. It was at seventeen, the peak of her time at Disney, that she first tried cocaine, a highly addictive narcotic, for the first time with friends.4 She shared being terrified at first, but she quickly came to love the feeling.5 She was hooked. She began hiding drugs from her family and her team, and she began indulging whenever she found the time. She did shows while intoxicated, and lived the majority of her young life under the influence. Her moods changed, and she was irritated and angry, and she slept all the time. At first, everyone thought she was just experiencing normal teenage mood swings; it took time before those around her understood the depth of what was going on.6

American Disney Channel Logo | 2002 | The Disney Channel Company | Wikimedia Commons

Demi felt immense pressure from a very young age. She felt the need to please everyone around her while becoming everything she wanted to be. It is not uncommon for young people to have come in to fame to lose themselves along the way. In fact, Demi is far from the only young Disney star to do so. Shake It Up’s Bella Thorne has no shame in showing some, or all of her skin, Jessie’s Debby Ryan was slapped with a DUI, and Lab Rats’ Kelli Berglund was caught with a fake ID.7 While to some, these all sound like typical growing up things. The issue at hand is that it is a recurring pattern in Disney Stars. Walt Disney, the man who can be described as nothing but “guts and goodness,” created the Disney company with nothing but pure intentions and hope for a better future.8 As the issue has become more and more prominent, it has been decided within the company that something had to be done. Disney teaches its young starlets life skills, like how to deal with the brutal world that is social media. These classes are held by pediatricians and child-development experts.7 While no one can pinpoint the exact reason Demi began the path that became addiction, we do know that it had to have something to do with the difficult life she was living due to the fame. She was too young to be ready for all she was enduring and too naïve to know better. Although the Disney Channel cannot be held to blame, it can be said that the company knows it is doing some harm along with the good, as they are now taking protective measures.

Addiction. A nine-letter word that we use lightly every day. We say things like “I’m addicted to chocolate” or “she’s addicted to her phone.” We tend to not realize the gravity of addiction or how life-threatening it can be. Addictions are diseases; they are dependencies on something, requiring that something to live, or at least one believes it is that needed. Addiction ran through Demi’s veins. Some say she was destined to fall into it because of her father’s own additions; others still blamed it on the life she lived. Regardless of why, addiction consumed her. It wasn’t just drugs and alcohol; it was body image as well. Demi was stuck on the idea that thin meant beauty, that skinny was a requirement of fame. So, she developed an eating disorder, Bulimia.  Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is defined by “repeated, uncontrollable episodes of overeating followed by induced vomiting or laxative abuse to eliminate the undigested food.”10 It was after she was discovered to have Bulimia that the people around her decided it was time that she got treatment. Demi’s behavior was all over the place: “some days she was sweet and enthusiastic, and some days she seemed to brood in darkness.”11 She was sent in for treatment at a rehab center and had to continue with that treatment even when she was able to leave.

Runway Models | goodfreephotos

It is not uncommon to have an obsession with body image in our society. We live in a world where social media is prominent and “skinny is in.” We see runway models and actresses on TV and on the cover of magazines and we cannot help but compare ourselves to them. Today, close to 30 million people in the US are diagnosed with an eating disorder and every 62 seconds one of them dies.12 The disorders range from Bulimia to Anorexia and Binge Eating Disorder. They become a chemical imbalance in someone’s mind that take more than just will power to be lessened.

Demi Lovato is still a part of that 30 million, and it is something she has to deal with every day. She fights her urges with different things, like working out. Anything that can take her mind off of her problems, she says, is a blessing.13 The stability of having a specific gym with specific trainers has helped her a lot, and she is working her way up to a black belt in jiu-jitsu.

Nineteen was her year. Demi’s nineteenth year of life was her first year sober. It seemed as though all the rehab and all the struggle had paid off. Her life was taking a turn for the better, she was a judge on X Factor, broke up with her long-term boyfriend to “conquer issues she couldn’t conquer if she was relying on someone else,” and had found her sound.14 Her music career was booming, and her team couldn’t be happier with the progress. Everything was falling into place.

At twenty-five, her six years of sobriety had come to a screeching halt. On July 28, 2018, paramedics rushed to the young singer’s house. The night before, she had gone out to celebrate a backup dancer’s birthday, and the next morning she was found lying unconscious in her house. 15

About a month before the overdose, Demi Lovato had come out with a new song, “Sober.”16 Her music had always been emotional and honest. She had talked about her issues before, and about her love life, but this was different. In “Sober,” Demi admitted to having relapsed from her six-year sobriety. Upsetting and tragic, but to many, not surprising. Everyone hoped for the best for her, but feared the worst as they heard the news of her unconsciousness.

While sad, a relapse in addiction is not extremely uncommon. Recently, there has been a lot of research done on relapses in order to better understand them. They differ from random slips in strength because they are recurring during a certain period of time. Despite research, relapses are still hard to understand as they vary from person to person. Some people do a better job of controlling their urges than others, some give in quickly, and some can last long periods of times. What they have come to the decision on, however, is that relapses are not a failure of the treatment, but a consequence of the attempts to change a chronic behavior.17 Some people overcome addiction and never turn back, others fall back again and again and never get to live again.

Eventually, she woke up. She refused to cooperate with authorities or reveal exactly what drugs she was on, but she was alive.18 Demi lived through her relapse but is now back at square one. She has to now find a way to deal with her age-old demons and rebuild her life. She went again to rehab, and is working every day to make sure the cycle doesn’t continue.

That’s exactly what is, a cycle, a never-ending cycle. People fall into addiction, go to rehab, become sober, fall back into addiction, go back to rehab, and so on. Some people find ways to break the cycle, others succumb to its brutal turning. The treacherous cycle causes many people to lose hope, to lose their glow, but not Demi. She lives by the motto of “you get what you put out in the world. Put out positivity and you will receive it,” and she will never stop fighting.19

  1. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  2. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  3. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  4.  Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, 2015, s.v. “Cocaine,” Justin D. Garcia, PhD.
  5. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  6. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  7. “Disney Damsels IN DISTRESS!,” New Weekly Magazine, April 3, 2017, 38-41.
  8. Neal Gabler, Walt Disney, The Triumph of the American Imagination (Vintage Books, 2006), 44.
  9. “Disney Damsels IN DISTRESS!,” New Weekly Magazine, April 3, 2017, 38-41.
  10.  Magill’s Medical Guide, 2013, s.v. “Bulimia,” Alvin K. Benson, PhD and Leanna DeAngelo, PhD.
  11. Dianna de la Garza and Vicky Mckintyre, Falling with Wings: A Mother’s Story (Fewer & Friends, 2018), 247.
  12. “Eating Disorder Statistics,” National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, (2018), accessed November 29, 2018, http://www.anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/.
  13. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  14. Demi Lovato, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated – Official Documentary, Phillymack Productions (2017; Los Angeles), Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTlL_w8cRA.
  15. Melody Chiu, et al., “The Fight to Save Demi Lovato,” People, August 13, 2018, 48.
  16. “Demi’s Tragic Relapse: ‘I’m Grateful to Be Alive,’” 2018. New Weekly Magazine 26 (32): 22.
  17.  Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, 2014, s.v. “Addiction Relapse,” Ruth M. Colwill.
  18. Melody Chiu, et al., “The Fight to Save Demi Lovato,” People, August 13, 2018, 48.
  19. Demi Lovato, Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year (Macmillan Publishers, 2013), 43.

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87 comments

  • Alexis Aranda

    Demi Lovato was a big portion of my childhood, and I always had admiration towards her. She’s always been brutally honest to the media about her addiction, and her song “Sober” was immensely vulnerable and heartbreaking to listen to. I think addictions is something that is not only underestimated, but not talked about enough. I think that is part of the reason why people, who don’t know the intensity of addiction, use the word so lightly. I think saying things like “I’m addicted to this show!” or “I’m addicted to chocolate!” promotes the continuous loop of being ignorant towards people who have been in and out of hospitals to try to get better. It is sad that Demi Lovato fell to the pits of insecurities because of societal standards that she thought she had to follow and the image she thought she had to keep. As such a young actress, it must’ve been hard to carry the label of “role model” to thousands of kids around the world and find herself along the way. The fact that she obtained an eating disorder on top of the horrors of a drug addiction is terrifying, and I can’t imagine how hard it was to be interviewed, film, and have all eyes on you while having a disease that makes you want to pick at your body. Eating disorders are another form of addiction- to restrict and to purge is a form of control for a lot of people, including Demi, who probably felt like her entire life was falling apart. She never caught a break, and it’s sad that she literally comes from a father who was addicted as well. This article is very important because it shows that celebrities should not be glamorized! These people are real humans who face insecurities and challenges. I wish the best for Demi Lovato and anyone else that is going through addiction.

  • Courtney Pena

    Growing up, I loved watching Demi Lovato on Disney Channel and listening to her music. I remember watching her documentary on YouTube about a year ago and realizing what she was going through her whole life. It is unfortunate that she has been through a lot in her past but now she is sober and enjoying her life. Addiction is something that should be taken seriously and I agree with the writer when she mentioned that people tend to not see the significance in the word addiction and by how life threatening addictions can be. I hope that Demi, as well as others, do not fall back into their addiction and get the help that they need.

  • Diamond Estrada

    The power of addiction is extremely underestimated, and many people fail to see that it is truly a disease rather than a choice that someone must deal with. It is a trial and error process that for some never ends. I find it inspiring that Demi continues to share the struggle with her fans proving to be a great model for those struggling with addiction and eating disorders.

  • Celeste Flores

    As almost everyone else, I grew up with the Disney Channel Stars, I feel as if we grew up together in some kind of way. Now that we are older we hear all the time about the different scandals they get themselves into. Most of them have addictions or disorders that, sadly, are known by everyone. I believe that every person is struggling with a different fight, and I find it scary and sad to realize that since we are not famous, things like this are more difficult to detect on a loved one. Reading this made me understand that even if someone seems ‘happy’ or healthy they might not be as happy or healthy as they pretend to be. I am working on being able to recognize the red flags of these diseases or problems in order to help anyone who might be going through them.

  • Sharriah Martinez

    I always grew up watching Demi Lovato as a young kid. I saw her on disney channel all of the time. It is sad to see a celebrity someone you grew up watching and admired go down a spiral of drugs and addiction. Talented people, celebrities fall into addiction all of the time. Some are not as lucky as Demi, and they do not get to see another light of day. It is so sad to see, but all you have to do is pray for them

  • Mia Morales

    I grew up watching Demi Lovato on Disney and on screen she was always this person that I admired. Later on, finding out that these times of her life were some of the worst times of her life was so heartbreaking. This article is so important because sometimes people forget that celebrities are humans too, they go through more pressure and deal with life-altering issues that are often looked past.

  • Brianna Nevarez

    This article highlights one case out of so many in the entertainment industry. To help cope with societal pressures, stars resort to drug abuse and other activities. This makes me feel for Demi even though I do not know her. The fact that addiction had such a strong grip on her and she almost lost her life to it, this must be a terrifying experience. She got another chance at life, she was able to overcome this obstacle once and I wish her the best so she may remain sober after this scary situation. Addiction is no joke, I never realized just how dangerous it is.

  • Thomas Fraire

    Addiction is a huge issue in America and I remember how tragic it won people found out Demi Lovato was struggling with it. This article does a good job of recapping this tragic event and calling attention to something that doesn’t get the attention it deserves in media because of how taboo it is to get it needs to address it. It is really cool that Disney supported her and helped bring awareness to addiction and drug its just tragic something like this happened for people to address it.

  • Daniela Martinez

    Many of the kids that grow up in the spotlight have to deal with many of the topics discussed in this article. Addiction is something that can affect anyone and celebrities are no exception. This article shows and allows readers to understand that addiction does not define you and that you’re not bound to stay under its influence. It allows readers to understand that anyone can get out of any addiction and that there is more to humans than that. I think that Demis’ story along with other celebrities who have recovered from their addiction allows their audiences to realize that if they can recover so could they and it a way it may serve as motivation to think about their health and well being.

  • Vanessa Sanchez

    by the age of 25 Demi has been through more hardships than most people go through, her father was addicted to drugs and left her family, by the age of 5 she was diagnosed with depression but she would later hide her drug use from her family but at the age 19 she became sober.By age 25 paramedics had to rush to her house in 2018 because she over dosed.

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