Demi Lovato begins with the gloomy and painful realities of addiction and mental health. In a trailer for her new YouTube docu-series, which was released on Wednesday, Lovato revealed that the overdose she experienced in 2018 had three strokes and a heart attack.
“I had so much to say over the last two years and wanted to set the record for what happened,” the actress and singer said at the start of the trailer.
The four-part documentary, “Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil”, focuses on Lovato’s personal and professional life before and after the overdose she experienced in July 2018.
“I had three strokes. I had a heart attack,” Lovato said. “My doctors said I still have five to ten minutes.”
Many of Lovato’s family, friends and other acquaintances, including Elton John and Christina Aguilera, are seen in the trailer. Some of the participants said they were not sure if she would survive the overdose.
“I had many lives, like my cat. I had my ninth life,” Lovato said. “I’m ready to do again what I love, what makes music.”
Lovato said during a virtual panel for the Television Critics Association on Wednesday that she continues to suffer from brain damage due to the incident affecting her daily abilities, according to The Associated Press.
“I left brain damage, and I still deal with the consequences of it today,” she said. “I do not drive a car because I have blind spots in my vision. I read very hard for a long time. It was a big deal when I could read a book, like two months later, because my vision was so vague . ‘
The 28-year-old singer and actress has been preoccupied for years with her battle with mental health and addiction. Several of her songs discuss these fights and in her 2017 YouTube documentary ‘Simply Complicated’, Lovato reveals that she first tried cocaine when she was 17 and worked for Disney Channel. A few years later, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Mental health and addiction are both common problems around the world, and each of these issues can exacerbate the other, research shows. Surveys show that about half of the people in the U.S. who experience mental illness also experience substance abuse disorders, according to studies cited by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Lovato told Glitter Magazine on Wednesday that she finally hopes the documentary will help people who have been on the same path as me.
“What I learned is that it’s so much more than just mental health, you know? My life now is about spiritual growth and how I can help everyone, even people who do not have mental illness, how we can help everyone’s vibrations. increase so we can live on a more positive planet, ‘Lovato told the Magazine. “This is how I navigate through my day; how are my choices today going to affect those around me in a positive way? How am I going to improve myself today? Hopefully people can see that in the document as well. “
The YouTube documentary will air on March 23rd.