Bullying
&
Eating
Disorders
"I
literally
didn't
know
why
they
were
being
so
mean
to
me.
And
when
I
would
ask
them
why,
they
would
just
say,
'Well,
you're
fat," she
told
ABC
News'
Robin
Roberts.
"I
almost
stopped
eating
altogether
at
the
age
of
12,
after
being
harassed
by
kids
at
school,
for
being
'fat'.
Eating
disorders
often
stem
from
feelings
of
low
self
esteem,
depression,
anxiety,
or
in
my
case,
being
teased
and
ridiculed
for
my
weight.
I
also
believe
that
a
big
contributing
factor
to
these
feelings
is
the
pressure
that's
out
there
to
meet
impossible
standards."
she
wrote
as
a
contributing
editor
for
Seventeen
magazine.
Depression
&
Bulemia
"I
developed
an
eating
disorder,
and
that's
kind
of
what
I've
been
dealing
with
ever
since," Lovato
revealed
to
ABC
News'
Robin
Roberts.
Lovato
restricted
her
eating
and
discussed
how
harful
the
effects
were.
"I
was
compulsively
overeating
when
I
was
eight
years
old,"
she
said.
"So,
I
guess,
for
the
past
10
years
I've
had
a
really
unhealthy
relationship
with
food.
I
was
performing
concerts
on
an
empty
stomach.
I
was
losing
my
voice
from
purging.
I
was
self-medicating.
I
was
not
taking
medication
for
depression,
and
I
literally
was
so
emotionally
whacked
out
that
I
took
it
out
on
someone
that
meant
a
lot
to
me."
Cocaine
Addiction
In
an
interview
with
Access
Hollywood,
the
singer
revealed,
"Something
I've
never
talked
about
before,
but
with
my
drug
use
I
could
hide
it
to
where
I
would
sneak
drugs.
I
couldn't
go
without
30
minutes
to
an
hour
without
cocaine
and
I
would
bring
it
on
airplanes.
I
would
smuggle
it
basically
and
just
wait
until
everyone
in
first
class
would
go
to
sleep
and
I
would
do
it
right
there.
I'd
sneak
to
the
bathroom
and
I'd
do
it.
That's
how
difficult
it
got
and
that
was
even
with
somebody
[with
me]."
Suicidal
The
singer
admitted
to
Cosmopolitan
that
she
had
dark
thoughts
at
a
very
young
age.
"Even
before
Barney,
I
was
suicidal,"
Demi
explained.
"I
was
seven.
With
Barney,
I
guess
subliminally,
I
did
have
a
relationship
with
this
figure
that
was
saving
my
life
in
a
way
...
I've
talked
about
being
bullied
and
the
years
of
being
a
teenager,
but
I
went
through
things
when
I
was
younger
that
I've
never
talked
about
that
probably
caused
me
to
turn
out
the
way
I
ended
up
turning
out."
Addiction
to
painkillers
She
admitted
to
The
Daily
Mail
that
her
addiction
to
painkillers
came
after
they
were
prescribed
to
her
post
a
car
crash.
"I
liked
the
feeling
they
gave
me
-
they
sort
of
numbed
everything
-
and
I
also
liked
the
sneakiness
of
taking
extra
pills
out
of
my
mum's
bag
without
her
knowing.
Everything
skyrocketed,
which
was
awesome,
but
the
negative
side
was
that
I
thought,
‘Right,
I
am
working
like
an
adult
so
I
should
be
able
to
party
like
an
adult,'"
she
told.
Her
mother
banned
her
from
meeting
her
sister,
Madison
which
helped
her
overcome
the
addiction.
"My
life
was
a
shambles
and,
although
I
had
a
lot
of
success,
I
was
also
very
alone
and
miserable.
I
love
Madison
and
one
of
the
main
reasons
I
wanted
to
get
better
was
because
I
didn't
want
to
be
apart
from
her."
Punching
Backup
Dancer
It
was
reported
that
she
entered
a
treatment
after
punching
female
backup
dancer
Alex
Welch
during
the
South
American
leg
of
their
international
tour.
She
took
"100
percent,
full
responsibility"
for
the
incident.
"I
take
100
percent,
full
responsibility."
Lovato
told
Roberts.
"I
feel
horrible.
[She]
was
my
friend."
"They
sat
me
down
and
said,
'You
can't
live
like
this,'"
Lovato
said.
She
immediately
quit
the
tour
and
checked
in
to
Timberline
Knolls
(a
residential
treatment
center
in
Illinois
for
women
battling
addiction
and
eating
disorders).
How
she
overcome
all
the
struggle
"I
had
all
the
help
in
the
world,
but
I
didn't
want
it.
When
I
hit
that
moment
I
was
like,
it's
no
longer
fun
when
you're
doing
it
alone.
I
think
at
19
years
old,
I
had
a
moment
where
I
was
like,
‘Oh
my
God
that
is
alcoholic
behaviour.'
[It's]
no
longer,
I'm
young
and
rebellious
and
out
having
fun,
it
was,
'wow,
I'm
one
of
those
people...
I
gotta
get
my
s***
together.' I've
been
through
hell
and
back,
but
my
story
isn't
over
yet...
I
can't
wait
to
talk
about
the
people
who
have
never
taken
ANY
credit
for
being
a
huge
part
of
saving
my
life,
and
why
I'm
alive
today...."
The
Stronger
Woman
Today,
Demi
is
an
image
of
a
stronger
woman
who
has
overcome
a
lot
of
problems;
Depression,
Anorexia,
Bulimia
and
Bipolar
Syndrome.
She
had
her
scars
on
her
wrists
covered
up
with
a
tattoo
saying,
"Stay
Strong".
Fab
too!
Demi
is
over
her
eating
disorders
and
bullying
which
she
had
been
struggling
since
she
was
8.
Now
she
is
a
super
hot
bikini
babe
who
flaunts
her
figure
on
social
media.