Demi Lovato Agrees to Enter Rehab After Her Hospitalization

Last month, singer and mental health advocate Demi Lovato was hospitalized due to a drug overdose. She has been in the hospital since, but has agreed to enter rehab once she gets out, TMZ reported.

Lovato celebrated six years of sobriety last March — but released a song called “Sober” in June, where she sang about relapsing. A source told E! News she agreed to go to rehab because “she wants to make a statement to her fans, family and friends that she is strong and can recover.”

Fighting addiction is often a life-long battle, and Lovato has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder and an eating disorder. She entered treatment for the first time in 2010, where she was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder after years of struggling with her mental health.

For anyone going through any kind of recovery, relapses happen — and we’re proud of Demi for re-entering treatment. Because she isn’t alone, we wanted to find out what other people which they knew before entering treatment again. There’s nothing shameful about needing help for your mental health more than once, and for anyone who’s entered treatment multiple times for a mental health battle — we want you to know we’re proud of you, too.

Here’s what our community shared with us:

1. “’You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.’ I have a visiting nurse, because I take many medications daily, and she is always encouraging. I was discharged from her care after two and half years and I didn’t do well. I told my psychiatrist and my nurse was back the next day. She told me this doesn’t mean I’m failing, it means I’m realizing I need the help. I fought help for such a long time. She always reminds me how much she admires my strength. Having positive people in your mental health team is absolutely beneficial.” — Alyssa H.
2. “This isn’t a step back. It’s a step forward in the right direction. You didn’t do anything wrong. What really helped me when my OCD symptoms kept coming back after so much treatment is I had a therapist tell me, ‘Once you fight off one thing, your brain gives you another to fight off. You didn’t do anything wrong, your brain is just being a jerk. You can fight this like you have in the past.’” — Abby L.
3. “This desperate feeling and hell you’re feeling is temporary. You are not alone. Treatment is going to be hard but that someone will be by your side the whole time so you’re never alone through the process.” — Chelsea R.
4. “My counselor once told me to think of my treatment as if I’m a boxer getting ready for a fight. Instead of a physical fight, it was the fight for my life.” — Madisen R.
5. “I’ve been hospitalized nine times for suicidal ideation or attempts, and last time I was in the hospital I was so embarrassed to be back and this is what they told me. It made me feel so much better: ‘There is no need to be embarrassed for being back. No one is judging you. It is OK. Things happen and we are here to help.’” — Zoe S.
6. “‘This is just a blip in the road.’ I needed that more than anything. I needed to know it was common to relapse and it wasn’t my fault, that I hadn’t just messed my life up.” — Amy W.
7. “It’s OK to fall down and need some help getting back up.” — Moon N.
8. “I’m proud of you for keeping on going. I’m proud that you’re still trying, and you are strong.” — Sarah L.
9. “It’s OK to be here again. We are here to help keep you safe until you can do it on your own again.” — Rhonda M.
10. “To heal we sometimes must open old wounds.” — Lauren S.
11. “This isn’t failure, this is just a different hurdle to overcome.” — Alexandra K.
12. “I’m so proud of you!” — Cindy P.