“I think it’s been a very introspective year for me. I’ve learned a lot, been through a lot,” she shared.
Last weekend during the Teen Vogue Summit pop star Demi Lovato spoke out for the first-time since her highly-publicized hospitalization in 2018 for a reported overdose. The 27-year-old has kept a low-profile over the past year opting to focus on personal reflection and learning to accept herself physically.
“I think it’s been a very introspective year for me. I’ve learned a lot, been through a lot,” she shared.
Body Positivity
“We hear the term body positivity all the time. To be honest, I don’t always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don’t sit there and dwell on it. I also don’t lie to myself. I used to look in the mirror if I was having a bad body image day and say ‘I love my body, you’re beautifully and wonderfully made.’ But I didn’t believe it. I don’t have to lie to myself and tell myself I have an amazing body. All I have to say is ‘I’m healthy.’ In that statement, I express gratitude. I am grateful for my strength and things I can do with my body. I am saying I’m healthy and I accept the way my body is today without changing anything.”
Lovato has been very open about her battle with bulimia and disordered eating. Her personal views on her body and the public’s reaction to it have sometimes led the star to an unhealthy place but now Lovato is all about practicing body acceptance. Instead of pushing herself to maintain a daily gym grind, she stops and listens to what her body needs.
“For so many years I dealt with an eating disorder. What I wasn’t ever open with myself about was, whenever I was in the gym I was doing it to an unhealthy extreme,” Demi said. “I think that’s what led me down a darker path — I was still engaging in these behaviors. Embracing my body as it is naturally is why I took the month of October off the gym.”
The former Camp Rocker is currently working on new music which she says she’ll release when the “time is right.”
In the meantime, she’s grateful to have made it out of the other side alive and strong.
Radical Self-Love
“What I see in the mirror [is] someone that’s overcome a lot. I’ve been through a lot and I genuinely see a fighter. I don’t see a championship winner, but I see a fighter and someone who is going to continue to fight no matter what is thrown their way. I have a lot of confidence now because I have said the things I believe in. I know I can hold my own on a first date with someone, in a conversation with someone. That’s what I see when I look in the mirror — a strong woman.”
