A look at Demi Lovato's struggles with drugs and alcohol

Demi Lovato is “stable” following an apparent overdose.

The shock incident comes just one month after she released her personal new ballad ‘Sober,’ in which she sings about falling off the wagon.

Although the former Disney star didn’t elaborate on what caused her to relapse, the 25-year-old has been open about battling alcohol and substance abuse — namely cocaine and prescription pills — in the past.

In her 2017 YouTube documentary Simply Complicated, Lovato revealed that she began using drugs at age 17.

“I felt out of control the first time I did it. My dad was an addict and an alcoholic,” she admitted. “Guess I always searched for what he found in drugs and alcohol because it fulfilled him and he chose that over a family.”

• Stars send Demi Lovato their support after heroin overdose

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The former Camp Rock star first went to rehab in 2010. Along with seeking treatment for alcohol and drugs, she received therapy for an eating disorder and self-harming.

However, she relapsed shortly after leaving.

“I wasn’t working my program, I wasn’t ready to get sober. I was sneaking [cocaine] on planes, I was sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night,” she explained in Simply Complicated.

“I went on a bender of, like, two months where I was using daily. … There was one night when I used a bunch of coke and I popped a few Xanax bars, and I began to choke a little bit. My heart started racing, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I might be overdosing right now.’”

Demi — who was also diagnosed as bipolar — said she went through “about 20” different sober companions. When her whole team threatened to walk out on her unless she got help, she entered rehab again in 2012.

In March, the ‘Skyscraper’ singer celebrated six years of sobriety. She opened up about the triumph during an emotional moment at one of her concerts: “Yesterday, six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at nine in the morning, throwing up in the car, and I just remember thinking, ‘This is no longer cute. This is no longer fun. And I’m just like my dad.’

“So I made changes in my life. … The reason why I became so open about my story is because I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help, and I want them to know that it’s OK. Mental health is something that we all need to talk about, and we need to take the stigma away from it. So let’s raise the awareness. Let’s let everybody know it’s OK to have a mental illness and addiction problem.”

But signs of trouble surfaced in April. While enjoying a night out with Disney alums in Hollywood, it appeared Lovato was holding a drink in one photo. She defended herself online, saying “it was red bull”.

After she began cryptically tweeting about her “truth” and starting a “new chapter.” Weeks later she dropped one of her most emotional singles to date, Sober.’

“Mama, I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore / And daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor,” she sings. “To the ones who never left me / We’ve been down this road before I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore.” Another lyric reads, “And I’m sorry for the fans I lost who watched me fall again / I wanna be a role model, but I’m only human.”

Shortly after the song’s release, she got a new tattoo on her pinky finger that says ‘Free’ in cursive. However, some were concerned when reports surfaced of a rift between Demi and her longtime life coach and sober companion, Mike Bayer. He is also the CEO of CAST Centers, a treatment centre co-owned by her.

Whispers of trouble continued when Demi appeared to hit the nightclub scene again. Last week, a Radar Online report claimed the singer had been going “off the rails” over the past two months.

“Demi relapsed about two months ago because she stopped the accountability portion of her recovery. No one can get her attention. Her team tried to hire a sober coach, and she went nuts,” a source said.

She has also apparently been hanging with a new, partying crowd including rapper G-Eazy. Although he denied they were dating, some close to her were allegedly concerned about the new friendship given he was arrested for cocaine possession in May.

Last week, she cryptically tweeted about making mistakes.

But it has seemed like business as usual for the star on social media this week. She shared her excitement about making new music ahead of a performance on Sunday.

And even promoted tonight’s appearance on Fox’s Beat Shazam five hours ago.

Despite there being uncertainty over whether or not heroin was involved — TMZ claimed she suffered what appeared to have been a heroin overdose; however, People cites a source refuting it was that drug — the good news is that Demi appears to be OK.

Her Thursday concert in Atlantic City has been canceled. Fox has also pulled her Beat Shazam episode, which was scheduled to air tonight.

Yahoo Entertainment contacted a representative for Lovato for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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