Demi Lovato contemplated suicide at the age of 7
Just a week after celebrating six years of sobriety, Demi Lovato shocked fans when she revealed that she contemplated suicide at the young age of 7.
In a new interview with Dr. Phil, the singer opened up about harboring suicidal thoughts, struggling to stay sober and her road to recovery.
"The very first time I was suicidal was when I was 7, and I had this fascination with death," the singer said on the Tuesday episode of "Dr. Phil." "I have experienced things that I have not talked about and don't know if I ever will talk about."
The 25-year-old singer confessed to Dr. Phil that as a child who was struggling with depression and a bioplar disorder, she figured there had to be a way to end her suffering. "At 7, I knew that if I were to take my own life that the pain would end."
Deciding not to end her life and cope with her pain, the singer made strides to live a better life but admitted that it wasn't easy for her. "It came back when I was bullied; it came back several times when I was struggling with depression—my bipolar disorder," Lovato explained. "I turned to cutting and there was a while there when my mom was afraid to wake me up in the morning she didn't know if I would be alive or not because every time I cut it got deeper and deeper."
The "Sorry Not Sorry" singer shared that she was bullied at a young age for appearing on the TV show "Barney and Friends," and later, girls whom she thought were friends, turned on her and helped with the circulation of a "suicide petition" that went around the school.
"I was bullied when I was 12," the star confessed. "I was searching for something to numb me out and to fit in and I turned to alcohol and that's where I felt relief."
In addition to talking about her personal struggles, the star also opened up about her relationship with her alcoholic father, who left Lovato and her mother when she was a child.
"He was abusive. He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person and he wanted to have his family, and when my mom married my stepdad, he still had this huge heart where he would say, 'I am so glad that he's taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.' "
