Demi Lovato has always been very open about her troubled past, and now that a mass shooting in Oregon has happened, she is speaking out about mental illness and making the seriousness of it much more aware to those who don't understand.
With the national discussion surrounding mental illness being very much present in the news following the Oregon tragedy, the 23-year-old singer explained on "MSNBC Live With Tamron Hall" that she's tired of hearing people jump to conclusions.
"Well, unfortunately, we've had several instances where mental health has been brought to the attention by the media because of these tragedies," she explained, according to E! News. "I think it's really important to remember that people with mental illness are actually more likely to inflict harm on themselves and become the victim rather than be the perpetrators."
As someone who has personally suffered from bipolar depression for many years, Lovato just wants to be able to help those who are dealing with similar problems.
"I was lonely, I was sad, I was miserable and I couldn't figure out why, because I was on top of the world it felt like, but yes, I was struggling with it," she continued to explain. "And I want to do whatever I can to help others."
While meeting with the legislators at the National Council for Behavioral Health's Hill Day in Washington on Tuesday on behalf of the Be Vocal: Speck Up For Mental Health initiative, Lovato explained her "years of pain and suffering" and how she wants to help people so she can "try to prevent that suffering from happening," she told People.
"I think it's important that people no longer look at mental illness as something taboo to talk about," she continued to say. "It's something that's extremely common, one in five adults has a mental illness, so basically everyone is essentially connected to this problem and this epidemic. The problem with mental illness is people don't look at it as a physical illness. When you think about it, the brain is actually the most complex organ in your body. We need to treat it like a physical illness and take it seriously."
After years of suffering, Lovato learned to feel confident in her own skin. She may have had a tough battle, but with the help of medication and a strong support system, she's been able to learn and grow from the experience. As for how we can help others, any little bit counts.
"It could be as small as a hashtag or a tweet, it could be as big as joining us at Capitol Hill," she said. "Whatever you can do to help out is what I want you to take away from this. I think it's extremely important that we continue to raise the awareness and hopefully convince Congress to take more action."
Find out how you can make a difference here.
A photo posted by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Oct 5, 2015 at 5:06am PDT
