Demi Lovato is 90 days sober after 'overdose', mother reveals
'I couldn't be more thankful or more proud of her, because addiction, being a disease, it is work'
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Your support makes all the difference.Demi Lovato's mother has revealed the pop star is 90 days sober, three months after she was taken to hospital to be treated for a suspected drug overdose.
Dianna De La Garza appeared on the latest episode of the Conversations with Maria Menounos podcast, on Sirius XM, during which she revealed that the 26-year-old singer is recovering well.
“She has 90 days and I couldn't be more thankful or more proud of her, because addiction, being a disease, it is work,” she told host Maria Menounos. “It's very hard, it's not easy, and there are no shortcuts.”
Asked what had caused Lovato, who has been vocal about her struggles with substance abuse, to relapse in July, De La Garza said she “can't really say for sure”.
“It can be any number of reasons,” she said. “We lost five close members of our family in one year while I was writing the book, my grandfather, my grandmother, two uncles. We lost five people just in a span of a few months.
“My grandmother and my grandfather were older and they were in a nursing home, but my uncles, that was kind of a shock. And then I lost a grandmother on my father's side and so even through all of that, losing all of those people, she didn't relapse. So, it's hard to say. You couldn't say because we lost five people in our family that caused a relapse.”
“I don't think it was a particular incident,” she continued, adding that while it “may have been” that she ended up around the wrong people, “I also think that when you're young and sometimes you think, maybe I can go do this and it won't affect me, but with an addiction you just can't do that. It's a slippery slope.”
Lovato herself shared a post on Instagram in August after leaving hospital, where she said she had “always been transparent about [my] journey with addiction”.
“This illness is not something that disappears or fades with time,” she continued. “It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.
“I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well. To my fans, I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond. Your positive thoughts and prayers have helped me navigate through this difficult time.”
“I will keep fighting,” she concluded.
Lovato, who is one of the biggest-selling pop artists of her generation, has enjoyed global hits including “Cool For The Summer”, “Sorry Not Sorry”, and her recent UK. No.1 with Clean Bandit, “Solo”.
She rose to fame on Disney Channel shows such as the film Camp Rock, alongside the Jonas Brothers, and Sonny With A Chance, before embarking on a solo pop career.
She has been vocal about her struggles with substance abuse and revealed she first tried cocaine aged 17, in a YouTube documentary titled Simply Complicated, which was released last October.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from substance abuse problems, help is available:
UK: NHS drug addiction helpline - 0300 123 6600
US: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - 1-800-662-HELP
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