Earlier this week, Demi Lovato dropped a new documentary about her life called “Simply Complicated.” While the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer has always been upfront about her demons, this is the first time we’ve received raw behind the scenes access to her. From drug use and a bipolar diagnosis to her struggle with an eating disorder and entering rehab, no topic was off limits.
I’ve always felt a camaraderie with Demi. Not only are we the same age, we both developed eating disorders as teens. Her candor in this film forced me to confront my own body issues.
I’ve always had body issues. Growing up, I felt the same pressures to be beautiful, and most importantly, thin. Although for Demi these pressures were magnified by being in the public eye, our reactions were the same as many of young girls around the world struggling to be perfect.
For me, it started in 8th grade, but high school is where it took a turn for the worse. At the time, I thought that food was the only thing I could control. I created a dangerous emotional connection with food and the stressful things that were going on around me. Every time I would break up with someone or get in a fight with a friend, it would set me off. But I honestly didn’t think what I was doing was wrong. When my family finally figured out what was going on they didn’t know how to handle it or what to do. This disorder brought out the absolute worst in me.