Demi Lovato is sad about the toll that COVID-19 has taken on the entire world, and salutes front-line workers for their sacrifices.
However, she also admits that, for someone who's been through her particular struggles, being in quarantine has actually been "really good" for her.
"It's very common for people to only really work on themselves when crisis happens or when they notice that they're slipping into old patterns or behaviors," Lovato told Bustle. "So to be able to walk into this experience without a personal crisis and just be like, 'I can do the work on myself now because I have the time'....It was a beautiful thing.”
Lovato, 27, noted that in the past, whenever she'd taken a break from work, it was because she was coping with a personal issue. In December 2018, months after a suspected overdose, Lovato tweeted that she was sober and "grateful to be alive." Before that, she'd revealed battles with addiction, disordered eating, and self-injury.
Today, however, Lovato said she feels that she's been "given this opportunity... to adapt" and "learn from" having time off. One of her lessons? It's OK to cry.
"Before quarantine, it was very difficult for me to cry. I had programmed the thought into my head...that I'm only going to cry if people pay me to," she explained. Now, after extensive therapy and a renewed relationship with religion, she said,, “I started doing all this work, allowing myself to feel the pains of all the losses that I've had or the adversities or traumas that I've faced."
"I think my ability to be vulnerable and be more intimate with people has really heightened," she added.
Lovato also figured out what she wants out of life.
“I want a career that has nothing to do with my body,” she said. "I want it to be about my music and my lyrics and my message. And I want a long-lasting career that I don't have to change myself for."