Demi Lovato Reveals She Has Bipolar Disorder

By Tracey Harrington McCoy Posted Apr 20th 2011 07:00PM

Just days after commending fellow actress Catherine Zeta-Jones for sharing her struggle with bipolar disorder, Demi Lovato revealed she too suffers from the disorder.

The 18-year-old Disney star told PEOPLE about her diagnosis in a recent interview: "I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar." Lovato spent three months in a residential center undergoing therapy for anorexia, bulimia and depression.

"Looking back it makes sense," she told PEOPLE about her diagnosis. "There were times when I was so manic, I was writing seven songs in one night and I'd be up until 5:30 in the morning."

"I feel like I am in control now where my whole life I wasn't in control," she added.

When news of Zeta-Jones' diagnosis made headlines several days ago, Lovato took to her Twitter to show her support. "I don't know Catherine Zeta-Jones personally but what she has decided to do it SO brave," Lovato tweeted. "And SO difficult but worth it... I'm proud of her."

The 'Sonny With a Chance' star also urged those in need to lean on supportive friends and family."If you are going through that dark period, go to your family and closest friends," she told Seventeen. "Don't put yourself in danger."

On Wednesday, Zeta-Jones said she hoped being candid about her condition will helps other seek treatment. "This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them," Zeta-Jones told PEOPLE. "If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help."

It was reported last week that Zeta-Jones checked into Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., for treatment of the disorder.

Tags: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Lovato

Comments

(59)

Thursday 21 April

By anny

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I wish her well.

By Ted

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Oh boo hoo, stop trying to get pity from your "problems". Just doing damage control for punching a girl in the face, go away now.

By kickinit

She's a beautiful & talented girl with some problems. Our young sons & daughters will benefit from seeing her work through this. That is why she shared it. If she just wanted attention she could make a skank video like miley did. Demi is awesome!

By Rakava

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Not that I'm cynical but Demi has been out for a while and she brings this up now? It seems timed to ride on the coattails of the Academy Award winning CZJ.

Friday 22 April

By Karren

At least she is being honest and open about all her issues. (Mental/Emotional/Physical). Lots of people with eating disorders also suffer with/from bi-polar disorder. Kind of strange that she is "just now" sharing that she has bi-ploar disorder. She has been sharing about her bulimia/anorexia & cutting for awhile now. She told Robin Roberts Wed 4/20 that she had been bullied since about the time she was 8 years old. (Kids called her "fat")! She claimed that is when she became obsessed with eating/over-eating and then her eating disorders spiraled from that point. Thus..in junior high...her parents took her out of school to be "home schooled"! Hopefully, now Demi can continue to recover & find some peace of mind. Go Demi...good for being honest.

By Lori

She's been sharing "for a while"? Yesterday was 4/20. Amazing that 24 hours counts are "a while" to you.Give the girl a break. Getting help for bipolar takes courage. And so does admitting it publicly, to try to help others.

By leslamonte

boo hoo hoo, who cares?

By Ghanima

Why are people so mean? Bipolar is a serious illness that seriously effects the lives of those who have it and those who love them. Demi is a beautiful young women who other girls look up too. Hopefully her admitting to her illness helps other people who may be having similar problems to seek help.

By Marie

Bipolar can actually be very damaging to the psyche, and I'm glad she found out before she hit twenty. Going untreated for a long time is particularly bad. I'm actually working on something about it - because people just don't know how bad it can get and they need to start understanding bipolar at its worst. I'm second generation Bipolar I, as is my half-sibling, both through the same parent (sometimes it's genetics). Bipolar can lead to other issues that lead to even a psychotic break. Depending on the person it can be a very minor thing in their life or just a step down from MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder).

Sunday 24 April

By Ashley

Just wanted to let you know its not call multiple personality disorder anymore, im the DSM IV it is called dissociative identity disorder

By Nicko

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SOME VERY FAMOUS AND TALENTED PEOPLE ARE BI-POLAR.

By Rach

Some of you people make me sick. Dealing with any kind of mental illness is not something you'd wish on anyone. I think she's awesome for speaking out about it, helping to remove the stigma, and encouraging others who suffer from mental illness.
Get a grip.

By Doug

Who?

By Hello Howard

Huh? The vacation homes in the Arctic and Antartica have nothing to do with this?
:-)

By cheercher22

The hate for people like us it is downright rude. Why do people say these things when they don’t even know anything about it? If they did they wouldn’t want to be in our shoes. Haven’t we all said time after time, that bipolar is just a part of us, like any other disease, diabetes, cancer, etc? We can’t help it our brains have a genetic disorder. If it was fixable, we would fix it. They think just because they are celebrities, they are trying to get attention. Yes, attention alright to the cause, to the stigma of realizing that there are many of us out there. What I have to say to them is open your eyes, stop seeing with hate. If you don’t have a kind word to say about any disorder, mental illness or disease, just educate yourself first. If you would educate yourselves, you would have empathy, not hate. Zeta Jones last week, Lovato this week and others before them. I say, thanks for your support for others like us.

By Susie

Now all bad behavior will be explained away as being "bi polar". She's a cokehead plain and simple.

By Shelby

I guess the new headline=grabbing claim is that "I am bipolar", where it used to be "I was abused as a child." What a shame that all of these pseudo claims detract from the genuine issues.

By pe

I guess none of you personally know or have a loved one who is bipolar. The more we know about this condition and dipense with the shame, the better. It is heartbreaking to watch someone suffer and then wait for it to happen again and again over their life time.

By Roger

So this is the new Hollywood excuse for acting like an idiot. It is called being spoiled and not getting your way. They never had to grow up and still act like a 5 year old throwing a fit. It is so humiliating they have to give it a medical condition. Grow up and take responsibility for your actions and attitudes.

By falcon38a

Look you idiots out there. Bi-polar is a horrible disease. My nephew has it. He struggles everyday. People and social agencies don't give it the attention it needs.

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