Demi Lovato Opens Up How She Stayed Sober For Five Years

Demi Lovato was honored with the Artistic Award of Courage at the UCLA Semel Institute’s Open Mind Gala on Wednesday.

“What keeps me on this path is there’s a drive that I have to stay sober because I know that my life depends on it,” said Lovato, who celebrated her fifth anniversary of sobriety recently. “If I would have continued down that road, I don’t know if I’d be here today. So it’s something that’s very important to me.”

The “Confident” singer reveals that staying sober and healthy has done more than just change her life, it also helped other people change their own lives.

“I’ve been able to share my story with other people, and I’ve had fans that come up to me and tell me, ‘Because you got sober, I got sober,'” she said. “It’s just been a really beautiful thing.”

Lovato is back in the studio recording new music, and the singer says she’s also had to find inspiration for her new tracks in different places than her previous albums.

“What I’m channeling is things I’m going through today, which are different,” Lovato said. “Everyone goes through ups and downs and I’m getting to write about that. I’m at a new chapter in my life so whenever I’m writing, I keep that in mind.”

Lovato recently took to Instagram to commemorated her half-decade of sobriety with a touching post.

“So grateful. It’s been quite the journey,” she wrote. “So many times I wanted to relapse but sat on my hands and begged God to relieve the obsession… Feeling humbled and joyful today. Thank you guys for sticking by my side and believing in me.”

She also shared how she celebrated her 5-year anniversary of soberness.

“I didn’t really do much to be honest,” she said. “I went to Disneyland which was cool but it’s something that’s getting more and more comfortable to me now so it’s kinda like your birthday. When you’re a kid you go all out and then as you get older, you just learn to be more appreciative of it.”