Demi Lovato Revealed She Had 3 Strokes and a Heart Attack When She Overdosed

Lovato's telling her story on her own terms in her upcoming documentary.

On March 23rd, we’ll finally be getting the full story of what went down with Demi Lovato in 2018—but on the singer’s own terms. Lovato is releasing a four-part YouTube documentary series, titled Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, which chronicles her 2018 overdose that nearly took her life.

I had three strokes. I had a heart attack, Lovato says in the trailer for the docuseries, released Wednesday, February 17th. My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes.

Lovato likened her experience with addiction to the nine lives of a cat. “I’ve had a lot of lives…I’m on my ninth life,” Lovato said. “I’m ready to get back to doing what I love, which is making music.”

The doc is a collection of footage taken shortly before, during, and after her overdose, as well as interviews from Lovato’s friends, family, and fellow musicians, including Elton John and Christina Aguilera.

“What I learned is that, it’s so much more than just mental health,” Lovato told Glitter Magazine on Wednesday. “My life is now about spiritual growth and how I can help everyone, even people that don’t have mental illnesses, how we can help elevate everyone’s vibrations so that we can live in a more positive planet.”

“That’s how I navigate through my day; how are my choices today going to affect those around me in a positive way? How am I going to better myself today?” she continued. “So, hopefully, people can see that in the doc as well.”

In January, Dancing With the Devil was selected as the headlining opening night film at the SXSW Film Festival in March.

Having recently been made aware of how tragically young famous women were treated by the media for their addictions and mental health diagnoses in the early 2000s, Lovato telling her story and being taken seriously while doing so is a massive step forward for not only celebrity culture but for the destigmatization of addiction and mental health.

We’ll definitely be watching the first episode when it airs on YouTube on March 23rd.

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