Lovato thankful to be alive

LOS ANGELES: Pop star Demi Lovato ( pix) said on Sunday she is thankful to be alive and needed time to recover in her first remarks since an overdose nearly two weeks ago.

Writing to over 70 million Instagram followers, Lovato gave few details on her July 24 hospitalisation but noted that she has long been open about her struggles with addiction.

“What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something that I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.

“I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well,” Lovato wrote, adding she is “forever grateful” for the support of her fans and crediting the staff of Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles with saving her life.

The 25-year-old, who cancelled a show in Atlantic City that had been planned for two days after her hospitalisation, suggested that she may not be returning to the public eye soon.

“I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery,” she wrote.

Lovato has long spoken of her struggles with depression, eating disorders and addiction, belying her happy persona as a smiling star of the children’s show Barney and Friends.

A 2012 documentary, Demi Lovato: Stay Strong, showed how she used to snort cocaine several times a day before finding her way into rehab and reviving her career.

Her overdose prompted a flurry of statements of solidarity from fellow stars who praised her personality – although the attention also triggered a backlash by netizens, who noted that many non-celebrities suffer from drugs with little fanfare. – AFP