By now, it's no secret that Demi Lovato has been to hell and back. The 18-year-old singer has been open about her struggles with cutting, eating disorders and depression, and she hopes her journey will inspire others to tackle their own issues as well.
"To me, it's more rewarding for me to speak about these issues and know that I'm possibly making a difference in someone's life," she tells The Associated Press. "I feel like I'm held more accountable to stay healthy now because now I'm a role model to young girls to not have eating issues and to not say, 'Hey, it's OK to starve yourself' or 'It's OK to throw up after your meals.' That's not OK."
The "Skyscraper" singer, who is still in therapy, admits that it's a "daily battle" to stay on the straight and narrow. "I check in with many, many people every single day," Lovato says. "I have a very strong treatment team and it's actually kind of overwhelming sometimes to have that many people just focused on you and your problems."
One thing Lovato doesn't have to worry about? People in her team sweeping her issues under the rug. "Now I have people around me that at the sign of anything, they say something and they speak up and they are no longer afraid to say, 'Hey, maybe you shouldn't be doing this' because they're afraid of losing their job," the singer -- who released her third album, Unbroken, on Tuesday -- says.
"I think that's what goes wrong in a lot of people's careers, so many people are afraid to say, 'This person has a problem' or 'This person maybe shouldn't do this' because they're afraid of losing their jobs," Lovato adds.