Demi Lovato says she struggled with 'suicidal thoughts'

American singer-actor Demi Lovato recently opened up about her struggles with mental health and how she now has the support system to bounce back when things get dark.

According to People magazine, after releasing her YouTube Originals docu-series 'Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil', the 26-year-old singer sat down for an interview with the outlet for this week's issue.

The 'Sonny with A Chance' actor told People magazine, "Suicidal thoughts are something that I've had my whole life, and if it were to ever get dark again, I have an incredible support system. Because I am an empath, I feel so deeply and so extreme, to where it does get really dark but I have the support system around me now where I don't let it marinate at all in my thoughts."

The singer says she now knows she's not alone.

Lovato said, "I immediately reach out to people, and then from there, we figure out what treatment plan I need, and sometimes it's just going to sleep. Sometimes it's journaling, it's a meditation, whatever it is with my treatment team. But I have found many things that help me in those moments."

"I have tons of resources and tools and I feel prepared, which I hadn't felt prepared a few years ago," she says.

The 'Heart Attack' songstress also opened up to People magazine about losing her virginity in a rape at 15 years old and how she's learned to heal from that trauma.

"Sometimes people hear my music from when I was a teenager and they're like, 'Oh, you were so angry.' I'm like, 'Yeah, and now you guys get to see why I was so angry,'" she said.

The 'Skyscraper' songstress added of sharing her story, "Having put that out in front of the camera and knowing that people have seen that, it's freeing. It's empowering. It's liberating."

"And it really lets that anger that was inside of me dissolve. I had let go of a lot of the anger beforehand, but this was kind of just the final send-off, like, okay, I can really heal from this now."

Now, Lovato says she's embracing the fact that she got a second chance, especially after her 2018 overdose.

"It feels like such a fresh start. I feel like I am the freest I've ever been. It feels great to live in my truth fearlessly.I feel proud, but I also know I'm not hanging my hat up yet," said Lovato.

The actor told People magazine, "I have so much work to continue to do, and the work that I've done has been so exciting because it's opened up my doors to my spirituality, embracing my identity, coming into myself more and just exploring that."

( With inputs from ANI )