Demi Lovato’s new documentary, Simply Complicated, is brutally honest about every topic concerning Lovato’s life. From her childhood and family dynamics, to her drug addiction, to her new single life, the singer reveals more than ever before. The film on Youtube serves as a timeline of Demi’s life, beginning with her childhood, then going into her performing career at a young age, the start of her Disney Channel days, her substance abuse, rehab, relationship with Wilmer Valderrama, her eating disorder, and ending on a positive note about her new single life. This documentary shocked and amazed me, which created a new found admiration for Lovato. However, while most are concerned with her battle with drugs and alcohol, one crucial part of the film stuck out to me: her mental health.
About twenty minutes into the film, her manager, Phil McIntyre, explains that “anything that was going on would have been chalked up to ‘she’s a teenage girl.’” At this point in Lovato’s career, she was experiencing major anxiety and dealing with anger issues on top of an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health describes bipolar disorder as, “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks,” usually characterized by “very high, highs” during mania and “very low, lows” during the depression. This disorder clearly cannot be “chalked up” to normal teenage angst, as the severe mood swings are unlike anything experienced by a teenager without the mood disorder.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website states that, “20% of youths ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition.” While this statistic may be staggering, mental health is still rarely talked about with teens. Instead, many toxic behaviors are viewed as teen problems or angst, instead of investigated further. My parents, like most, never had a mental health talk with me, even when depression and anxiety run in my family. While mental health remains a prominent issue, especially with teens, the conversation is still stunted. The third leading cause of death in those aged 10-14 is suicide and 90% of those had an underlying mental illness, as explained by NAMI. The lack of conversation around mental health, and especially teen girls’ mental health, detrimentally hurts those affected.
Demi Lovato, in particular, had to deal with the judgement of millions while dealing with a mood disorder, adding to the pressure 20% of teens already face. Daily Mail called Demi a “troubled teen” after she left rehab and later referred to her as a “fragile singer” when commenting on her new relationship with Wilmer Valderrama in an article from November, 2011. These are two instances out of many that demean the, then teen’s, mental health journey. While her manager believed her actions were those of any other teenage girl, and gossip magazines called her “troubled,” the singer was dealing with a mood disorder. Mike Bayer, Demi’s development coach, in Simply Complicated explained that, “she was on a road to like suicide.” Demi’s symptoms, like most adolescent girls’, were not taken seriously or examined closely at all. After being diagnosed, Lovato explained that “it just made sense,” and went on to describe her episodes of mania, and earlier in the documentary explains her depressive episodes.
Demi Lovato is a prime example of the way that we talk about teen girls’ mental health, and how the conversation is stunted with little to no helpful information. Demi Lovato, by being brave enough to speak up about her mental health, has given us all a wakeup call.
While this article has focused on the mental health of teen girls, boys and men are also susceptible to mental illness. No matter your race, gender identity, sexuality, or economic status, mental illness affects everyone. If you are a DePaul student seeking help, please contact the University Counseling Services.
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