Recording artist Demi Lovato is supporting a project called Be Vocal that enables and encourages people living with mental illness to speak out and make their stories heard in the wider world. Lovato, a platinum-selling artist who has been performing and recording since the age of ten, received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 2010. “When I finally got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it was a relief in so many ways. It helped me start to make sense of my bipolar depression and the harmful things I was doing to cope with what I was experiencing,” she says.
In a 2012 video, Beyond Silence, she describes her diagnosis and the process of finding a workable treatment plan. A very determined person, she tells the story of the “emotional roller-coaster” of finding the right treatment, the right medication, the right lifestyle changes that had to come for the recovery to begin.
Now, she is commited to speaking out and working to overcome the stigma of mental illness that keeps so many people from seeking treatment. Working with Sunovion Pharmaceutacals, Inc. and several mental health non-profits, she has a website and other resources to help people speak about and accurately portray mental illness in the USA. The website shows her documentary as well as telling the stories of others struggling with various diagnoses. It also offers tips for talking about mental illness without negative stigma.
Demi Lovato is excited to be able to reach young people with her message, believing that future generations will not have a negative view of mental illness because of anti stigma work going on today.
Moodsurfing also encourages people to speak out, both to close friends and family and also on the public stage. We continue to look for both celebrities and “ordinary” people who are working on reducing and eliminating the stigma of a mental health diagnosis. Join the conversation!