Demi Lovato Felt Like She Was In A 'Walking Coma' For Years After Near-Fatal 2018 Overdose

Demi Lovato had to learn the hard way that “California sober” wasn’t a great option for her after surviving a near-fatal overdose in 2018.

As Perezcious readers know, the singer caused a stir in her 2021 docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil when she promoted the controversial lifestyle choice — in which someone uses cannabis but avoids other drugs — despite her addiction history. At the time, she said she was “smoking weed and drinking in moderation” and believed she could keep it under control even though people in her inner circle were insisting she stop. And, ultimately, she had to cut herself off when she realized she was just recreating another — albeit very similar — problem for herself.

While sitting down on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, the Skyscraper vocalist revealed she ended up taking it to an “unhealthy level” by “smoking so much weed and taking edibles, sometimes 300mg at a time,” noting:

“All I did was replace my addiction with something I thought was safer.”

Oof. A hard lesson to learn…

But Demi was also facing other struggles at the time, such as weight gain, causing her to go into a “deep depression” that left her feeling a “profound sadness.” This sent her on a downward spiral, the 31-year-old Sonny with a Chance alum recalled:

“I was hiding in my room, not wanting to go outside because I didn’t want anyone to see me. I wasn’t experiencing life. I ultimately was in this walking coma, where I wasn’t feeling any pain but I also wasn’t feeling any joy.”

Mind you, this was several years after her overdose, too, which left her with serious health problems like hearing and vision issues, she detailed:

“I still actually have vision problems. I don’t drive anymore because I have blind spots in my vision.”

It’s no wonder she was struggling — there was so much she had to process and overcome after the overdose. We cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to pull herself out of this dark place, but we’re so glad she received treatment in late 2021 so she could emerge a happier and healthier version of herself.

Naturally, she’s often asked if she regrets her past life — but the Cool for the Summer artist tries to avoid being too hard on herself, she revealed:

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Do you have any regrets in life?’ A lot of times I start to answer like, ‘Yeah, I wish I didn’t overdose because it I have hearing impairment, I have vision impairment and that was just an awful thing to put my family and friends through.’ But I also have to remember the importance of not living in the past and not having regrets for things. […] I try to remain positive and have a healthy perspective on what happened to me.”

Looking forward and making better decisions is probably the best use of her time and energy, TBH. No sense beating herself up for something she can’t change! And, for the record, it sounds like she really learned her lesson since the Heart Attack performer acknowledged:

“Smoking and drinking led me back to other substances. […] Abstinence has been the key for me.”

It’s been a very emotional rollercoaster ride for her these last few years! So glad she’s doing better. Hear lots more from her candid interview (below):