Demi Lovato Says She Has Vision and Hearing Impairment After Near-Fatal Overdose

Demi Lovato recently shared how the effects of her near-fatal overdose in 2018 serve as a reminder for her to stay sober and how she practices gratitude for where she is today.

By Elyse Dupre Jul 14, 2023 5:26 PMTags
Watch: Demi Lovato Opens Up About Effects of Her 2018 Overdose

Demi Lovato wouldn't change a thing.

Five years after her near-fatal overdose, "I wouldn't change my path because I don't have any regrets," she said on the July 12 episode of SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live. "The closest thing that I get to a regret is when I overdosed."

Looking back, Lovato—who has been open about her battles with addiction—expressed what she wishes she knew at that time.

"I wish somebody had told me, one, that I was beautiful because I didn't believe it," the 30-year-old continued, "and, two, I wish that someone would have told me that if you just sit with the pain, it passes—that you don't have to use over it." 

Though she's now in a better place, she still feels the impact of her overdose.

"It actually caused a disability," she shared. "I have vision impairment and hearing impairment….That's the closest thing that I have to a regret is that because of what it's caused me today. Like, I don't drive because I have blind spots in my vision."

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Demi Lovato Through the Years

However, those effects help serve as another reason for her to stay sober.

"It's a daily constant reminder," Lovato told host Andy Cohen. "Anytime I look at something—I have blind spots in my vision when I look at your face. And so, it's a constant reminder to stay on the right path because I never want that to happen again."

Today, she focuses on the future and not the past.

"Well luckily, in the mind state that I'm in now—being sober, having a clear head—I just think in a more positive mind space," she added. "And I'm not focusing on the shame at all because I have a lot of sympathy for where I was at at that time and the choices that I made, and I understand why it happened and what happened. But there's no shame that comes with it because it was just a life lesson that I had to learn."

Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

And when she needs a shoulder, she has a group of sober women she can turn to.

"It could've been so much worse," the "Confident" artist said. "So, it's a reminder that I came close to it being so much worse and I'm grateful that it is only what it is."

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