Today a trailer for Demi Lovato’s new Youtube Series “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil” was released, along with more information she reveals in the actual series.
One of the sticking points has been the revelation that Lovato is no longer sober. From Entertainment Tonight:
“I’ve learned that it doesn’t work for me to say that I’m never going to do this again… I know I’m done with the stuff that’s going to kill me, right?
“Telling myself that I can never have a drink or smoke marijuana, I feel like that’s setting myself up for failure because I am such a black-and-white thinker.
“I had it drilled into my head for so many years that one drink was equivalent to a crack pipe… [I’ve] been smoking weed and drinking in moderation.”
Although I have not seen the series, this confession comes off extremely brave.
The stigma around a “moderation” option as opposed to sobriety is understandable. If you’re allowing yourself some leniency, who’s to say it would stop there? Wouldn’t the boundary just continually get pushed further?
Of course it’s possible, but moderation can work for some. It seems the most integral part of the process has less to do with moderation or abstinence, and more to do with community. As long as your support group is strong, compassionate, and free of judgment, you’re ahead of the game no matter what road you’re traveling down.
Demi Lovato’s admittance of moderation will hopefully shed light on the many options. Some see sobriety as too steep a hill to climb, therefore resist help. Hopefully someone like Lovato, with the large platform she has access to, can enlighten people to other ways forward.
