22-year-old singer Demi Lovato has reacted to those people who consider eating disorders anorexia and bulimia as showing "strength".
The singer has often been quite vocal of her own struggles with eating disorders. The young X-Factor judge has even collaborated with organizations to help other people who also suffer eating disorders. She also wants people to be educated that having that condition is not a choice.
The singer was thankful to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance for their continual support and afterwards, she went to set the record straight on her Twitter account. She said, "Having an eating disorder doesn't show 'strength'. She continued that it is the ability to overcome that sickness that is strength. She also said that the public had a misconception that those eating disorders are their own choices. "You often hear people say things like 'why doesn't she just start eating?' Or even 'just stop throwing up (sic).'"
Lovato also explicitly expressed her dissent to any such views and even called out the US government for failing to focus on mental illnesses. "It's the ignorance and lack of education on mental illnesses that continues to [put] mental health care on the back burner to congress even though this is an epidemic that is sweeping our nation, and causing more and more tragedy every day (sic)."
The singer also stressed that "Starving is not a 'diet' and throwing up isn't something that only extremely thin men or women do." She reiterated that eating disorders are deadly. Lovato's strong determination to be a role model was made public last year when she revealed to the media about her own experiences when she developed an eating disorder at the age of 12 or 13 years old."I feel that if someone had admitted they had a problem, then I wouldn't have gone down that route myself."
