Singer and actress Demi Lovato wrote an impassioned message to her fans on Sunday, thanking God for “keeping her alive” and speaking out for the first time since her hospitalization due to an apparent overdose last month.
“I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” the star wrote in a letter posted to Instagram. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet.”
The singer went on to thank her family, team and the staff at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles.
“Without them I wouldn’t be here writing this letter to all of you,” she added.
Lovato has spoken candidly about her journey with addiction in the past. In June, she released a deeply personal song, “Sober,” in which she revealed that she had relapsed after six years of sobriety.
She checked herself into rehab in 2010, where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and received treatment for addiction, self-harm and bulimia.
Lovato was hospitalized last month after police responded to a call from her Hollywood Hills home regarding an apparent overdose. She was reportedly given Narcan, an emergency treatment for narcotic overdoses, before she was taken to the hospital.
During her hospitalization, the star’s friends spoke out in support of Lovato and her recovery.
Lovato concluded her letter to fans with the same powerful message she’s been delivering for the past several years: “I will keep fighting.”