Demi Lovato has been open about her struggle with bipolar disorder, but the singer-turned-activist does not want to be defined by her mental illness.
“I think when people refer to me as being bipolar, it’s something that’s true – I am bipolar – but I don’t like people to use it as a label,” Lovato, 24, told host Elvis Duran on the iHeartRadio show “Label Defiers” in an interview released Wednesday. “It’s something that I have, it’s not who I am.”
The former Disney star also addressed the July suicide of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation and I feel terrible for [Bennington’s] friends and family,” she said. “But I know that maybe this will raise the topic into conversation around mental illness and mental health and help somebody.”
The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer also revealed she has a new way to relieve stress.
“I love doing jiu-jitsu,” she said. “I started training MMA, and a part of MMA is jiu-jitsu, so when I started learning I just fell in love with the sport … Being able to do the moves that you do and flow with people, it’s an art form and it’s really beautiful, and it takes my mind off of things that I stress about, [because] I’m constantly thinking: ‘What do I need to defend? What move can I make now?’ It’s like a game of chess.”