Demi Lovato Was 'Relieved' to Be Diagnosed as Bipolar to Treat Her 'Extreme Lows' from Depression

Demi Lovato is speaking candidly about her bipolar diagnosis.

The "Heart Attack" singer, 30, took part in the Hollywood & Mind Summit in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, where she explained that she was "relieved" to learn about the diagnosis because it helped explain why she had felt certain emotions throughout her life.

"I was so relieved that I had finally had a diagnosis," Lovato — who previously said in her 2021 Dancing with the Devil documentary that she was initially misdiagnosed — noted. "I had spent so many years struggling, and I didn't know why I was a certain way in dealing with depression at such extreme lows, when I seemingly had the world in front of me just ripe with opportunities."

"It was things like, I remember being 15 years old on a tour bus and watching fans follow my bus with posters and trying to get me to wave outside the window. And all I could do was just sit there and cry," she continued. "And I remember being in the back of my tour bus watching my fans and crying and being like, 'Why am I so unhappy?' "

Lovato said that one of the reasons why she shared her diagnosis publicly was because she wanted to pass on what she has learned to others out there struggling with similar things she went through.

"I knew that if I could help others with their journey, then that's exactly what I wanted to do," she said. "And so I decided to be open and honest about what I had finally learned about myself."

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The former Disney star first revealed her bipolar diagnosis in 2011, telling PEOPLE at the time that during her three-month stay at a treatment center, where she underwent therapy for anorexia and bulimia, she discovered why she was having trouble controlling her emotions and actions.

"I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar," Lovato explained. "Looking back, it makes sense. There were times when I was so manic, I was writing seven songs in one night and I'd be up until 5:30 in the morning."

"I feel like I am in control now where my whole life I wasn't in control," she added.

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In 2017, the "Confident" songstress told Elvis Duran that she wanted to be seen as more than just her diagnosis and was looking to establish a more encouraging label for herself – like "activist."

"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," she said. "It's something that I have, it's not who I am."

"I think it's very important that people raise the importance of mental health because it's something that's so taboo to talk about," Lovato added. "The more people know about it, the more people are going to be able to find solutions to what they're going through."

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.