Many people who experience mental illness feel like they have to suffer in silence due to negative stereotypes associated with their conditions. Demi Lovato is actively working to change that.
As the face of the Be Vocal mental health campaign, Lovato is encouraging others to boldly speak out about mental illness. And this past week the singer took her advocacy one step further to Capitol Hill, where she urged policy makers to place a larger priority on mental health.
"We need better mental health care in America. We need more reform. It's very important that gets done so our communities and our country can grow and thrive," Lovato told The Huffington Post. "There's such torment with these issues, which I've personally dealt with as well. I hope my involvement just helps someone with mental illness in some way."
Lovato hasn't been shy about her personal journey, speaking out about her experience with addiction and bipolar disorder both in interviews and on social media. She's been a public advocate for mental illness for more than four years in hopes that it would resonate with someone else who felt like they had to keep their illness shrouded in secrecy.
Nearly one in four people worldwide will experience a mental health issue at some point in their life, according to the World Health Organization. Lovato says if she can help any one of those people through her efforts, that would be reward enough.
[For more of this story, written by Lindsay Holmes, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...c1dae4b0dd85030cd58e]
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