In an emotional tribute, Demi Lovato remembered her friend Thomas, who passed away following a drug overdose on Oct. 8. The news hits close to home for the singer, who also suffers from addiction, and referred to it as a ‘terrible disease.’

Demi Lovato, 27, is urging her fans to remind their friends and family how much they love and support them. The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer suffered a devastating loss, losing her friend Thomas to a drug overdose on Oct. 8. “Devastated. Please hold your loved ones tight. Tell them they are special and that you love them. Make sure they know it,” Demi wrote on her Instagram stories on Oct. 9. “RIP to my boo @sirtruss.” In a second post, the Grammy nominee added, “Addiction is NO joke.. heaven gained a beautiful angel last night because of that terrible disease. I’m crushed and will always miss you @sirtruss. If you or someone you know is struggling please know it’s okay to ask for help.”

The news hits especially close to home for Demi, who has been incredibly transparent about her own struggles with substance abuse. The singer has suffered through her own overdoses and relapses, along with attending rehab more than once. In November 2010, she withdrew from The Jonas Brothers tour to attend a treatment facility in order to deal with emotional and physical issues she was enduring, including bipolar disorder and bulimia. Demi later opened up about how much she was relying on drugs during this time in her YouTube documentary, Simply Complicated, which debuted in Oct. 2017. She revealed that, as a teenager, she would sneak drugs onto planes, into bathrooms and throughout the night. By 2011, she began struggling with self-harm and self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. Eventually, though, the pop star worked to maintain a fully sober life, and celebrated her milestone six-year sobriety anniversary in January 2018.

Then, things took a turn for the singer. In July 2018, an overdose nearly killed her, and she was rushed to the hospital after friends found her unconscious in her Hollywood Hills home. Demi broke her silence about the overdose in Aug. 2018, writing on Instagram, “This illness is not something that disappears or fades with time,” she explained. “It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet. I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well. To my fans, I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond.” She completed several months in rehab and is now sober again.

Now, the singer appears to be happy and healthy. She’s been enjoying her life and even a new relationship with Bachelor franchise alum, Mike Johnson. All told, she appears to be in a good place. Even during these difficult moments, though, Demi is still using her influence to speak openly and honestly about the pain of addiction, whether she has suffered from it or lost a friend as a result of the ‘terrible disease.’ She has grown very candid about discussing her own battle with addiction over the years and using her platform as a means of reducing the stigma around those conversations. Demi’s really been paving her own way of moving forward, documenting her journey in Simply Complicated, taking to social media to share her experience, and writing music that speaks to her struggles.

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