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" Demi Lovato has spoken out about her eating disorder - and said that it could have been stopped. Speaking openly about her battle with bulimia, Lovato told British Cosmopolitan&amp;#039;s spin-off student magazine Cosmo on Campus about love, her dark teenage years and not being ready for X Factor USA.  She revealed: &amp;quot;I was about 12 or 13 when I developed my eating disorder, and at that time nobody in the public eye talked about their body issues.  &amp;quot;I feel that if someone had admitted they had a problem, then I wouldn&amp;#039;t have gone down that route myself.  &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s my goal in talking about my problems. I want to be the person for other girls that I needed to admire when I was looking for help and strength. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s okay to love your body the way it is and it&amp;#039;s okay to reach out for help if you have drug and alcohol problems, or if you&amp;#039;re self-harming or being bullied.&amp;quot; Reflecting on her role as a judge on X Factor USA, Lovato admits that it was too soon after leaving rehab: &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t think I was ready when I started on The X Factor [in autumn 2012]. In an ideal situation I would have maybe waited a year or more [after coming out of treatment].  &amp;quot;I dived into work really quickly and maybe that wasn&amp;#039;t the best idea at the time, but the place I am in today is so much better than I could have ever imagined, so I&amp;#039;m really glad.&amp;quot; Admitting she used to &amp;#039;self-sabotage&amp;#039; relationships because she was so unhappy with herself, she confesses she&amp;#039;s now ready for love: &amp;quot;It is very unhealthy when girls devote all of their time to a guy and forget their friends and family.  &amp;quot;I did that. I was always looking for distractions because I was so afraid of being alone. &amp;quot;I have spent the last year focusing on myself and it&amp;#039;s been incredible. More has come out of the past year than in my entire career so far, and I truly believe it was because I was taking care of myself and not focusing on guys. &amp;quot;Now I&amp;#039;m in a place where I can finally trust and love and be a better person for the man I am in a relationship with, instead of being a clingy girlfriend or getting jealous.&amp;quot;  However, Mr Right will have to accept her for who she is: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a southern Texas girl. I have a really strong personality - I speak my mind and I don&amp;#039;t hold back. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m the type of woman who doesn&amp;#039;t put up with bulls**t, so when I date I have to find someone who won&amp;#039;t either. I don&amp;#039;t think any woman should ever hold back what she&amp;#039;s really thinking.&amp;quot; The full interview appears in the Spring 2013 issue of Cosmo on Campus, available from today across universities in the UK. Cosmo on Campus is also available to purchase on Apple Newsstand (download the Cosmo UK app to access). "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/the-x-factor-us/news/a456485/demi-lovato-if-celebs-had-been-honest-i-wouldnt-have-had-bulimia/>