Demi Lovato sees parallels with DMX's apparent overdose: 'I need to be counting my blessings'

Demi Lovato is grateful to be alive after her overdose — and she knows many people aren't as lucky.

Lovato appeared on TMZ Live where she talked about the parallels between her brush with death in 2018 and DMX's reported overdose. The 50-year-old rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, remains on life support in the ICU after suffering a heart attack.

"Anytime that I see somebody OD or even pass away that's in the public eye, I immediately think, you know, 'That could have been you had you not been putting all this work into the last couple years of your life,'" the 28-year-old Disney alum shared. "There's times where I've even talked about feeling survivor's guilt because you do ask yourself, 'Why am I still here? Why are others not?'"

"The Art of Starting Over" singer said survivor's guilt is "a challenging thing to get over."

"But ultimately I had to realize that every day is a day that someone else doesn't get," Lovato continued. "Every day that I'm here on this earth is a day that I need to be counting my blessings for and just being appreciative and grateful for it. Also, it makes me want to live the best life I can possibly live, knowing that others didn't get the same chance that I did."

DMX completed several rehab stints over the years, his most recent in 2019. The Simmons family has not confirmed reports his heart attack was drug-related.

Lovato opens up about her journey with addiction in the powerful YouTube documentary, Dancing With the Devil. She was hospitalized and nearly died in July 2018 after overdosing on heroin laced with fentanyl, triggering a heart attack and three strokes. She relapsed weeks later, calling the same drug dealer that also sexually assaulted her.

These days, Lovato is "California sober," meaning her treatment plan includes marijuana.

"The conventional way of recovery was invented in the 1930," she told TMZ. "It has not worked for every single person that has tried it."

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