AceShowbiz - Demi Lovato has blocked out negative press because mean comments about her appearance are the most likely things to trigger a relapse in her recovery.

The pop star suffered a drug overdose in 2018 and spent months in rehab, and she's desperate not to get to a place where she feels she needs to use. And that means she can't take criticism right now.

"I think it was right after I got out of rehab in 2018, I saw an article somewhere that said I was morbidly obese, and that is the most triggering thing that you could possibly write about somebody with an eating disorder," she tells Paper magazine.

"That sucked, and I wanted to quit. I wanted to use. I wanted to give up. And then I just realized that if I don't look at those things then they can't affect me. So, I stopped looking and I just really try not to look at anything negative."

But the "Cool For the Summer" singer insists her life has always been more positive than negative, adding, "I think the positives outweigh the negatives. I think that if they didn't, I wouldn't be doing this."

In the interview, Demi also admits that fans' eagerness to share their painful stories with her was a double-edged sword. "It's draining, yes, and it's hard," she explains. "There's reasons why my meet and greets have gotten a lot shorter over the years."

"More than a handful of people would tell you each time, 'You saved my life,' or they would show me the cuts on their wrists," she adds. "I know that they mean well, I know that they are confiding in me because they have no one else. But it does take a lot."