Demi Lovato is enjoying a career resurgence as of late, but her dark days are not far behind her. Fortunately, the troubled star isn’t shy about opening up about her past in hopes that her fans may learn from her mistakes.

On Cutting: “There were times I felt so anxious, almost like I was crawling out of my skin — that if I didn’t do something physical to match the way I felt inside, I would explode. I cut myself to take my mind off that.

On Recovery: “I make time for myself and meditate. I’ve spent the past two years getting over an eating disorder and issues like self-harming and bipolar disorder. I have to work on this stuff every day.”

On Her Fellow X-Factor Judges: “Britney [Spears] is such a sweet girl! We’ve gone through a lot of the same things, so we have a connection. Simon [Cowell]‘s so funny and so cool, and LA [Reid]–he’s really awesome.

It may seem that Demi is rushing right back into the spotlight after her recent challenges, but it’s nice to hear her acknowledge that she and Britney have struggled with some of the same issues. Sounds like there may be some mentoring taking place at the judges’ table.