Dove Cameron speaks out about mental health and her father's suicide in cover story for Byrdie

Dove Cameron covers the newest issue of Byrdie.

The former Disney star sported a silver voluminous top with coordinating trousers, adding clothing pins into her hair, which was in a tight ponytail.

The  singer, 27, spoke out about her father's death by suicide in 2011, how she copes with the trauma of her loss, as well as depression and mental health.

'I think it's important just to say this: I've had times in my life when I was incredibly suicidal. And I think that needs to be destigmatized,' she said.

'My father [died by] suicide. I've spoke about that a lot.'

Stunning: Dove Cameron covers the newest issue of Byrdie

Candid: The singer, 27, spoke out about her father's death as well as how she cope with the trauma of her loss as well as depression and mental health; seen at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2023

'And if we could be more open about suicide and mental health, I think there would be so many people [who would say] "Hey I fee like there's no other option. Can you show me that there are?"'

Her father - Philip Alan Hosterman - died by suicide in 2011 when Dove was 15 years old.

After his death, the star - born Chloe Celeste Hosterman changed her legal name to Dove - which was his nickname for her. 

The actress revealed she has been in therapy since she was eight years old - after her childhood best friend was murdered by her father.

In 2019, her Descendants co-star and close friend Cameron Boyce died at age 20 due to an epileptic seizure - an ongoing medical condition he was having treated.

Cameron talked about a word that people have used to describe her over the years - 'resilient' and how now it doesn't feel empowering to her to be labeled that.

Her father: Her father - Philip Alan Hosterman - died by suicide in 2011 when Dove was 15 years old; she shared a sweet tribute to him in 2016

Candid: The actress revealed she has been in therapy since she was eight years old - after her childhood best friend was murdered by her father

'Over time, it started feel disempowering. It's like, "So many things have been done to you, but look at what you did with it!"' she said.

'It's the pressure to always be okay, to survive it. I was just so tired of the look people gave me when they said how resilient I was.'

Dove prefers the word 'alchemical' because 'you are the doer.'

She has the word tattooed on both of her shoulders - one in English and one in Hindu.

The star spent a lot of time in India as a child due to her parents' work.

Cameron, who became a household name in the 2015 Disney film Descendants, named her upcoming debut album Alchemical.

The artist says that she imagines bad things as talismans in her home that she eats and gets better and bigger, as opposed to pushing them away and have them looming over her head.

'Instead of having them be something that was done to me; me surviving something, I was now in the driver's seat,' she told the outlet.

'I was somebody who had all of these experiences in my nervous system, in my spirit, [and] in my blood, and I could do with them what I wanted. I could release them. I could turn them into something gorgeous,' she said.

From the heart: 'Instead of having them be something that was done to me; me surviving something, I was now in the driver's seat,' she told the outlet

 The Boyfriend singer chose the word Alchemical for her debut album because it has become her 'guiding light' and her mantra.

Telling the magazine: 'I accept this huge blow, I accept this death, I accept this loss, I accept this breakup, I accept this trauma; it is now a part of me. I do not reject it, because then I'm rejecting parts of myself.'

'And now I go forward and my life is bigger and it's expanded. I'm not recommending that you just start trying to pressure yourself to live your life that way because some days, it's really f*****g hard. But it's my mantra.' 

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