Friday, April 25All That Matters

Howie Mandel tells the origins of his severe case of OCD (sand flies laying larvae under his skin when he was a child)

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Howie Mandel tells the origins of his severe case of OCD (sand flies laying larvae under his skin when he was a child)


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19 Comments

  • As someone who has suffered from ocd his whole life, I just think it’s important to say that ocd is defined largely by its irrationality. Having severe germophobia is certainly one of the many symptoms I (and many) have, but what he is describing here is something that would cause any rational person to have a fear of contaminants for their entire life. I don’t doubt for a second that he ALSO has ocd, but I just want to be clear that what he’s specifically describing here isn’t somehow the “cause” of his ocd. It may well have shaped how his ocd manifests to some degree, but ocd is not something you necessarily develop naturally. As I understand it, it’s basically a chemical imbalance in your brain. It’s a neurological disorder. A common obsession people have is the feeling that they somehow hit someone with their car without knowing it. People will drive around in circles and go miles out of their way to make sure they didn’t. That’s one of MANY common obsessions people may suffer from, but I’m using it as an example because it doesn’t stem from anything. These aren’t people who have necessarily been in a car accident before. There’s no trauma that caused this worry, it’s pure irrational anxiety requiring sufferers to do irrational things to make the anxiety go away. Avoiding germs because you suffered from a horrific dermatological condition as a result of a freak accident as a kid is perfectly explainable, whether the lengths he goes to to avoid the germs are rational or not.

    I only mention this because I think people already use the term “OCD” incorrectly as it is. Casually saying “I’m so OCD about my desk being in order” or something like that. I just don’t want something so easily explainable to simplify a condition that people spend their lives suffering from

  • LPT: If a doctor wants you as a demo for a classroom, a conference, or whatever, don’t do it unless you are nicely compensated for it, by the hour. You have nothing to gain other than being a subject to be probed and they get all the glories. If they think it’s a worthwhile subject to write about, they can afford the payment.

    I’ve gone through this type of situation multiple times. They will try to make it such that you are saving humanity and whatnot, and may even guilt trip you to participate. Don’t do it unless you are compensated for it and you are happy with the amount and a full agreement what your involvement will be.

  • I can’t eat any fruit/veg that “bursts” grapes, orange segments and such, If its cooked or cut up, it’s not an issue. Because I was given a gooseberry as a very young child, I bit it and it was full of worms.

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