Howie Mandel on Being Open About His Battles with Mental Illness

On “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Howie Mandel shared his experiences with mental illness. From the outside, he occasionally appears to be a happy person, but he claimed that’s not the case at all when he’s at home, especially by himself.

He acknowledged that being famous had a detrimental effect on his mental health rather than a positive one.

When Kelly Clarkson found out, she was stunned. Then Mandel admitted, “I’m heavily medicated.”

The 65-year-old admitted that, since when he was a youngster, he has struggled with anxiety and OCD. He was called “weird” because he had no classmates to establish friends with when he was younger. Now he claims that he is paid to act odd. The America’s Got Talent judge claims that every day is a struggle.

He proclaimed, “I’m in a nightmare. To ground myself, I strive. I have a beautiful family and I adore what I do. I can, however, also go through really bad sadness from which I never get over it.

Mandel, who has been married to his wife Terry since 1980 and has three children, Alex, 31, Riley, 28, and Jackie, 36, says the COVID-19 pandemic was highly distressing for him.

He said that he had the idea “we could die” cross his thoughts every minute of his waking existence. But I would take solace in the idea that everyone around me was okay. Clinging on is a sensible strategy if you want to be alright. However, the entire planet was in poor condition [during the pandemic]. And it was just absolute torture.

Mandel struggled with whether or not to reveal his illnesses, as shown by the fact that he waited until 2006 to do so after being diagnosed in his thirties. He acknowledged, “My first thought was that I’ve embarrassed my family.” Then I understood that nobody would employ a person who wasn’t stable. Those were my main worries.

Like other comics, he turned to humour to help him get through some of his most challenging periods.

Finding the funny is how I deal with things, he said. “I’m probably crying

if I’m not grinning. And I’ve refrained from describing how dark and dreadful it actually becomes. Comedy kind of saved me. On stage, I’m at ease a lot. And I withdraw when I have nothing to do, which is not good.

Mandel claims to still experience severe depression, but he also realises that the general public may not fully comprehend the severity of his illness. Contradictions are noticed by people, especially in the media, he said.

Oh, he hugged or shook hands with someone. I can shake your hand. But I would then feel as though I hadn’t cleaned it thoroughly. And I would wash my hands in a loop for hours on end.

I can appreciate the humour there. That does not, however, make it any less uncomfortable. I also have no desire to argue for my mental health. I only want to keep it.

Mandel says that ending the stigma is his life’s mission, which is why he is now talking openly about his struggles with mental health.

While he is conscious of the fact that nothing about this will be straightforward, he is confident that despite all of his challenges, he will continue to cherish the moments when there is no evil in his life.